Going postal

[vilakins]

It appears that NZ Post no longer delivers parcels. This is the second time in a month they've left a card at my door to say that I have to pick up a parcel at the depot--and their hours are the very friendly 6am to noon. They also say that any parcel uncollected after a week gets returned to the sender.

WTH? The whole idea of a postal service is, I'd have thought, to you know, actually deliver the stuff. They're going to get a rollicking from me tomorrow morning, I tell ya. It's enough to put me right off ordering clothes etc online, my preferred method of shopping. I'd have had the thing delivered to work but they're closing down for two weeks on Friday and I didn't want to risk it.

Comments

[kerravonsen]

(nods) I have the same pain; Australia Post no longer delivers, either. It used to be the case that they left a card when it was Registered Post (which is fair enough, they're required to deliver to an identified human being for that), and when that happened, I could go to my local post office, 20 minutes walk away, and pick it up.

But, apparently, now they require a signature for ordinary parcels (though not an ID) so even if one deliberately doesn't choose Registered Mail when one makes an order, they still refuse to deliver unless there's someone there. What's worse, is that they shut down the local post office, so there isn't a local place to go. And it seems that I'm smack in the middle of a delivery area, because it's completely random which post office they tell me to pick the parcel up from; half the time it's the Doncaster Heights one (which at least is on the bus route on the way to work) and the other half of the time it's at Mitcham North post office, which is in the opposite direction, though it's physically closer than Doncaster Heights.

So now I have to have all my mail-order stuff sent to work instead of to home. Which is bloody annoying.

Australia Post: "we don't deliver".

[vilakins]

It's sort of random here (though I suppose there's some discernible (to the PO) difference; I get Amazon and Fishpond and Ezibuy (clothes) deliveries left in the box or at the door, other things I've had to chase all over town. I trained one of the courier services (a franchise where the guy has got to know me) to leave things at the door but if it's NZ Post Couriers it's often extremely hard to even find the parcel. Greg got so frustrated with a delivery for a client and had to chase from warehouse to warehouse because they'd lost it. In the end I think they had to supply the client with something else till it turned up. That's a service?

I picked up the parcel this morning but it's about a 5-minute drive with early morning the only option for me.

I'll be getting most things delivered to work in future but with them closing down over the break I was worried they'd send things back as undeliverable.

I like the icon!

[kerravonsen]

Yeah, it's actually pretty random here too.

I get Amazon and Fishpond and Ezibuy (clothes) deliveries left in the box or at the door, other things I've had to chase all over town.

With Fishpond, it's been completely random as to whether they deliver it or "card" it. With USAfoods, I've been able to add delivery instructions which say "leave it at the door", which is good, because if I'm buying things like GrapeNuts, the parcel is bulky, and I wouldn't want to have to cart it home on the bus.

I've been wondering if I should somehow make up a sign to stick on my post-box which says "Please do not card parcels".

I like the icon!
It's one of sallymn's.

[vilakins]

I always say "leave it at the door or in the mailbox" if they provide a field for that. But yes, it will be a pain having bulky and heavy things delivered here to work as I'll have to schlep them down to where I rented a carpark. At least it's downhill all the way.

She does great icons! [uses one of hers which is quite appropriate as it's pretty much the standard reaction on seeing a card]

[pebblerocker]

I stick a card in for parcels that stick out and might get swiped, or for people who have a piddly little letterbox that won't fit parcels of any size or one that's locked so I can't get stuff in. But the card goes in the letterbox -- if I'm going to the doorstep I may as well leave the parcel there, if it's safe and dry, instead of having it taking up room in my panniers the rest of the day. And our local post office has much better opening hours, although still inconvenient for people who are at work during business hours and can't get in.

Theoretically a lot of stuff that used to go by courier is now being delivered by postie, to give us something to do with the falling mail volumes. But it seems to be completely random whether anything I order comes in the post or by courier when I'm out, even if I ask for standard post as the delivery option.

[vilakins]

The postie came right down our long drive and left the card there--along with our letters which is a first. The porch is large, dry, and can't be seen from anywhere but our property. I don't get it. Maybe it was a new postie.

It was the depot I had to go to, where the posties for the area operate out of - Marua Road if you know of it. I wouldn't mind quite so much but the whole keep only for a week thing makes me nervous.

I was only 15 minutes late for work. Even though it came yesterday it still took the (very nice) woman a while to locate it.

I'll always ask for standard post which I consider more efficient than couriers for householders and if there's a comments option I'll say to leave in the porch. Some places won't do anything but courier though.

Ah well, once the office opens again on 9 January I'll just get things sent here.

[Edit] The parcel was actually a small padded envelope so it would have been fine in the box.

[kalypso]

Gosh, that's annoying. My postmen (I very rarely see a woman) are usually happy to leave things in my porch. In fact, I used to have one who said to me "If you're not here to sign for a registered delivery, I'm going to put it through the letterbox anyway, because you want to get it quickly not to have to rearrange the delivery." Which was highly illegal, but worked.

[vilakins]

That was very nice of him! The local private franchised courier guy knows me and leaves things at the door. NZ Post Couriers though are a nightmare; they've mislaid important stuff being delivered to Greg's work.

Once the office is open again on the 9th I'll just get things sent there so that'll be much easier.

[ultrapsychobrat.livejournal.com]

All postal systems are crappy. I think the US postal system is going broke. Won't that be wonderful?

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Really? Oy.

The guy came right down our drive to leave the damned card, and if it's like the last one, it doesn't require a signature. I just dunno.

[samantha-vimes.livejournal.com]

Yes. They're shutting down branches, cutting back deliveries, and I still don't think it's certain if it's a working model. They have better hours for pick up than yours does... seems very unfair to night shift workers.

I think the USPS should be allowed to compete with private industry on other types of message delivery-- i.e., offer email service as an ISP, maybe even be a phone carrier. I think communications is too vital to be left entirely in private hands. They've had to break up monopolies in the past and might again, so why not set up a permanent competitor, and at the same time, get the Postal Service in line with the modern age and making money?

I'm just a socialist at heart, I guess.

[threeoutside.livejournal.com]

Here, here! Where does the demonstration begin?

[astrogirl2.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the US post office is seriously hurting, and it's rural and semi-rural areas that are really going to get shafted by the budget cuts. They're talking about changing things where I live so that if you mail a letter to someone down the street, it'll get shipped up to Albuquerque for sorting, and then back down here for delivery. Which will make everything even slower, especially in bad weather like we've had lately, not to mention more mistake-prone, but will let them lay off one whole person. They've also been talking about eliminating mail delivery on Saturdays, which would suck. People who rely on getting medicines through the mail are already complaining loudly about that idea.

Still, at least they'll actually deliver packages at your door, or let you pick them up at rational times. So maybe we should count our blessings. :)

[kerravonsen]

They deliver on Saturdays? That's almost unheard-of, here. The only time they do that is during the Christmas rush, when they have so many things to deliver they do it on the weekend, too.

[astrogirl2.livejournal.com]

Yeah, they always have, and when it's something you're used to having, you really don't want to lose it.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Wow, that's really stupid. Yeah, fire the people who do the work, that's a typical obscenely overpaid CEO decision.

We don't have Saturday deliveries or weekend pickups from postboxes any more but that doesn't really affect me.

[astrogirl2.livejournal.com]

It's the government trying to cut corners. What I find interesting is that the number one campaign cry of our politicians right now is all about how they're going to "create jobs!" Meanwhile, let's fire as many government workers as we can...

[pebblerocker]

*cough* I know cutting Saturday deliveries was bandied about as a possible cost-saving measure (causing major outcry and backpedalling), and some people are surprised to see me on the round on Saturdays, presumably thinking the suggestion is a fait accompli -- but I'd be surprised to hear Saturday deliveries have been stopped in major cities!

Re:

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Maybe I got confused with no Easter deliveries.

[kerravonsen]

All postal systems are crappy.

Australia Post used to be not-crappy, really. Now they're doing the same thing that Vilakins is complaining about: not delivering parcels.

[imhilien.livejournal.com]

Boo, hiss, etc. :(

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Do you have that trouble too?

I like that icon.

[imhilien.livejournal.com]

I've noticed that if I order a paperback from Barbara's Books across town, a courier delivers it instead of the postie. Although BB might have arranged for that to happen. Hmm.

A few local post shops have closed, one of the closures made no sense at all to me. :(

Thanks. :)

[linda-joyce.livejournal.com]

You are not alone The Royal Mail is called the royal mess around here. At least we can phone the t and either have redlivered when we know we will be in or sent to the nearest Post Office for us to collect. They at least have somewhat longer opening hours.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

They didn't provide a phone number for redelivery, but when they do, you often get stuck on the phone for ages, then someone you have to repeat everything to several times. And it can still end up at the wrong PO. Our POs do have business hours but this was the depot for the area.

[reapermum.livejournal.com]

I have a nice postie who tries to leave parcels with a neighbour or by our back door if the weather's dry. Wouldn't work if for anyone who doesn't get on with their neighbours though.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Our porch is both sheltered and private. They seem to want to make it difficult.

[pet-lunatic.livejournal.com]

That's annoying :( I've had that happen a couple of times myself. I hope you manage to get hold of your stuff ok!

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Yes I did; I went before work. A small padded envelope labelled "documents", not even really a parcel.

[snowgrouse.livejournal.com]

Oh, man. Don't get me started. If I end up ordering something that needs to be signed for, the postie no longer brings it to the door but just leaves a bloody card. Often I get a card even for the sort of deliveries where I've specifically requested a service where the package would be brought to my door. It's very rare that the posties actually bother to bring any packages up any more, meaning I have to make several trips to the post office during a given month. And when a postie does bring a package, they sometimes manage to run off before I've had a chance to even open the door (if I've needed to put some clothes on or something). It's been ridiculous right now with the stuff I've ordered for Christmas. Gah! Just this morning I was thinking of just putting a big basket next to my door saying "dear postie: leave stuff here" so I wouldn't have to crawl up to the damn PO again.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

It does look as if they're getting out of the whole door-to-door things for packages. At least they actually had this one at the depot and I didn't have to play chase.

[entropy-house.livejournal.com]

I have several cardboard signs saying USPS, UPS, FED EX, I AM HOME (I wire them to the gate and switch them if one gets rained soggy), because they would often drop a card EVEN when I was in the house, HEARD the truck and RAN to the front door shouting I'm HERE, I'm COMING.

It seems a worldwide trend towards crap parcel delivery.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

It does. Though surely it costs them less to actually leave the stuff and not handle it more.

[entropy-house.livejournal.com]

I suspect that the companies give the delivery people impossibly large routes so the only way a person can make the rounds in time is by deliberately not taking the extra minute or so to knock on a door on a lot of the one-parcel-to-residential deliveries.

It costs the company more in the long run, but the delivery person's concern is not losing their own job.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

That makes a certain amount of sense, though the postie came right down our long driveway to leave not just the card at the door but also our letters. They were ordinary mail delivery so they'd be going to almost every mailbox anyway. Maybe they're new or a student doing a holiday job.

[entropy-house.livejournal.com]

*nods* During the holidays I bet they have a lot of temporary help.

Another thing I *suspect* my mail carrier sometimes does (not often) is carry the parcels on a separate run *the next day*, and just leave notices the first day. So anyone who picked up the stuff saved him hauling things about. And nearly anyone who went through the hassle of trying to arrange a redelivery attempt via their website as the card says (which I've tried TWICE and both times it wouldn't work) and then sit on hold on the phone line and get transferred in order to request a redelivery attempt would probably decide it was faster in future to go to the PO and pick up themselves.

Let's make delivery the CUSTOMER'S responsibility, YAY.

[quarryquest.livejournal.com]

Mine managed to leave a Christmas card and a credit card statement behind the plants next to my flat door. This was when it was pouring with rain and I had a perfectly good mail box on the wall above that.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Huh? And I usually envy you guys for having mail slots in your doors so your mail is inside and you don't have to brave the weather to get it. If it's raining really hard here I just leave it all in the box at the end of the driveway (and it's probably soaked anyway). I didn't realise you'd ever get wet mail too.

[quarryquest.livejournal.com]

My landlord, in his wisdom, decided not to have a letter box. I have a european type thing on my wall. Postmen (or women!) often ignore it. The last couple of days it has been solid ice outside my flat. I also don't think they would have even set foot on our roof to deliver stuff because of that.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Your roof? Too icy even for Santa, huh?