Well done the Post Office, not!

We’ve had a load of cards this past week, many posted early December.

My present and card to my grandaughter in NZ hasn’t arrived and I sent it end of November N Z is notoriously slow with their post and I guess that and the strikes here she might get it fir her birthday

I recently had family over from Australia. On the day they flew home I gave them the whole year's birthday cards for the children. Last year in spite of posting birthday cards in plenty of time, every card arrived about three weeks after the event. Prompt (hand) delivery is guaranteed this year!

The Post Office is not the same as the Royal Mail.

I posted cards for my sons family in Gibraltar 2nd week in December they still haven’t arrived.

With the postal worker strike in the UK, it’s unfair and incorrect to say NZ Post is ‘notoriously’ slow. NZ Post can only forward on international mail received by them. I have never been aware that the postal service here is in any way slow.

Apologies Grammaretto. So cross, but I hope you all know what I mean, while I sit here gently fuming.

Yes, my sister has said she has received no cards from Wales, and we received an anniversary card from DS today. Posted in North London, first class, 15 days ago.
Also our post man was complaining that there was no overtime pay for clearing the backlog. Words fail me.

I sent a card and gift to my friend’s daughter on 23rd December along with a text apologising that it would be late.
It arrived on December 28th, 2 days early!
It only had to travel 12 miles though.

Our post is also very erratic. We paid for a redirection service and haven’t had any redirected mail since November. It makes me very cross.

It has been an exceptional year.
I was quite relaxed about it. My NZ cousin writes her cards in the Christmas holidays when she has time.
I always enjoy them when they arrive.
Another thing that used to annoy me was the man who sold me stamps at the PO. If I was running late for the Christmas last postings he would delight in telling me I'd missed the post! how was he to even know they were Christmas cards!
The worst of the Scottish pedantry.

My son, who has lived in Christchurch New Zealand for eighteen years feels that NZ postal service is not good. Cards have failed to arrive in the past or are late. He posted cards home to England five weeks ago. Still not arrived. Obviously, I'm not sure if that fault is their end or ours. I've also noticed that Christmas cards arriving late haven't been franked.

BlueBelle

My present and card to my grandaughter in NZ hasn’t arrived and I sent it end of November N Z is notoriously slow with their post and I guess that and the strikes here she might get it fir her birthday

Chin up, ours arrived in Australia yesterday 🙂
Just in time to take them all down again.

We are still getting Christmas cards, mainly from West and South-West England, posted in early December.

I don’t think I’ll send cards again. Why pay those exorbitant prices when they’re not delivered on time? Instead, I will deliver by hand (where possible) or send personal messages via text/Whatsapp/email cards. After all, this would be more environmentally friendly.

Aldom

I recently had family over from Australia. On the day they flew home I gave them the whole year's birthday cards for the children. Last year in spite of posting birthday cards in plenty of time, every card arrived about three weeks after the event. Prompt (hand) delivery is guaranteed this year!

Oh, I should have done that.
Mind you, some of them would need posting in Australia and the post there tends to make a zigzag over weeks to and from most cities in Australia!

We received a postcard from our DGSs today. It was posted from Tenerife at the end of October.

Australian postage is dire. We are lucky to get 2 deliveries a week where we live and this is suburban, not bush. I often say it would be quicker by pony. More and more private companies are delivering parcels and I hate to say it ,but they are better. That plus British strikes mean we might have to wait until Easter for our Christmas cards.

Australian postage is dire
Yes, it is and that's without any strikes.

I think there has been increased automation at the expense of jobs. Perhaps they ought to reinstate the workforce and sack the managers if they want to save money.

and this is suburban, not bush.
Out bush it has to be collected from a Post Office but sometimes gets there before post, sent at the same time, arrives in an East Coast city with a large new Postal Hub.

Sometimes they send local mail all over the place before they actually deliver it. A friend said her parcel went to all the way to Sydney where they opened it and repacked it. Next time she will deliver it herself because it was only a couple of suburbs away! Anything coming from China is thoroughly searched and repacked and delayed a couple of weeks so if I get anything from ‘Wish’I have forgotten what I ordered by the time it arrives. I know they say there is a drug smuggling problem but surely they have X ray machines?