I see that consumers are complaining that the Royal Mail is delivering a second-class service. Really, I wasn’t aware they were providing any service, much less a second one. In what appears to have been a response to 15 years of fast, efficient, early deliveries, the local management moved my postman to another area, presumably so he could exercise new skills - failing to provide even the basic service.
When various bodies started chipping away at the Royal Mail’s empire I was appalled. Even though it was like eating a portion of whale (with chips) every Friday until it’s gone, I still felt this was an attack on a British institution. Now I think it should have been harpooned at the start and offered to the diners en masse.
Every since then the service has deteriorated. There has been a succession of individuals. Most seem to be permanently plugged into ipods, oblivious to the world around them, or talking endlessly on mobiles. One assumes they are getting direct instructions from a Royal Mail dispatcher who monitors their walking speed, bag weight and reading ability. I now give my mail to a private, barefoot runner with a forked stick - avoiding glossy postcards as they tend to keep falling out and slowing him down.
