An Post is a dead duck

Albert X

Less and less stuff is being shipped with an post, I ordered a free sim card online the other day and it came by courier. All the Irish mail order catalogues are now using Fastway couriers. The elephant in the room is Joan Burton is planning to sign an posts death warrant by making all welfare payments paid into a bank account by 2017.

mikehammer67

i still get my mail every morning from them?

BadCharlie

As this is a welfare junkie state i would agree, when the change happens an post will have to make cut backs. Saying that i still get parcels delivered to me with an post that i need to sign for.

ardmacha

I question the economics of sending sim cards by courier, unless it was an urgent replacement.

An Post is under pressure, but even some EBusiness stuff generates post. I conducted a transaction with my bank online recently and they sent me a letter confirming it. In the old days I would have walked to my bank and done the business there, but no letter would have resulted.

mikehammer67

ardmacha wrote: »

I question the economics of sending sim cards by courier, unless it was an urgent replacement.

An Post is under pressure, but even some EBusiness stuff generates post. I conducted a transaction with my bank online recently and they sent me a letter confirming it. In the old days I would have walked to my bank and done the business there, but no letter would have resulted.

wait 'til you owe them money and stop paying

you'll know all about mail then:)

ardmacha

Perhaps everyone working in An Post should slow down their loan repayments (ever so slightly) and generate some work.

caff

I dissagree, I think An Post have quite a good future ahead due to cost cutting by banks. An Post are the only owners of a countywide branch network. What they really need is for a change in law to allow them to employ QFA's so they can offer onsite loans to small business.

mikehammer67

is An Post the ones operating the post offices then?


they're takin over everything like........

SeanW

I sure hope An Post is not a "dead duck" because I buy (and recently sell) a lot of stuff over the Internet, and I find that postal services are not only 1/4 the price of private courier services, but WAAAAAAAAAAAY more convenient.

John_C

If you're not home when a package is delivered in Australia, the postman leaves it in the local post office. Here the package goes back to the sorting office, which is usually further away.
An Post would be a lot more convenient if they made that change.

mikehammer67

John_C wrote: »

If you're not home when a package is delivered in Australia, the postman leaves it in the local post office. Here the package goes back to the sorting office, which is usually further away.
An Post would be a lot more convenient if they made that change.

ya?

you sure bout that

reach for the stars

An post give great service ,I dread it when i order from the uk if the carrier isnt an post ,an post you have 3 to 4 days after ordering or pick it up in the post office if you miss it ,With other carriers can be up to 3 weeks and sometimes they dont arrive at all,Had one courrier said he could not find my address and he lives in the same mid sized town

KELTICKNIGHTT

John_C wrote: »

If you're not home when a package is delivered in Australia, the postman leaves it in the local post office. Here the package goes back to the sorting office, which is usually further away.
An Post would be a lot more convenient if they made that change.

any time if i parcel or package is for me and im not home, the postman leaves a note to pick up in post off later that day, , same any place i lived around Ireland, , maybe if you leave it over 2 Weeks to pickup , it might go back to gpo

Poochie05

They used to bring parcels back to the PO until they got a new sorting office up in the industrial estate here in Wexford. The sorting office is way more convenient than the post office, even has parking spaces in front of it, while you'd be doing well to park even half way close to the PO.

mandrake04

John_C wrote: »

If you're not home when a package is delivered in Australia, the postman leaves it in the local post office. Here the package goes back to the sorting office, which is usually further away.
An Post would be a lot more convenient if they made that change.

Yeah they leave a calling card so you can collect from local post office, my local post office has a hatch that opens at 6am so I can alway collect my package on my way to work.

Better still just get it delivered to a locker, when you have a delivery they send you a text msg with access code and you can pick it up when you want 24/7.

Very handy if there is a locker on your way home from work, all free of course.

http://auspost.com.au/parcels-mail/parcel-lockers.html

RustyRobo

An Post - Parcel Delivery is pricey and struggling to compete with couriers ... BUT

An Post - Letter Delivery is outstanding. Even without Irish post codes, it out performs UK's Royal Mail.

An Post - Post Office Services is about the only thing I can see in Ireland's woeful infrastructure that is efficiently and professionally expanding, and taking on more responsibilities. The accelerating rate of high street bank branch closures and the shift to internet banking leaves our local Post Offices in an ideal position to exploit this massive opportunity for processing physical cheques, cash, one-off payments etc.

So no, I don't think An Post is a dead duck - if it continues to adapt along the lines it appears to be going it may well turn into a very fine swan indeed.

old_aussie

John_C wrote: »

If you're not home when a package is delivered in Australia, the postman leaves it in the local post office. Here the package goes back to the sorting office, which is usually further away.
An Post would be a lot more convenient if they made that change.

Only delivered to local PO if your not home, and if it's sent registered mail and needs a signature.

thegreek

I think the question should be "is traditional mail under threat?"
And in the long term yes.

But An Post is definitely not. They have diversified their business to the extent that traditional mail now only makes up a very small percentage of their business. As others have stated the local post office is taking up the slack of other businesses that are forgoing a local branch.

ednwireland

i bought a guitar amplifier from germany -it arrived one morning through anpost !

Farmer Pudsey

There biggest issue is there failure to adopt there parcel delivery service so that it can compete with couriers. Thealso need to adapt there branch network so that it can replace all the banks that are closing however the banks are hoping that ATM's and online will hold the line for them. There biggest issue will be that more than likly they will only be able to sign one bank on board to provide services for.

Conreg like most other Irish regulators is a disaster it is trying to impose what works in large countries in Ireland where they have the population to carry the competition. An Post needs to get more efficent however it may be the only show in town for letter post on a countrywide basis

John_C

mandrake04 wrote: »

Yeah they leave a calling card so you can collect from local post office, my local post office has a hatch that opens at 6am so I can alway collect my package on my way to work.

Better still just get it delivered to a locker, when you have a delivery they send you a text msg with access code and you can pick it up when you want 24/7.

Very handy if there is a locker on your way home from work, all free of course.

http://auspost.com.au/parcels-mail/parcel-lockers.html

I read over my earlier post and I worded it quite badly. I'm home in Dublin now. I moved back from Melbourne about 2 years ago.

Parcel delivery seemed to work a lot better in Oz than here. Leaving undelivered packages back to the local post office instead of the sorting office seems to be the biggest difference.

who is this

mandrake04 wrote: »

Very handy if there is a locker on your way home from work, all free of course.

http://auspost.com.au/parcels-mail/parcel-lockers.html

Nightline already do this here. Along with a very handy integrated forwarding service to receive packages from a UK address.

An Post have good service and turnaround times, but I feel they are majorly let down by their failure to innovate.

seamus

An Post need to move aggressively into the parcel market if they want to create a viable long-term business. More businesses are more towards a paperless model, banks will get there too eventually.

The big growth market is online shopping, for which we need parcel services. An post are still way behind in this regard and other companies are coming in with better services, like Parcel Motel. An Post need to muscle in there and get drop & collect centres - the collect works the same way as parcel motel, but the drop centre allows me to place a parcel in the locker and pay for the postage and then it's gone, any time of the day. Rather than having to try and get some time off work to make it to a post office while it's open.

who is this

seamus wrote: »

Rather than having to try and get some time off work to make it to a post office while it's open.

And hope it's not pension day. This is, for me, a HUGE issue with going to the post office: having to wait in ridiculous lines behind people not even using any postal services.

I don't even really understand why An Post likes having the Welfare contract so much. It would surely be much more valuable to a shop, no? You might think "Oh while I'm here I'll just pick up a paper and some chocolate". You're not going to think "Oh while I'm here I may as well write a letter to post"

Farmer Pudsey

seamus wrote: »

An Post need to move aggressively into the parcel market if they want to create a viable long-term business. More businesses are more towards a paperless model, banks will get there too eventually.

The big growth market is online shopping, for which we need parcel services. An post are still way behind in this regard and other companies are coming in with better services, like Parcel Motel. An Post need to muscle in there and get drop & collect centres - the collect works the same way as parcel motel, but the drop centre allows me to place a parcel in the locker and pay for the postage and then it's gone, any time of the day. Rather than having to try and get some time off work to make it to a post office while it's open.

This is agood point An Post has the network it is only a matter of putting systems in place to manage the market. They tend not to use local resources efficently like local PO where you can collect a parcel rather than droping at a main center 15 miles away from the local PO. Even there failure to put a phone service in place most parcels have a contact No on them a ring in the morning could sort delivery in the form of collection from the local PO, drop point or neighbour.

who is this

Farmer Pudsey wrote: »

Even there failure to put a phone service in place most parcels have a contact No on them a ring in the morning could sort delivery in the form of collection from the local PO, drop point or neighbour.

Their website addresses this point. Apparently it would waste more time calling people in advance, than going for a delivery and finding no one is there [rolls eyes].

djpbarry

Albert X wrote: »

Less and less stuff is being shipped with an post...

I seem to recall people saying the same thing about Royal Mail not too long ago, but it's currently making a tidy profit.

Albert X

Sure an post are making matters worse for themselves by now refusing to take packages that have batteries in them.

RATM

RustyRobo wrote: »

An Post - Parcel Delivery is pricey and struggling to compete with couriers ... BUT

An Post - Letter Delivery is outstanding. Even without Irish post codes, it out performs UK's Royal Mail.

I'd agree you on them struggling to compete on parcels mainly because they are doing themselves no favours whatsoever in the parcel market. Plenty of people are sick and tired of having to pick up from a sorting office a decent drive away from you. In my area they relocated their delivery office a while back and placed the thing right at the back of a large industrial estate which itself isn't in a convenient location for the population it serves. That aside lots of people have reported on here how postmen aren't always bringing parcels out for delivery and are just showing up with a collection docket. That's just not good enough- you've paid your postage costs to get the item delivered to your door but An Post don't always provide the service you paid for. They are literally driving custom into the hands of couriers who provide a much superior service.

Lately I see more and more Fastway, Nightline and DPD vans flying about the place delivering even on Saturdays and Sundays. Last week I ordered a cable from Amazon.co.uk at 10am on a Friday and had it routed to Parcel Motel in Belfast to avail of free shipping and then onwards to Dublin where it arrived at 9pm on a Sunday night- An Post just aren't at the races in comparison.

And I wouldn't be so sure about the letters either. I don't know what the latest stats are but I know a few years ago their next day delivery of letters nationally stood at 87%. AFAIK the EU expect it to be a good bit higher than this. I can see their point- An Post visit every road in Ireland on weekdays so it is theoretically possible to hit the 100%. My guess is that human error going uncorrected is a large part of that 13% of letters not reaching their destination within 24 hours.

mandrake04

who is this wrote: »

Nightline already do this here. Along with a very handy integrated forwarding service to receive packages from a UK address.

Nightline are couriers rather than the national postal service are they not? I'm talking about receiving a package through the ordinary post to a locker free of charge.

John_C

RATM wrote: »

That aside lots of people have reported on here how postmen aren't always bringing parcels out for delivery and are just showing up with a collection docket.

My postman does that and I have a bit of sympathy with his position. Most houses are empty during the day so I can see why he doesn't want to be lugging a bunch of boxes on his round only to drop them back again when he's finished.
The management in An Post need to sort out the parcel delivery systems. The postman who leaves the packages behind is really just responding to mistakes higher up the food chain.

seamus

John_C wrote: »

My postman does that and I have a bit of sympathy with his position. Most houses are empty during the day so I can see why he doesn't want to be lugging a bunch of boxes on his round only to drop them back again when he's finished.

It's his job. He's not being more efficient, he's failing to provide the level of service his customers are paying for.

You are right though in that it's a front-line response to a failure by the business to adapt to a different market. This kind of thing is typical in enviroments where management are slow to change and rarely listen to feedback from the workers on the ground. The workers can feel like they have no other choice.
Parcel delivery should be a separate group who drive around in vans full of parcels, so it makes no odds to them whether or not someone is at the address.

Farmer Pudsey

seamus wrote: »

It's his job. He's not being more efficient, he's failing to provide the level of service his customers are paying for.

You are right though in that it's a front-line response to a failure by the business to adapt to a different market. This kind of thing is typical in enviroments where management are slow to change and rarely listen to feedback from the workers on the ground. The workers can feel like they have no other choice.
Parcel delivery should be a separate group who drive around in vans full of parcels, so it makes no odds to them whether or not someone is at the address.

And ring 15-20 minutes before they arrive so that if the person is away( droping kids to school) the can come back, arrange for it to be droped at a neighbours or at a local PO to collect that evening or the following day when they are passing or near by

creedp

Farmer Pudsey wrote: »

And ring 15-20 minutes before they arrive so that if the person is away( droping kids to school) the can come back, arrange for it to be droped at a neighbours or at a local PO to collect that evening or the following day when they are passing or near by

That's not a problem unique to an Post though. Recently, as in 2013, I've had 2 deliveries returned to the supplier's depot by a private courier service because apparently 'they couldn't find the house' - a rural address with no house number! The fact that they were specifically asked to call 1/2 hour in advance so I would have someone on site to collect it on my behalf was ignored. Needless the say I or the company I was purchasing from was happy with the service provided. In one of the cases, the company used An Post to redeliver the package and it was delivered to my father-in-law's house next door without the need for a phone-call or signature.

RATM

John_C wrote: »

My postman does that and I have a bit of sympathy with his position. Most houses are empty during the day so I can see why he doesn't want to be lugging a bunch of boxes on his round only to drop them back again when he's finished.
The management in An Post need to sort out the parcel delivery systems. The postman who leaves the packages behind is really just responding to mistakes higher up the food chain.

As Seamus said above it is his job to get the parcel there. Not bringing it out in the first place is unacceptable. Courier companies have the same hassle with getting people in yet they manage to deal with it by placing phonecalls or texts a few hours before arrival- why can't the An Post use the same initiative that the courier companies do ? Why can't they have an SMS service or app that lets you know a parcel has arrived and then you select a time when you'll be home ? It's not rocket science at the end of the day, the technology is there and it is cheap yet the dinosaur that is An Post refuses to embrace it which means they will hemorrhage even more customers who get inconvenienced by them.

Just two weeks I had to go all the way down to the sorting office to pick up a small packet that contained a small jar of cream. After a 25 minute round trip I got to my door and I posted the thing through my letterbox to see if it would fit- it did with no problems whatsoever. The thing hardly weighed anything at all yet because of a combination of the postmans laziness and the ineptitude of management to police laziness I myself then suffer the consequences by having nearly half an hour taken out of my day so I could effectively do the job I paid them to do.. I've had several similar incidents with them as I buy a lot online but at this stage I now just route everything to Parcel Motel which allows you to ship to a Belfast address to avail of free shipping from a lot of UK retailers and then they re-route it to a locker which is only a 3 minute walk away from my door. For the service they charge only €3 per parcel and it means that for most items I no longer have to deal with An Post not doing their job right.

jimmycrackcorm

An post could make a killing doing a similar system to parcelmotel for undelivered parcels. But I doubt they could achieve it due to union interference.