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Many people in Gloucester have experienced issues receiving postal deliveries for months, with long delays and missed parcels plaguing some parts of the city. Earlier this week Gloucestershire County Councillor Andrew Gravels called for a meeting with Royal Mail bosses over the recent “diabolical” postal service.
With the chief executive at the Royal Mail’s parent company earning £700,000 to oversee the postal firm, many readers were keen to share just how bad their service in the city had become. Some described missing mailed prescriptions, others faced weeks to receive First Class post.
Royal Mail has apologised to residents who have experienced delays in Gloucester, a spokesperson said improving the quality of the service is their top priority and are committed to restoring service levels to where their customers expect them to be. However, for many in Gloucester, the quality of their postal service puts “profits before people.”
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One of our readers said: “The situation with the mail is appalling. Letters and cards with first class stamps are taking a week to be delivered.
“The whole system, its bosses, sorting office staff, and postmen and woman need a good shake-up. Another failing institution.”
Another said: “Have never known the postal service to be so bad. Missed appointments as deliveries are days if not weeks late. It’s a disgrace.”
While one person in Gloucester had struggled to get their health medication, saying: “I have had awful trouble with medication being delivered. They kept posting that they were unable to deliver it?
“[I] got it eventually but it took a good few days over the delivery time. For £700,000 a year he had better do a good job and listen to complaints because they don’t usually.”
One of the alleged issues with Royal Mail deliveries is holiday cover, with no one to pick up shift when someone is sick or on leave. A reader had also experienced this, saying: “We have a fantastic post lady, near enough delivering the same time every day – but can always tell when she is on leave as we are lucky to get one delivery a week.”
The issues with Gloucester’s Royal Mail service for some stemmed back to changes made following the privatisation of the formerly national postal service under the David Cameron government. One resident said: “Post in Gloucester has been terrible since sorting office at Eastern Avenue stop servicing Abbeydale, Abbeymead etc.
“Is it not the same old story, privatise a utility and it goes downhill fast as customers are not the priority, the shareholders are.”
While one person said, glibly: “If the new CEO of Royal Mail took up the invitation of every councillor in every county that is suffering delivery problems he will be a busy boy.”
