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Eircode puzzle

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Comments

  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,806 ✭✭✭ Jayleen Sticky Meadow


    Got this in the post today, odd if indeed An Post are not using Eircode in some way. Or maybe Eircode paid for this through the Postmark Advertising scheme?


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,373 ✭✭✭selous


    I was chatting to my Postman about it, (always good the get the inside info), he says there's 1 guy who does it, on 1 computer, in between all his other daily work, and could have between 40-60 a day to check up and might only get time to check 20, then someone else takes over, but there's no "dedicated" person to look them up, also said 10% of eircodes are wrong, Now that's mad,


  • Registered Users Posts: 5,976 ✭✭✭CollyFlower


    I got a delivery today from China, my name and house number was blurred out, the street name was there and the Eircode was very clear., don't think I would have got it if the code wasn't there.


  • Registered Users Posts: 16,421 ✭✭✭✭astrofool


    An Post is very heavily unionised with very set job practices, getting any changes (even though it should benefit their workload in the long term) in how they deliver will take years and years. Everyone else will use Eircode, then An Post will adopt it at the slowest pace imaginable (despite marketing to the contrary).


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,747 ✭✭✭mdebets


    astrofool wrote: »
    An Post is very heavily unionised with very set job practices, getting any changes (even though it should benefit their workload in the long term) in how they deliver will take years and years. Everyone else will use Eircode, then An Post will adopt it at the slowest pace imaginable (despite marketing to the contrary).
    The Eircode in its current form doesn't help An Post. The mailman can't check every letter for the Eircode, if he would, he would still be delivering mail from the last century. He needs a sequential code, which tells him in which order the houses are on the road. Eircode doesn't deliver this. What benefit do you think An Post or its customers would get from using Eircode?


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 6,168 ✭✭✭Ursus Horribilis


    A postman doesn't need to check every address for an eircode


  • Registered Users Posts: 989 ✭✭✭MrDerp


    mdebets wrote: »
    The Eircode in its current form doesn't help An Post. The mailman can't check every letter for the Eircode, if he would, he would still be delivering mail from the last century. He needs a sequential code, which tells him in which order the houses are on the road. Eircode doesn't deliver this. What benefit do you think An Post or its customers would get from using Eircode?

    Every parcel I get delivered by an post is signed for on a handheld. My iPhone can read my credit card number and fill it into a field in seconds.

    Handheld device + optical character recognition = automated look up of address.

    If you think a postman can’t be enabled on a mobile to use eircode then you’ve never seen 1990s back office technology, or never seen a Cheque or lodgement slip whizzed through a scanner by a bank teller back when we walked into a bank to do this.

    If you have a problem with the system and it’s lack of area based codes fair enough. If you have an issue with the procurement process fair enough, this has been addressed at EU level.

    But spare us the Postman can’t use it routine. It’s designed for licensed automated logistics and free lookup for occasional users. It costs money to maintain and only enterprise users are paying.


  • Registered Users Posts: 9,370 ✭✭✭TheChizler


    mdebets wrote: »
    The Eircode in its current form doesn't help An Post. The mailman can't check every letter for the Eircode, if he would, he would still be delivering mail from the last century. He needs a sequential code, which tells him in which order the houses are on the road. Eircode doesn't deliver this. What benefit do you think An Post or its customers would get from using Eircode?
    An Post is much more than the postman on the street. Your postman/woman has local knowledge and even in rural areas with duplicate addresses will get the right house based on knowing the names of the occupants. But first post has to be sorted with machines with no local knowledge at a national level, this is where postcodes are useful to an post. They could automatically sort post in order into the mail bag using it if they wanted to.

    Another point as to why they don't use sequential codes. If people make a transcribing error in the post code, say swap a 6 with a 7, or swap two digits which is very common, in a sequential system two these could resolve to two houses in the same neighbourhood. In Ireland up to a third of properties have duplicate addresses, so you would often have a situation where you can't tell if there's an error in a postcode by comparing to the address. With Eircode they made sure that similar addresses had vastly different codes, so it would always be possible to detect an error. The way they designed it makes it easy to figure out the correct code once the error is discovered.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 6,168 ✭✭✭Ursus Horribilis


    In urban areas, many addresses have house numbers so arguably eircode is less needed there. In the countryside, it really comes into its own. Most rural postmen know /get to know who lives in most of the houses so after a while eircode isn't needed so much. It's a great way for differentiating between duplicate addresses and taking the guesswork out of it. I don't know much often postmen need to use eircode but they probably know after a while that this J Smith has this eircode, whereas the other one next door has a different one. I have no issue with the 2nd part of it not being sequential. As houses get built/knocked, it'll invariably get thrown out of sequence anyway.


  • Registered Users Posts: 16,421 ✭✭✭✭astrofool


    mdebets wrote: »
    The Eircode in its current form doesn't help An Post. The mailman can't check every letter for the Eircode, if he would, he would still be delivering mail from the last century. He needs a sequential code, which tells him in which order the houses are on the road. Eircode doesn't deliver this. What benefit do you think An Post or its customers would get from using Eircode?

    It helps for everything but the last mile, where even a sequential system won't help the postie unless they memorise the starting number of each estate and then count down (understanding the estate numbering layout which can also be absolutely crazy with missing numbers, odds vs. evens, new parts of the estate being misnumbered).

    Once the union practices move forward, the postie will just have a scanner or phone to verify all these addresses, which again makes sequential vs. random irrelevant and ignores the fact that the random addresses provide a built in error correction system.


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  • Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 32,278 Mod ✭✭✭✭The_Conductor


    I got an automatically generated bank PIN belonging to my neighbour 3 doors down, with her Eircode clearly on it around 10 days ago- and yesterday her credit card landed in with my post- once again as one of the few items to have a full Eircode on it. Eircode is crap, its implementation is crap- and for a local postie with poor English- delivering post in a Dublin suburb- its completely and utterly useless. My Lebanese neighbour- has her new credit card- as my wife dropped it into her- and is doubtless doing some damage on it today- however, I could just as easily be abusing it- were I that way inclined.

    I don't know who had money to burn with Eircode- but they certainly burnt it.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 6,168 ✭✭✭Ursus Horribilis


    Is the rest of this neighbour's address not on the letter?


  • Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 32,278 Mod ✭✭✭✭The_Conductor


    Is the rest of this neighbour's address not on the letter?

    Yes it is- along with her name- and shes been living 3 doors down for at least 4-5 years, without any of her post ever having been misdelivered to me- and yet, here I have two items of hers, in the space of less than 2 weeks. Note- the commonality is- I also received items from Bank of Ireland on the same days myself........... The postman is not familiar with the route- and has only recently started working in Lucan.


  • Registered Users Posts: 9,370 ✭✭✭TheChizler


    Yes it is- along with her name- and shes been living 3 doors down for at least 4-5 years, without any of her post ever having been misdelivered to me- and yet, here I have two items of hers, in the space of less than 2 weeks. Note- the commonality is- I also received items from Bank of Ireland on the same days myself........... The postman is not familiar with the route- and has only recently started working in Lucan.
    No postcode system will help someone who doesn't even read what's written on the envelope.


  • Registered Users Posts: 9,606 ✭✭✭gctest50


    ..........

    Eircode is crap........

    No it's not
    ........


    .. The postman is not familiar with the route- and has only recently started working in Lucan.


  • Registered Users Posts: 306 ✭✭Zane97


    I use it daily with Google maps in my line of work.

    Only think I find annoying is you can input an Eircode to Google maps and it finds you the house, but if you need to find an Eircode when your at a house you cannot pull it off Google maps. You need to open the Eircode website and use your location in the browser to get the code.

    It it just me or am doing something wrong in Google maps.


  • Registered Users Posts: 220 ✭✭mrpdap


    I was due a delivery on Wednesday via on post, according to An Post tracker it was sitting in Portlaoise for two days.
    It finally arrived in my local sorting office today and was out for delivery.
    Waited, waited, waited. Checked online and it was back in the sorting office, ‘no one at that address’.
    Call An Post, long story short; they don’t use eircode.
    Unbelievably


  • Registered Users Posts: 258 ✭✭Wanderer19


    My address isn't listed in the Eircode Finder, when I contacted them the response was 'find your house on the map and use the Eircode allocated.'
    Despite numerous requests for them to change their system and input my correct address they refuse to do so. I have problems getting insurance and other services because they can't match my address to an Eircode.

    Millions of euros was wasted on this system for some ignorant staff to refuse to fix their errors.


  • Registered Users Posts: 377 ✭✭Saudades


    mrpdap wrote: »
    I was due a delivery on Wednesday via on post, according to An Post tracker it was sitting in Portlaoise for two days.
    It finally arrived in my local sorting office today and was out for delivery.
    Waited, waited, waited. Checked online and it was back in the sorting office, ‘no one at that address’.
    Call An Post, long story short; they don’t use eircode.
    Unbelievably

    That doesn't sound like an eircode problem, just sounds like the delivery driver didn't have time to get to your address.

    Or are you saying that your delivery only had the eircode on it, and no actual address?

    Happens to me occasionally - the an post tracker will state 'delivery within 1-2 working days'; on day 1 it will say 'out for delivery', then update later the same day to 'no answer at address', and then it will be delivered on day 2.


  • Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 32,278 Mod ✭✭✭✭The_Conductor


    Moved to Consumer: Online Buying and Auctions: Couriers

    Please read and abide by the forum rules governing posting here.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 9,370 ✭✭✭TheChizler


    mrpdap wrote: »
    I Call An Post, long story short; they don’t use eircode.
    Unbelievably
    They use it at the sorting stage where they have automated address scanners and computers and things but the local postman just uses the address.


  • Registered Users Posts: 36,161 ✭✭✭✭ED E


    Robbie G wrote: »
    I use it daily with Google maps in my line of work.

    Only think I find annoying is you can input an Eircode to Google maps and it finds you the house, but if you need to find an Eircode when your at a house you cannot pull it off Google maps. You need to open the Eircode website and use your location in the browser to get the code.

    It it just me or am doing something wrong in Google maps.

    By design, you're meant to pay them a huge fee per anum. Eircode rather than being a public service was made to be a revenue generating quango.


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