I Will Never Rely on The Post Office Again.

On Thursday I was working at a client's office on Holloway Road.  I took the opportunity to run round to the Post Office and mail out my Christmas cards.  I wanted some of those limited edition Christmas stamps they get children to draw for free under the guise of an exciting competition - Primark should take a leaf out of the Royal Mail's book and instead of getting in trouble for running sweat shops full of child slave labour, they should run 'competitions' to see who can make the trendiest T-shirt.  It's all about the marketing.  Anyway, I digress...

In order to get these stamps, I had to join the back of a very long queue.  A very long, smelly queue (We're not in Richmond anymore, Toto).  I try to enjoy the time away from my desk, I am in the middle of finalising some support materials for a client who has a pitch tomorrow and this is the breathing space I need before I go back and sign it off.  It takes about 20 minutes to reach a counter, in which time, I study the many posters and leaflets advertising the vast array of services the Post Office has to offer (piss-up in a brewery is strangely absent).  It is during this time I realise I can use the Post Office's Special Delivery service to courier the pitch materials down to my client in Bristol.  Brilliant, this puts my mind at rest.  I buy my slave-labour stamps and have a quick chat with the man behind the counter about the various courier options.  There is a Next-Day 9am Delivery option.  Perfect.  He also told me, to be on the safe side, to bring the package in before 5pm so it would definitely meet the pick-up.

I went back to the office and prepared the visuals for my client, I printed them all out on premium stock and rolled them up into a tough cardboard tube and sealed it with pride.  I was feeling particularly confident that I had done a good job for my client.   I ran back down to the Post Office with a spring in my step.  It was closed.  At 4.55pm. WTF???

The place was in darkness, they hadn't just shut up early, it looked like they'd been gone for some time.  This wasn't supposed to happen.  To check I wasn't going mad, I looked in the window for the opening times and sure enough, it said Monday-Friday 9.30am - 5.30pm.  I then looked on both doors for a sign or explanation - had there been a power cut, a robbery?  These things do happen.  There was nothing.  I checked my watch just in case the fault was mine - it wasn't, the branch had closed inexplicably early and there seemed to be no reason.  Damn.  I now have a situation, I need to find another Post Office and FAST.

I wasn't familiar with the area so had to go back to the office to search online for the next nearest branch.  It was now already too late to get there before it would shut.  Double Damn.  I was speechless.  Why had the Post Office shut early without warning?  This now caused me a massive problem.  How was my package going to get to Bristol before morning?  I'd left it too late to book a courier and a taxi or bike was now going to cost a small fortune.

I investigated on Twitter and it showed a couple of other people had been caught out by this particular branch's early closure.  I followed one of their complaints and it transpired the Holloway Road branch  had closed early due to industrial action.  I will not pass comment on this but I will pass comment on the way it was handled.  Industrial action is planned.  There was no notification of this branch being closed, there was nothing on the door or window when I turned up at 4.55pm, there was nothing on the walls or counters when I was in there in the morning and the counter staff who informed me of bringing in my parcel before 5pm didn't say anything about an early closure.  The whole thing was really badly managed and had massive implications for my business.

In the end, at such short notice, the only way I could make sure the package arrived in Bristol at an affordable price was to drive it myself and that's exactly what I did.  I will never rely on the Post Office to take care of an important document again.

One positive to come from this is discovering the array of alternative couriers who can match the Post Office for packages and deliveries.  Check out Hermes, Despatch Bay, MyParcelDelivery who all offer competitive pricing and delivery times to any of the Post Office services on offer.  There are also many plusses; they come and pick up from you (no more smelly queues) and every parcel can be tracked online.  They're not just an alternative to the Post Office, they're better.  Please don't fall into the trap of thinking that the Post Office is your only option.  It's not.