3rd Class Post
HBM
At last, we have something that looks like an explanation for our local postal service falling apart. One of my many tireless and diligent spies has been out and about quizzing the foot-soldiers of the Postal Empire, and has managed to winkle out some worthwhile information. As many people had been suspecting for a while, we have fallen foul of progress, in particular the Post Office's evidently bonkers notion of "four wheels good, two wheels bad".
I read with interest the letter in last weeks Gazette "What is happening to our Post deliveries", as I and a considerable number of others in Herne Bay have been having similar problems since mid-November (before the snow & ice). I have on a number of occasions been to the Sorting Office to enquire if there was a problem as my and my neighbours deliveries had dropped from daily to what appears to be every 4 days, when we receive a larger than normal delivery.
Each time the answer has been that there was no problem and the mail was being sent out as normal. However, one postman I asked did give me a sensible answer. Namely, that the problems have arisen since the Royal Mail stopped using Bicycles and moved to the current “Trolley” system. It appears that there are not sufficient vehicles to ferry the postman, their trolleys and the mail to all the required locations and as such a sort of rota system is in operation.
The response from the post-person seems logical and does explain the lack of deliveries. If this is the case, why will not the local sorting office tell us what is happening and what they are doing to correct the matter. Or is this yet another way of justifying the potential move to Canterbury. And on a matter of principle, if they cannot deliver to the Service Levels, why do they continue to accept first & second class mail only to deliver a third world service?
Regards
A.W. – Herne Bay
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