Special Delivery Saturday doesn't work?

[strikingedge]

9 times out of 10, when we ship by Special Delivery on Friday for delivery on Saturday, it doesn't work.

It pitches up on Monday.

This is despite us selecting the right service and using the visual aids - the "S" stickers and plastering them on the box.

Anyone else have the same problem....or a solution?

 

[heybulldog]

Hi there

I would recommend you switching to the tracked 24 or 48 service. These are the new postage methods for business and are much cheaper.

We pay £4 for tracked 24 and it's guaranteed delivery next day in UK. £3 for tracked 48 which is guaranteed delivery within 48 hours (2 days). Most importantly and where it resolves your issue is Tracked 24 GUARANTEES delivery for Saturday if sent on Friday.


Regards
Adam

 

[yasar365]

Who is that with and what format, letter or parcel?
how many are u sending.

 

[heybulldog]

It's Royal Mail. Simply google Royal Mail Tracked for more information.

We send about 300 per week but you will get a rate BETTER than SPECIAL no matter how many you are sending (exagerrate the amount a little when you negotiate with them) if they have evidence of how many you are sending per week say you are planning expansion to negotiate the best rate.

 

[heybulldog]

Also the stickers you add for Saturday Guaranteed are SG stickers, not S this is why your parcels may not be arriving on the Saturday.

 

[yasar365]

What size/weight are you sending.

Cheers,

 

[heybulldog]

Average weight 1kg. There is no limited on this service.

 

[strikingedge]

We were using the yellow SG stickers - I just forgot about the G bit when writing the original post.

I hadn't realised 24 Tracked was a guaranteed Saturday delivery - I'll chat to our account manager to confirm. Thanks for that

My frustration is that despite picking and paying for SD1 (Special Delivery) with Saturday delivery and putting the correct stickers on, RM just assumes it is for Monday.

We usually advise customers that if they want delivery on Saturday, they're better off with 1st Class / 24.

 

[alang23]

We sent some important documents Guaranteed Delivery before Christmas.......still waiting for delivery. Royal Mail haven't a clue where it is !! They will not do anything until the 10th Jan 14.

 

[deadgoodundies]

We pay £4 for tracked 24 and it's guaranteed delivery next day in UK. £3 for tracked 48 which is guaranteed delivery within 48 hours (2 days). Most importantly and where it resolves your issue is Tracked 24 GUARANTEES delivery for Saturday if sent on Friday.

Please note that Royal Mail 24 tracked and Royal Mail 48 tracked are NOT time guaranteed services.
The only time guaranteed service from Royal Mail is Special delivery.

With 24 & 48 tracked Royal Mail "aim" to deliver 24 the next day and 48 within 2-3 days.

The only difference between 24 & 48 Tracked and normal 24 & 48 is that the package is trackable and if it gets lost you can claim compensation.

To check this out go to the Royal Mail tracked page and open up the overview section
http://www.royalmail.com/parcel-despatch-medium/uk-delivery/royal-mail-tracked-24-and-48

 

[strikingedge]

OK - so back to square one ;-)

Royal Mail offers Special Delivery Saturday, but doesn't seem to have told its employees, who ignore the SG stickers and deliver on Monday.

City Link it is then!

 

[deadgoodundies]

If they are delivering on Monday when you have paid for a Saturday delivery make sure you put a claim in to get your money back, it's quite a big price hike for Saturday delivery compared to normal special delivery.

 

[strikingedge]

Last time it was a 2 Kg box with an order for a store event.

Arrived on Monday, missing the event, so had to refund the order and pay for pickup of the box.

Yes, we should have claimed (we didn't), but the main cost to us wasn't the delivery charge.

 

[SillyJokes]

When shipping parcels for Saturday delivery, make sure it is to a domestic address and not a business address because businesses do not always get Saturday post.

 

[deniser]

When shipping parcels for Saturday delivery, make sure it is to a domestic address and not a business address because businesses do not always get Saturday post.

This is a good point actually. There is a procedure whereby businesses can ask not to have Saturday deliveries - we have done this - so if this agreement is in place, they won't deliver on a Saturday. Could it be that the place you sent it to has this arrangement with RM but the person you were sending it to doesn't know this?

I have never had a failed guaranteed Saturday delivery.