Post office hard sell

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StJamesDad
Posts: 233
Joined: Thu Oct 11, 2012 6:10 pm

Post office hard sell

Post by StJamesDad »

Has anyone else had enough of their local post office?
I am going to make the effort to use other companies now as the constant efforts to squeeze more cash out of me every time I go in there is getting on my nerves.

They seem to delight in getting their measuring device out and get really excited if a package hangs on the tiniest bit of packing tape or raised point because it is too light to fall through it.
Trying to charge £5.20 for something that clearly goes through the £2.60 slot is a joke!

The sneaky sales questions/tactics used to get people to pay for insurance or to have it delivered quicker are just plan annoying.
The amount of time wasted by getting (tricking) people to say yes to next day delivery, and listen to them embarrassingly back track when they find out the cost is rude.

And no I do not want to top up my mobile :evil:
Samlet
Posts: 306
Joined: Thu Jul 14, 2011 10:18 am

Re: Post office hard sell

Post by Samlet »

I like the individuals who are very friendly, but the new parcel services are a big mistake.

It is now cheaper to send a medium parcel overseas than to the UK, which is plain weird, and it is immensely difficult to work out postage rates in advance from the Royal Mail website. I recently had to pay £13 to send a radio back to Customer Services - next time will use a courier - I reckon Hermes would have been MUCH cheaper.

I think it will lead a to a considerable decrease in business in parcels for them, which can hardly be the intention!
StJamesDad
Posts: 233
Joined: Thu Oct 11, 2012 6:10 pm

Re: Post office hard sell

Post by StJamesDad »

They are all a little odd in mine.

The other thing they have done is try to refuse parcels altoghther, saying they are too big when they are not.
I think they get hassle from people picking them up.

I use Collect+ a lot now. The Post Office was more convenient but now I have made the effort to go elsewhere I will darken their door a lot less!
Reading Mum
Posts: 1841
Joined: Tue Oct 04, 2011 9:44 am
Location: Reading

Re: Post office hard sell

Post by Reading Mum »

the new pricing is definitely a pain. I used to eBay quite a lot of stuff. You weighed the item looked it up on a sheet and voila there was the cost of postage. Now you have to take into account the size as well, and the prices are ridiculous. I posted a single pair of Boden shorts aged 7-8 2nd class UK yesterday and it cost me £2.60 :shock: I don't think I will bother in future.
Amber
Posts: 8058
Joined: Thu Sep 24, 2009 11:59 am

Re: Post office hard sell

Post by Amber »

Well I am going to stick up for them. My elderly mother has had all kinds of issues with things like losing her pension card, forgetting her PIN, generally finding it hard sometimes to fill in forms and what not, and the staff have always been totally brilliant and kind and patient with her, going the extra mile to help her out. They are like friends to the elderly people where she lives and notice if their regulars don't go in for a while, trying to find out what is wrong.

I know from chatting to the owner that they have been squeezed from above and made to comply with all kinds of regulations, as well as being squeezed from below by competitors and the Internet. I have heard people being really rude to them when they feel they are being charged too much or made to fill in forms they don't fancy, yet at ours they are always friendly and polite and I frankly don't know why they bother sometimes in the face of rudeness. Parcel pricing isn't their fault; nor is the idea of letters having to fit through one of those red biscuit cutter things.

I am all for greater efficiency, but I think it is a real shame if we all turn to more 'remote' services which may cost a bit less but don't need human interaction - I would prefer to see more of the latter than less of it. (And don't get me started on self-service tills in supermarkets! 'Unexpected item in bagging area' - 'Yes, it's my ***** bag.' :evil: :evil: )
Reading Mum
Posts: 1841
Joined: Tue Oct 04, 2011 9:44 am
Location: Reading

Re: Post office hard sell

Post by Reading Mum »

Amber wrote: (And don't get me started on self-service tills in supermarkets! 'Unexpected item in bagging area' - 'Yes, it's my ***** bag.' :evil: :evil: )
Yep - got to love that one. I can visibly see my DH's blood pressure rising if I use one of these
StJamesDad
Posts: 233
Joined: Thu Oct 11, 2012 6:10 pm

Re: Post office hard sell

Post by StJamesDad »

I am a little confused at how they can be undercut in the first place to be honest.
Its often a very big difference in price, not a little and combined with other things its not surprising people are giving up.

I am all for a local, face to face friendly service, but if they chose to act as if they are doing you a favour by serving you, try to rip you off, hassle you for things you do not need and refuse legitimate business because its hassle for them, then its that face to face service that is causing the problem!

Fair enough they are told they have to do stuff but they often seem to relish doing so a lot of the time IME.

If they really cared about helping certain members of the local community I would think serving everyone well and having a business that is still there next year would be a good idea.
Amber
Posts: 8058
Joined: Thu Sep 24, 2009 11:59 am

Re: Post office hard sell

Post by Amber »

Sorry you've had such bad experiences SJD. Ours is great and the staff delightful.
ToadMum
Posts: 11946
Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2012 12:41 pm
Location: Essex

Re: Post office hard sell

Post by ToadMum »

Most of the main and sub-Post Offices in our general area are staffed by nice, helpful folk. Unfortunately, not the one two minutes from our house. It is obviously "known", because when I have commented on the service - or rather lack of - one gets there to staff in other PO's, the response has been a knowing look :lol: . When there was talk of closing POs a few years back, I was tempted to suggest that they chose ours...
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.Groucho Marx
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