Isn’t one of the root causes uncertainty of demand vs capacity?
In the traditional model of public ownership the capacity of the service was expended to ensure capacity was not likely to be a constraint.
This was also in the days before electronic communication, when phones were not universal or necessarily always to hand, and the post was the core of all communication/transactions. Even if paying in person the bill came in the mail. For those living well away from normal services there was mail order, long before the internet was created or Amazon came to reign.
Has our world changed with the digital revolution offering instant access?
Gratification, at least in some forms still needs a physical delivery. Fulfilment has a new meaning. AP despite public ownership is no longer permitted the luxury of carrying excess capacity. Whether that is a good or unsatisfactory outcome, it’s not the only fulfilment agent in the market place. It’s a very different world compared to the days of licensed carriers and government intervention. One supposed benefit being assurance no corner of the nation was too remote to service, and the cost shared across the whole community through a degree of subsidy from those tax paying.
Yes it is correct. Isn’t the case the post service uses contractors commonly to deliver and some are good but others are not. Maybe its to congested as you say wilh online purchasing. Im not sure if couriers are the same in the sense being over ridden. And getting back to normal mail delivery I thought i remember hearing the day’s during the week would be reduced due to less letters etc. I can’t say i heard that it had come in only heard a while ago could streamline days delivery
We don’t get much through Australia Post, but I notice anything out of Victoria goes round & round Vic before finally leaving for interstate. Once it is in transit to Brisbane, it is usually delivered within one to two days.
Our Road Side Mail delivery driver now has to wait until the overnight parcel van arrives, which means he is now about 2 hours later, but we get parcels same day, not next. That service is excellent.
I am just watching a parcel that was estimated to arrive two days ago to today, still going round Vic and the Tracking still says it is “on time”. It has been through several facilities in Vic, then “in transit to Brisbane” but ended up in two other Vic facilities, then finally has arrived back in Sunshine Vic where it started. What’s wrong with AP in Vic? Surely the barcoding and automation should get it right?
I had a 2 case wine shipment from SA (I am in Melbourne metro) where one was delivered and the other started going round and round for another 2 days so I chased it up. AP broke a bottle in case 2, made no attempt to communicate it to me, but the box was actually enroute back to the winery in SA through the original to and fro path.
Sometimes it is that, and sometimes it is so simple as a barcode label that got dirty or damaged and nobody takes action to fix it so machines repeatedly reject it to nobody’s benefit.
I sent a large letter express from Brisbane to Melbourne. I posted at PO 13thJuly and it was finally delivered 27thJuly few phone call to Aust Post. Only trouble was the letter was finally delivered minus the contents. It took 2 weeks to deliver express and then they delivered an empty envelope.
I recently ordered something online which I was told would be coming in separate orders still havnt received 2nd. I contacted the sender they told me to contact Australia post which i have done hasn’t been solved. Im unsure my next step. I guess ill be contacting the sender again then after that no idea.
Hi @passerbye123, was it a tracked parcel? It is was, then there should be evidence that it was sent. If it was, and there is no evidence, then I would be approaching the seller to ask when they plan to send it.
Australia Post provide cover up to $100 if there is evidence it was sent and no additional insurance was taken out.
I have no idea it went to the locker i didn’t realise it only had 1 I closed it and it doesn’t allow me to reopen it. Pretty stupid system using one code once. Im giving either party another chance and I’ll be seeking a, refund but have to wait.
We certainly have an ever failing postal service. I am thoroughly disappointed as I had a parcel go missing (Never found) and following more than 3 weeks of communications with Australia Post who continually told me there was delays and suggesting new delivery dates, it was then stated that they never received the goods. In the end I received a refund from the supplier of the goods as Australia Post stated they never received the goods to post - Most Bizaar given that Australia Post told me the product was in their Botany Facility and sent me Delivery Notifications. There is many issues that need resolving in relation to the Tracking system that sends a Delivery notification when they haven’t received the goods! (If that is the truth, or is Australia Post’s way of getting our of trouble and passing the issue back to the supplier). Customer Service is terrible. Fancy suggesting there are delays on a product that they have not received. Most bazaar Australia Post. What a terrible system you have in place.
and sometimes the tracking is ridiculous as your parcel goes all over the place - to the south of the city, to the north of the city, back to the south again and days later your product arrives. That is NOT a good system.
I had a case recently where a parcel was tracked to my address through customs and a number of other alleged tracking scans - then the trail went cold. When I raised a case to find the missing item, AP stated that the tracking number I provided in the enquiry was not a valid AP tracking number - the same number that appeared online in MyPost as having been scanned - ie the number their systems were reporting to me.
Where does one go from there?
Yes, parcel forever lost I guess. Interesting the details disappear from MyPost along with the case/enquiry details … nothing to see here …
The latest review by Federal Government of AUSPOST is going to look further into cutting daily mail delivery. In the regulations the current regulations it is required to be a daily delivery and at least 2 days each week to 99.7% of all mail points and 98% daily for all delivery points. So no less than 2 days to 99.7% in a week, though there could be more days in the week where the 99.7% may be met.
"AUSTRALIAN POSTAL CORPORATION (PERFORMANCE STANDARDS) REGULATIONS 2019 (F2019L00123) - REG 7
Frequency of delivery
(1) Australia Post must service:
(a) daily (except on a Saturday, a Sunday or a public holiday in the place where the delivery point is located)–98% of all delivery >points; and
(b) at least 2 days each week–99.7% of all delivery points.
(2) For the purposes of this section, a delivery point is a mail address that, taking account of accessibility, delivery cost and general volume of mail for the address, it is practicable and reasonable to service frequently.
Note: The following are examples of delivery points:
(a) street and roadside letter delivery boxes;
(b) post office private boxes and locked bags;
(c) private and community bags.
(3) For the purposes of this section, to service a delivery point means to be available to visit the delivery point and, if there is a postal >article addressed to the delivery point, deliver the article."
Most (95%) of our physical mail is delivered to a PO Box. It’s a far more direct point of delivery. The majority comes from business mailings which are typically franked postage. One could look to the relative savings to AP of this type of delivery?
If the alternative is to go digital, email in its current design is neither secure nor assured delivery. Should consumers insist that the question of removing or further reducing the universal postal service be deferred? At least until such time as there are better solutions in place for the digital alternatives.
We’ve businesses who are now all online for all communication, however they have different approaches or solutions for delivery. Some are more resilient day to day than others. Security of content may not be assured.
An analogy even though letters are in steep decline.
Military armaments are [fortunately] not used often in Australia but are deemed strategic necessities. I suggest that is an analogy worth accepting.
Most people have learned how to open an envelope and read. Little training is required. A subset of people are digitally astute including with having the ability to spot and reject well done scams as well as have a robust reliable internet/mobile service.
Marginalising the ‘outliers’ is for what end? More profits? Not every service will pay its own way yet it may be important, and other parts of the business should be able to subsidise - excepting in the mind of the hard core capitalists where everything has its cost while nothing has value unless it delivers a profit for every aspect of the business. Just because? Those living in remote locations can suck it up even if they might miss that 1 very important posted communication they receive annually or less often? No more plastic credit/debit cards since they come by that money losing postal service, or will they be posted as parcels? Or notified for pickup in the local branch (sometimes ~1000km one way).
