Royal Mail Recorded Signed For™ service

[Rogerer]

Hi everyone.

I need your help with Royal Mail..
I am not sure about the Royal Mail Recorded Signed For™ service.

Does it have any benefit to the customer to whom the item is sent?

Is this more useful for seller, who can see whether the customer received the item or not.

In Recorded Signed For™ service case the seller gets the tracking number, but does he get a tracking number which he could send to the customer, so that he could also track the path of his item?

I would be grateful for your answer...

 

[arfurd]

It covers you for sending it, not that all delivery personel ask for a signature....squiggle, squiggle.

No real benefit to the recipient that I can see, just an added expense on P&P.

The tracking number can be tracked by those that have it.

 

[freshpurple]

Well, you can easily send the tracking number to the customer with their order confirmation so they can track it too. We find it cuts down on the number of "Where's my order?" phone calls/e-mails that we get, as well as making the ones we do much easier to deal with.

 

[virginoffice]

the only benefit to the customer is that you can send them the tracking number and they can then tarck their own parcel. Half the time though the customer will only squiggle and royal mail don't ask for their name so you can't say who signed for it.

 

[samz]

I find that although it goes the normal route as any other first class item, it helps in appeasing the 'where is my item' customers. Once you give them a tracking number, they can track their item,. though it will ONLY show whether it has been signed for or returned to the depot. I do get a few that get the red while you were out card and claim that they haven't had it, so the tracking number always sorts this type of query out.

We opt for it basically because it basically gives that little bit more of peace of mind for the customer and is less 'messy' so to say for us.

 

[Rogerer]

Well, you can easily send the tracking number to the customer with their order confirmation so they can track it too. We find it cuts down on the number of "Where's my order?" phone calls/e-mails that we get, as well as making the ones we do much easier to deal with.

well, the thing is that, Royal Mail says "Recorded Signed For™ items are only tracked after the item has been delivered. Depending on whether the item was sent first or second class, this may be a few days after posting.".

As far as i understand, this message says that, when customer will get the item, he will sign for it and then the information will be seen online for me and I'll be sure that it reach the destination.

However, neither me, nor the customer could see the path of this item. I will only be informed that the item is ok and signed for, meanwhile the customer will know that he did received the item (because the signed for it and already has it) and he'll need no online information about this..

 

[Adam Cox]

Felt obliged to answer as I've been through hell and back experimenting with RM. I send mid-level volumes of low value products via 1st class in envelopes. When they go normal 1st (not recorded) they go just as fast and the customer doesn't have to be in to receive them but... I honestly lose about 10% per week to loss/theft!

So I started with recorded delivery which immediately cut out the loss/theft but the customer has to be there to sign, if not they leave a collection card & often the customer can't be bothered as it's such an annoyance for a low value item.

It's nice to have a solid answer and someone to blame when it gets nicked but it's much more convenient for you and the customer to simply pop them in the post. Of course the solution would be to have a functional, reliable postal service mmmhahahhaha.

 

[kulture]

Its simple maths. On the one side there is an extra £0.75 per parcel, plus an unknown few who will not re-order because of the trouble of having to be in/colect from the delivery office. On the other side its the cost of "lost"/"never been delivered" items, that inevitably seem to happen far more when there is no proof of delivery.

You could perhaps factor in any claim from the royal mail for lost items. But the amount of time they take to do, and the fact that they will at best only pay cost, limits this value.

 

[Adam Cox]

Well said. Now I simply send the important/expensive ones recorded and the rest standard. Then I have a set response to cover lost orders (I always replace) and don't bother seeking compensation. Last time they just sent me more stamps! Thanks now I can send you more stuff to steal from me.