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Other Stuff => General Wargames and Hobby Discussion => Topic started by: Kommando_J on August 16, 2019, 08:19:25 PM
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Was talking to a warlord rep about an order I have been waiting on (replacement mini and some bases) and I find it crazy that despite being dispatched first class last Thursday...has still yet to arrive.
Talking to the rep all he could say was that these days I can expect to wait up to 15 busness days before I can declare it lost and get a new one sent out...when did it get so bad!?
Just last year even I could count on my orders arriving withing a few days, these days a week at least is average and i've noticed even Wargames Foundry are affected and they are the fastest mailers i've ever encountered.
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I got my dispatch notification for zombicide invader yesterday. However, I got the box on Monday, three days before the notification - I'm assuming they dropped it in a wormhole at some point lol
Having said that, it does seem much more hit and miss these days, so hopefully it'll turn up soon, although depending on what's delayed it, it may not be in a usable state :'(
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When it was sold off from public ownership...
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I have noticed this over here in the states.
When I used to order something from the UK
I got in within 10 days. often only a week. Now
I am often waiting several weeks or longer.
I have been wondering why that is.
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Many times my packages looked as if they were thrown under the delivery truck and dragged to my mailbox instead of actually handled with care. UK parcels seem to be particularly targeted.
Regards
Hitman
8)
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It is not just the GB post office. I recently sent a package to my brother in the Republic of Ireland addressed as I have always addressed them for the past 15 years. The package was returned to me without explanation. After a day of enquiries the post office were able to trace it to the Delivery Office. They said that there was insufficient address information. I am able to find the address on Google, Google Maps, my sat nav (several journeys), my road atlas, AA Route planner and even Wiki!! It is clear that the postal "service" in Ireland is unable to read or use any form of maps or technology.
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I assume you have seen this:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-49329720 (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-49329720)
In days of yore if you got up early you could post a letter. It would be delivered to the recipient who could then post a reply and you would be reading it on the same day.
The problem is competition, we have all seen the small car packed full of parcels. Does that look like care and attention? It reduces costs (and hence increases profits), but also drives the standards.
If some self employed person with a car can deliver to a dense urban area, the parcels can be delivered there very cheaply. If you are a company that has to deliver nationwide (mainland only) at a single price, the deliveries to the dense urban area subsidise deliveries to rural areas. The loss of urban deliveries is going to require cost savings.
No idea about the solution.
There is often articles about silly packaging, small items in large boxes. When you think about it, a small padded envelope is far too easy for the delivery person to lose under the seat etc.
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It is not just the GB post office. I recently sent a package to my brother in the Republic of Ireland addressed as I have always addressed them for the past 15 years. The package was returned to me without explanation. After a day of enquiries the post office were able to trace it to the Delivery Office. They said that there was insufficient address information. I am able to find the address on Google, Google Maps, my sat nav (several journeys), my road atlas, AA Route planner and even Wiki!! It is clear that the postal "service" in Ireland is unable to read or use any form of maps or technology.
Was that within Ireland?
See cost cutting above, my suspicion is that the address must contain a road number or house name and a post code or equivalent. Policy is that anything lacking that is not addressed properly and it is declared uneconomic to locate the delivery address by other means.
Gone are the days of post office staff being able to spend the time locating a house with a blue door in a village with a pub called The Red Lion.
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Was that within Ireland?
See cost cutting above, my suspicion is that the address must contain a road number or house name and a post code or equivalent. Policy is that anything lacking that is not addressed properly and it is declared uneconomic to locate the delivery address by other means.
Gone are the days of post office staff being able to spend the time locating a house with a blue door in a village with a pub called The Red Lion.
Yes it was within Ireland which is one of the few countries that is not advanced enough to have postcodes. The address contained, House name (the street has no numbers), the street, the village, the nearest town, the post town, county and country. Putting that into Google even brings up a picture of the house.
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When I worked for a Mail and Courier services company at the head office of a former high street store quite few years ago I spent quite a bit of time on the internet trying to pin down the address of a competition winner in the Republic of Ireland. Their parcel had been returned to us as undeliverable due to not having a postcode. We got it to them in the end thanks to the wonders of Google maps and the online Irish phone book (iirc). Only three houses in that location to choose from anyway....😆
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My brother has just phoned me - he now has a postcode! I wonder if it will make any difference?
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Understaffing, and have you ever walked in a post office, UK, Italy, probably anywhere, and seen booths for everything but mails services?
In Italy now we have staggered deliveries. They deliver Mon-Wed-Fri, then weekend, and next week Tue-Thur. 5 deliveries across 14 days. No more Sat deliveries. And the day they are not delivering the posties are working in office. Basically multitasking of people that cannot really be multitasked. You know that wonderful multirole fighter bomber that can carry bombs or AAM... lol
When I came to London in 2007, there were still Sunday delivery! And two deliveries per days. And Amazon Prime UK delivers on Sunday Italian Prime no... and of course having the courier driver calling you for 9 seconds and then stopping before you can reply, or complaining she could not find the place when she has parked the van literally in front of your door! Okay that was a bad experience, and the only time I had bad experience with the new Amazon courier, I hope they fired her... (I complained to Amazon!).
I think a CEO form Italian Mail once said that with the rise of the internet and new technologies, postal service have to evolve and adapt and deliveries cannot be the 1st priority... but does he know that we use internet and all the new tech, to buy stuff and have it delivered? o_o
But he was hinting at the issue, with other companies doing the same, and the postal system privatized they need to be profitable. And mail deliver is not high on profit. Now, if only someone can produce a working ST transporter... that will solve a lot of issues... talk about useful new technologies...
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Oh My, Italy Post makes me shudder, i had a parcel returned to the UK two times because they couldnt get anyone to answer the door. Not leave a note to the person its for, no lets send it back straightaway !
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My brother has just phoned me - he now has a postcode! I wonder if it will make any difference?
Interesting read (for a given value of interesting).
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postal_addresses_in_the_Republic_of_Ireland (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postal_addresses_in_the_Republic_of_Ireland)
Arroyo, you have my sympathies, though how long before we join you?
I bet consultants working for Consignia are looking at similar ideas here.
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Manchester Regt.
Technically they were wrong and liable for suing. The procedure is to leave a slip in the mailbox indicating when the parcel could be obtained by the local post office. In the past we had two posties who did not like to bring parcels with them, and where always leaving the slip. Most ridiculous thing happened. I and my mother are going out together, we are in front of the door with the dog on leash. Postwoman arrives with a parcel in hand. She deliver the slip to my mother and ran away... literally... the my mom and the dog pursued her until she gave the parcel. The day after my mother got to the office to complain. It was a bad period, basically they were hiring two months posties as trainee and firing them after two months. They knew it, and wonder hos much effort they were putting in their jobs... faking Shogun Total War voice: Shameful Display! It was the same period when a neighboring village was without mail for one month... because the postie was dumping the mail bags in a canal, too heavy to carry around he told the police... got behind bars for breaking of public service, destruction of government property, theft, and also potential manslaughter. The last charge was because he was dumping also mail from the health service and utilities bills and interruption of services could have caused death and injuries; we are talking of a small village with plenty of elderly people. Funny thing the whole issue was discovered by the electric company when an employee discovered the whole village was not paying bills for two months and it was unusual. He or she was realyl good because he started the investigation and called the police instead of just cutting power.
But these were the dark times... now, despite having mail only 10/11 days per month it is more reliable. But the final point is that mail delivery is becoming a secondary component of a Mail Group... :o
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When it was sold off from public ownership...
Was just about to state this. The post office is not a public service, it’s a business.
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A few years back you could send a package second class for under a quid, there were two deliveries per day and a post office near most places. Since then, prices have tripled (it's now £3), there's one delivery per day and my nearest post office closed down a couple years back. The main post office in town is being relocated to a WH Smith branch.
Is that due to privatisation? Or is it competition from other couriers? Looking at the share price, it's about the lowest it's been for five years, so it's not just customers who think it's declining.
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Privatisation is the core issue here. There is an entirely different ethos in a service organisation working for the public good, and an organisation being run to maximise profits without regards to service.
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Post Office and Royal Mail are entirely separate. Royal Mail has been missing its 93% next day delivery 1st class target (91.5% for 2018/19). Post Office (owned by HM Gov) has a policy of cost cutting by switching to WH Smith stores.
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so exactly what Post Office does and what Royal Mail does?
I confess my ignorance, but everything I walked in the Post Office to post something it said Royal Mail...
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Royal Mail deliver and Post Office sells the stamps, supplied by Royal Mail.
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okay... a tad byzantine... :D at least in Italy offices and mail are on the same private company (that is performing a public service, so stopping the mail is still a serious crime... we are byzantine too :) )
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This is all very depressing and as an update its now been two weeks with no sign of that 1st class parcel...
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I assume you have seen this:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-49329720 (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-49329720)
I also live in Leicestershire, and for almost the first time, am glad I'm in a bungalow.
What happened to the idea of Amazon using drones for deliveries? Presumably they're smart enough to recognise an open window, climb and lob the parcel in, or even enter and drop it on a soft surface before exiting?
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Well, the drone delivery seemed a tad silly to me... and basically with Amazon volume of deliveries, if they use drones for everything, we will be swamred by them... SG-1 replicators...
you complain? I am waiting for my copy of Battles Magazine from early July... people in US has already received it... damn... and it is shipped from France. I am waiting for some miniatures from A&A (okay they tend to be slow), and my last order from Boardgameguru... we are all waiting!
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I have noticed this over here in the states.
When I used to order something from the UK
I got in within 10 days. often only a week. Now
I am often waiting several weeks or longer.
I have been wondering why that is.
I'm not sure that this is still the case but a years ago US customs restricted small packages from Europe and the UK from being sent via passenger airlines. Instead, they would have to be sent by dedicated air transport or by cargo ship. The result is that entire containers needed to be filled with packages before even leaving their place of origin.
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Still getting great service from Europe, albeit usually by courier now. Just got a new cycling jersey in three days from Italy. FedEx. €200, reduced to €167 when vat removed, free shipping, and then $21 CAD for import. In three days.
This is typical of what I’m ordering lately, and just ordering larger dollar amounts; miniatures with their postal service issues I’ve been avoiding. Couldn’t even say when I ordered from the US last - they literally have the worst service for speed and cost. UK is best for minis still from Europe.
Just my thoughts.
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Now been three weeks and have just had warlord send out a replacement by signed delivery.