handyman Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 post back on today, but how much do you really need the post. I have gas, leccy, council tax, current account, credit card, house phone and mobil phone all on paperless internet accounts. Its just the odd thing i need delivered by royal mail now (all internet shopping is delivered by private companies) I would be happy enough having post once a week. That would save a bit. (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest starspirit Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 Historically in the long term strikes rarely help anyone. Just putting aside the rights and wrongs for a minute, the resultant loss of high volume business mail and the lost profit from it will reverberate long after the strike is forgotten and will in the long term cost even more jobs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GJH Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 handyman - 2007-10-10 11:17 AM Its just the odd thing i need delivered by royal mail now (all internet shopping is delivered by private companies) Depends what you buy and who from. I've just posted off 14 large letters this morning using Royal Mail. Contents vary between about £4 and £10 in value. Add courier rates on top rather than the £1 we charge for P&P (stamp, envelope, labour for packing etc.) and sometimes the shipping charge would be more than the value of the goods. Can't see many people wanting to buy in those circumstances. Graham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handyman Posted October 10, 2007 Author Share Posted October 10, 2007 Would you be happy with a delivery once a week? And parcels as they arrived (be it delivered by royal mail or a private company) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 i run a business and a week is along time, when i have a week (as in next week 12 days in sunny spain) away i come back to 30 to 50 letters often alot to take in in one go takes well over an hour to sort through Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J9withdogs Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 Why don't more people use electronic mail? I have just won a £15,000 contract, but have to wait for the Royal Mail to deliver a paper copy of it before I can start processing it! Are we living in 2007 or 1927? *-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomo3090 Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 The Royal Mail is just one of a list of public services that we won't miss until it's gone. The private companies have had the chance to delver mail for a while now, but they won't because it is not cost effective. Bulk post to city centres can be a nice earner, but when you have to deliver a single letter to somewhere miles from anywhere for 34p, you can't make a profit, so they stay away. The key word here is "Service" Which is something not there just for profit. The same goes for Health Service, Police service, Fire Service and Social Service. If there was money to be made from any of these TESCO and ASDA would be doing it by now. The way these services are being treated is one reason why Labour won't be getting my vote for the first time since I was 18. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest starspirit Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 Well done J9 - maybe now you can get rid of Shirley Tortoise and get a real van? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest starspirit Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 PS Only joking! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J9withdogs Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 Hope you have your legs crossed Ricahdr >:-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 The problem with electronic mail, and digital imaging etc etc is that no-one really knows if it will stand the test of time. If you get a power cut you can't read your mail, surf the net, use your credit card. But you can always read a bit of paper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J9withdogs Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 Try telling that to the NHS (my largest customer) who reckon they will be paperless in 2010 ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 Last time we had post was a week back Monday. 9 days ago. I feel sorry for postal workers but in reality its time they got the message and moved on. Business doesn,t (in the main) rely on them any more, its all electronic instant mail like this email thingey. That,s why the post office was split off from the telecom side a few years back so that eventually the post office could be dumped without compromising the technology based telecom side. The outcome will eventually I am sure mean that sending letters and parcels must become more expensive, like double what it costs now could be argued to be right as they no longer have any substancial volume of business letters to deliver every day which used to subsidise the domestic deliveries. But the size of the operation needed to provide this service doesn,t need all the workforce that the PO have now. Sad but true. C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GJH Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 J9withdogs - 2007-10-10 8:30 PM Why don't more people use electronic mail? I have just won a £15,000 contract, but have to wait for the Royal Mail to deliver a paper copy of it before I can start processing it! Are we living in 2007 or 1927? *-) We get a lot of our orders - and payments - electronically but there are still people who prefer to order by post and pay by cheque. Apart from a few digitally restored photos which we can deliver electonically, all our goods have to be delivered physically - especially 20 foot wide family tree charts :-D If you check my earlier post you will see why we use Royal Mail rather than couriers. Graham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 If all records become digital I assume they will have to keep keep downloading them every time a new storage system comes along. Having started work in offices when computers were first introduced I've seen it go from punched cards to tapes to floppy discs to CDs and now DVDs. Goodness knows how many changes will come in the next 20 or 30 years. But a bit of paper lasts. It just takes up more room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MandyAndy Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 Yesterday my post was to Poland, Germany, Israel, Spain, Australia, France, Ireland, USA, Canada and UK, in the normal scheme of things USA and Canada would probably get theirs first. Would be lovely to be able to send a bra or thong electronically but think there may be a problem in the wearing of them. I for one would miss the Royal mail and for all the post I send on a daily basis they very rarely let me down. I know I may be lucky but they do a sterling job in my opinion and not one I would like to do. But I hope they soon get it sorted as my international buyers may not be quite as understanding as the ones over here who realise what is going on. Mandy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davenewellhome Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 This postal strike is a pain to businesses. All of my regular suppliers send me a monthly statement of account by snail mail and I then return payment by cheque via snail mail. I haven't yet received my statements for September's purchase orders so I can't send payment. If I'm close to my credit limit with one of those suppliers I won't be able to order anything new until they've received payment for the current outstanding amount. That could mean I have to delay a customer for a job which means they might look round for an alternative supplier and I can lose out on trade. The one thing I disagree with the posties about in this dispute is their right to "job and finish". If they get their round done early they go home but receive a full days pay. The PO wants them to go back to the sorting office and complete the hours they're payed for. I find the PO's stance on this correct, why should they get a full day's pay for a half day's work? D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handyman Posted October 11, 2007 Author Share Posted October 11, 2007 if your regular suppliers changed to emailed invoices and you payed throught your internet banking account, it would save money, be quicker, safer and you would see a copy straight away as proof that you had sent it. Its just better and cheaper all round Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GJH Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 davenewell@home - 2007-10-11 7:19 AM The one thing I disagree with the posties about in this dispute is their right to "job and finish". If they get their round done early they go home but receive a full days pay. The PO wants them to go back to the sorting office and complete the hours they're payed for. I find the PO's stance on this correct, why should they get a full day's pay for a half day's work? D. Agreed Dave but I reckon the union is using this as something they can give way on when it suits them as I wonder whether many people do manage to get their rounds finished early these days. Our local (excellent) postman starts work at 5:30 am. He is usually still delivering around here at 1pm, leaving him half an hour maximum to get back to the sorting office and finish off before the end of his 8 hour shift. From what he tells me the main problem on hours is the Royal Mail wanting people to start work half an hour later and start their delivery rounds at least half an hour later. This doesn't only disrupt any arrangements the postal workers have for afternoons but means that businesses will receive their mail later in the day than they are used to and have to change their working practices to accommodate the Royal Mail. Graham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GJH Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 handyman - 2007-10-11 7:31 AM if your regular suppliers changed to emailed invoices and you payed throught your internet banking account, it would save money, be quicker, safer and you would see a copy straight away as proof that you had sent it. Its just better and cheaper all round That's fine in theory but, as we saw recently with Northern Rock, Internet banking is easily susceptible to overload problems. In that case there were a number of stories broadcast of people who were unable to process their normal transactions because the NR Internet site was so heavily used. And that's without any DDOS attacks and the like. After spending over 30 years in IT, Internet banking is the last thing I want to embark on. Graham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 If they could do away with software problems,power cuts, viruses, computer crashes and hackers, I might consider internet banking. It's certainly quicker and cheaper but not yet reliable enough for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomo3090 Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 The working conditions of any companies staff are an agreement between the work force and employers. Why should the employers have the right to change these whenever THEY choose. Surely as a matter of fairness any new conditions should be negotiated. The employees are hardly likely to voluntarily give up a good set of conditions for ones that require more work for the same pay! Perhaps if the management of Royal Mail went to negotiate instead of just instigating new contracts they might get somewhere. I have a neighbour who is a depot manager and he is in support of the action being taken because of the way ALL the staff are being treated, i.e. with no respect or input into the future of the business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GJH Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 I've just been talking to our postman. He apologised for being later than usual today but apparently Royal Mail action has led to further trouble - in Middlesbrough at least. As people were on strike for two days last week and two days this week it would be normal for the lost pay to be spread over two weeks. Apparently Royal Mail have docked the full amount from a single week's pay. Not a way, I should have thought, by which to improve industrial relations. We received two letters today, one postmarked 7th October and one postmarked 10th October. We have still to receive subscription magazines which should have been delivered last week before the strike action started. This is despite the statement on the Royal mail web site saying they "will deal with mail in the order in which we receive it". If this is the way in which Royal Mail treats its staff and customers is it any wonder there is a dispute? Graham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handyman Posted October 11, 2007 Author Share Posted October 11, 2007 malc d - 2007-10-11 11:57 AM If they could do away with software problems,power cuts, viruses, computer crashes and hackers, I might consider internet banking. It's certainly quicker and cheaper but not yet reliable enough for me. you could use the telephone banking system then.........bet you this info is then sent through the internet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick H. Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 K&D - 2007-10-10 8:26 PM i run a business and a week is along time, when i have a week (as in next week 12 days in sunny spain) away i come back to 30 to 50 letters often alot to take in in one go takes well over an hour to sort through It seems that weeks in your part of th country are longer than ours.We only get seven days. Mick H. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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