This has just happened to me for at least the 3rd time in one year. I cancelled the things I planned for today only to be at home for the delivery; I was sat at home all day and heard nothing. Then, around 2PM I found a red slip saying I should contact Royal Mail for a redelivery (I was at work yesterday when they first ~~tried~~ left a red slip). Obviously my only other day off is tomorrow (Wednesday), and the earliest they allow me to schedule it for is Thursday, so the earliest I can TRY to receive it is an entire week from now. Alternatively, I could have it redelivered to the post office near me, which closes before I could get back from work (EDIT: it ALSO opens after I have to leave for work, therefore completely useless for picking up stuff that arrives on my working day). This is super infuriating now.
Once I even found 2 red slips with different dates in my post box, even though it was empty the night before.
What's going on when this happens?
UPDATE:
So this morning, as a night owl, I decided to make a sacrifice and took an early train to the delivery office (which is open between 8AM and 10AM, but I get it, otherwise the parcels are en route during the day). I asked the guy at the window about it, being fully aware that he might or might not be part of the actual delivery process; not blaming, not interrogating, just simply asking if he knows what the heck is going on.
Yupp, he confirmed what everyone has been commenting about, lol. He didn't have anything other in mind, apart from the afternoon delivery guy cutting corners. I can still imagine it's because they are loaded with work (it happens to be the case at my job) and it's literally impossible to make everyone happy, but management refuses to pay more people. Or he's just lazy. I don't know, but the bottom line is, it wasn't because of some technical nuance, bureaucracy, barometric pressure change in the stratosphere or God knows what. Most likely, he had the parcel but decided to bring the red slip only.
My trust in humanity is in the negatives.
Recently I answered the door to one and he exclaimed "you are lucky I came down your stairs, most of my colleagues refuse to" which explained why we have been getting more red slips in our small outdoor post box that is situated at the top of the stairs. What it didn't explain is why the fuck the rest of them "refuse to"
Our stairs are identical to all the others on this street, do they refuse to go down all stairs in this street? I dont know.
To exacerbate this problem the sorting office to collect stuff from is open only 2 hours most days in a major UK city. Fuck the royal mail, they are useless cunts. I think they decided to try and compete with the likes of yodel for most useless delivery company.
I honestly asked this question from an "I would actually like to understand" point of view. My goal was not to get as many "because they are lazy fucks" kind of answers as possible, but I'm sure every single profession has its own lazy workers.
However, in almost every single profession there are things you can't help, and outsiders will look at your work and blame you for it. You need to send a report but the IT guy couldn't get there to fix your laptop? Others will think you can't be arsed. You're an IT guy and need to fix a laptop but you're stuck in traffic? Others will think you can't be arsed. You're a chef and the table that ordered a starter in the lunchtime rush still didn't get their order (because of the other 43274 orders)? Others will think you can't be arsed. "iT's JuSt a StArTeR, wHaT tAkEs So LoNg?".
I was wondering if there was something similar in the delivery process that prevents them from actually taking the parcel to the recipient. I'm past the 'anger' phase and I'm trying to make my way to 'acceptance'.
I realised you were and whilst I do agree with what you are saying they have been so consistently bad for us in the last three years of living where I do that I refuse to believe it is just one bad or lazy person.
Ive had plenty of interactions with many different people both at my door, via email and at the sorting office and they have all been anywhere from not caring to unhelpful all the way to down right rude to both me and my my partner.
So whilst I had your attitude to begin with them they have worn me down to the point where I point blank dislike them. I go out of my way to make sure I dont order anything that uses them as a carrier any more because I want things delivered to my door and not have to walk 5km to pick it up within a two hour window.
Maybe it is an issue with processes or management or something further up the line but that doesnt excuse the way I've been treated and spoken to by multiple different employees of theirs.
I've done plenty of shitty public facing jobs and so I dont want to immediately make anyone's day worse for something that they can't help but they are all a part of the whole and a lot of their attitudes (at least local to me) fucking suck so I am done giving them the benefit of the doubt.
Sorry I can't offer any insight into why your issue is happening, maybe they are generally better in your area but for me I couldn't find a reasonable reason as to why they were so consistenly terrible here. I'm not angry anymore and have accepted it but I still think they are a bunch of useless cunts, at least around here.
Sorry for filling your thread with what you were trying to avoid. My bad. I hope you get your parcel before Christmas :)
Nah, thanks for your insights - since there's nobody from Royal Fail actually chiming in, people who had done some poking around before are the best I could have, so thanks for the info.
So this morning, as a night owl, I decided to make a sacrifice and took an early train to the delivery office (which is open between 8AM and 10AM, but I get it, otherwise the parcels are en route during the day). I asked the guy at the window about it, being fully aware that he might or might not be part of the actual delivery process; not blaming, not interrogating, just simply asking if he knows what the heck is going on.
Yupp, he confirmed what everyone has been commenting about, lol. He didn't have anything other in mind, apart from the afternoon delivery guy cutting corners. I can still imagine it's because they are loaded with work (it happens to be the case at my job) and it's literally impossible to make everyone happy, but management refuses to pay more people. Or he's just lazy. I don't know, but the bottom line is, it wasn't because of some technical nuance, bureaucracy, barometric pressure change in the stratosphere or God knows what. Most likely, he had the parcel but decided to bring the red slip only.
My trust in humanity is in the negatives.