Why do they not deliver to PO Boxes?

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Kyanar

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#2501610 9-Jun-2020 16:46

sleemanj:

It can easily be resolved, charge the courier company the handling fee. If the courier passes that cost onto the customer, so be it.

That's exactly how they do it. No courier will pay it, so no courier gets to deliver to them. Congratulations, you just answered the thread.

sleemanj:

As per my photograph on page 1 of a Fastway delivery to a PO Box, that has an NZ Post "Counter Ticket" applied to it, Google does not turn up anything even indicating that such tickets exist let alone what they are in regard to, but my guess is it's a ticket which means "this package is both accepted at and delivered at the same place and doesn't need to be carried further than from the counter to the back room" it probably costs some small amount, if that amount was charged to the sender I don't know.

If there was actually an edict "we will not permit other couriers to deliver to PO Boxes, no matter what", then I imagine that could be a bit dicey legally, anti-competitive and all that.

Counter tickets are associated with this service: https://www.nzpost.co.nz/personal/receiving-mail/counter-delivery. Essentially just providing tracking for parcels delivered to a counter delivery address so that Post doesn't get accused of losing it.

PolicyGuy

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#2501638 9-Jun-2020 17:54

richms:
zespri:

Are you saying that most of PO Boxes are not in PostShops? Or event that large percentage of PO Boxes are not in PostShops?

Because if you do not, that's more or less what "a nation setup" (with a few exceptions) means.

My box was. Then they closed the kiwibank and post office and conned a local stationary shop into doing that. Parcels are left in lockers now and I can only pick up bigger things in the morning when the door is staffed by 1 person to take the yellow card and give me the stuff.

It's the norm that post owned shops are closing and pointless stuff like bill payment and car rego is contracted out to gullible shops that think it will make them money.

I can't speak authoritatively about the whole country, but there are now no Post Shops at all in Whanganui. The last one was converted to a KiwiBank site only. If you want to send a parcel or buy a stamp other than a KiwiStamp or other NZ Post business, you have to go a books-and-magazines shop.
The PO Box centre now has lockers where big parcels get put (you get a key in your PO Box), and there is a door allegedly staffed from 06:30 to 08:15 Monday-Friday, otherwise it's a completely "Lights Off" operation.

So, it's not so much that "most of PO Boxes are not in Post Shops", it's rather that there are pretty much no Post Shops any more.
Things may, of course, be different in the big cities

Oblivian

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#2501728 9-Jun-2020 20:28

PolicyGuy:

I can't speak authoritatively about the whole country, but there are now no Post Shops at all in Whanganui. The last one was converted to a KiwiBank site only. If you want to send a parcel or buy a stamp other than a KiwiStamp or other NZ Post business, you have to go a books-and-magazines shop.
The PO Box centre now has lockers where big parcels get put (you get a key in your PO Box), and there is a door allegedly staffed from 06:30 to 08:15 Monday-Friday, otherwise it's a completely "Lights Off" operation.

So, it's not so much that "most of PO Boxes are not in Post Shops", it's rather that there are pretty much no Post Shops any more.
Things may, of course, be different in the big cities

Yarp. Box lobbies are the new PO Box handler. And as such, often can't get the courier deliveries expected. Only smaller postal parcels (not to be confused with <courier>post parcels which mileage can vary)

https://support.nzpost.co.nz/app/answers/detail/a_id/764/~/whats-the-difference-between-a-box-lobby-parcelpod-and-a-po-box-or-private-bag%3F

Sender is less likely to get a guarantee delivery to an un-manned one (can't tell from a number) and likely takes the safer route of requiring Sig/handled delivery.

And the archaic short version about delivery agreements

https://support.nzpost.co.nz/app/answers/detail/a_id/1574/~/can-other-postal-operators-deliver-to-new-zealand-post-po-boxes%3F

however some operators choose not to use this service and these companies will not accept parcels addressed to PO Boxes.

Geektastic

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#2502153 10-Jun-2020 11:36

`I still maintain nobody is looking at this from the correct perspective - that of the customer.

If Joe Bloggs needs to have a PO Box, that is his post box, the same as if it were at the end of the drive. It should be treated in EXACTLY the same way. Any delivery, by any organisation, that would go to a normal end of the drive post box should also be able to go, with no further hassle, to a PO Box.

Every argument laid out here is made because it inconveniences some company - not because it benefits the customer. A service business exists only to benefit the customer.

Handle9

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#2502268 10-Jun-2020 15:15

Geektastic:
`I still maintain nobody is looking at this from the correct perspective - that of the customer.

If Joe Bloggs needs to have a PO Box, that is his post box, the same as if it were at the end of the drive. It should be treated in EXACTLY the same way. Any delivery, by any organisation, that would go to a normal end of the drive post box should also be able to go, with no further hassle, to a PO Box.

Every argument laid out here is made because it inconveniences some company - not because it benefits the customer. A service business exists only to benefit the customer.

Incorrect. A business exists to make profit. A service business does this by providing services.

There is a fairly large difference.

The postal service isn't really a business, otherwise it would have been wound up by now.

richms

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#2502270 10-Jun-2020 15:21

Geektastic:

If Joe Bloggs needs to have a PO Box, that is his post box, the same as if it were at the end of the drive. It should be treated in EXACTLY the same way. Any delivery, by any organisation, that would go to a normal end of the drive post box should also be able to go, with no further hassle, to a PO Box.

You should be glad its not like the USA where no one else is allowed to use the roadside box except for the post service. That is why all junk there is addressed and mailed and newspapers are thrown in the driveway if there is no other place to put them.

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Kyanar

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#2502361 10-Jun-2020 15:48

Geektastic:

Every argument laid out here is made because it inconveniences some company - not because it benefits the customer. A service business exists only to benefit the customer.

I don't call bankrupting the postal service an "inconvenience". It's simple - somebody has to pay for the handling of the parcel to go behind it and put it in the box. CourierPost does this, because they're part of NZ Post. Any other courier company is welcome to pay a fee to have that done for them, most of them simply refuse to. Complain to them, or campaign to NZ Post to let YOU pay it instead.

It is you who is looking at it from the incorrect perspective.

zespri

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#2502386 10-Jun-2020 16:29

Kyanar:

Geektastic:

Every argument laid out here is made because it inconveniences some company - not because it benefits the customer. A service business exists only to benefit the customer.

I don't call bankrupting the postal service an "inconvenience". It's simple - somebody has to pay for the handling of the parcel to go behind it and put it in the box. CourierPost does this, because they're part of NZ Post. Any other courier company is welcome to pay a fee to have that done for them, most of them simply refuse to. Complain to them, or campaign to NZ Post to let YOU pay it instead.

It is you who is looking at it from the incorrect perspective.

I wonder how much it would cost YOU.

Handle9

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#2502395 10-Jun-2020 16:55

Kyanar:
Geektastic:

Every argument laid out here is made because it inconveniences some company - not because it benefits the customer. A service business exists only to benefit the customer.

I don't call bankrupting the postal service an "inconvenience". It's simple - somebody has to pay for the handling of the parcel to go behind it and put it in the box. CourierPost does this, because they're part of NZ Post. Any other courier company is welcome to pay a fee to have that done for them, most of them simply refuse to. Complain to them, or campaign to NZ Post to let YOU pay it instead.

It is you who is looking at it from the incorrect perspective.

There will be a couple of aspects to accessing po boxes. The first is cost per transaction, which is important

The other aspect is liability and indemnity. If a third party accesses the back end of the po boxes they will have to indemnify NZ Post for any loss caused by them (unless post has hopeless lawyers). Basically it's a big can of worms for the third party courier.

It's much easier for them just to say no.

Kyanar

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#2502572 10-Jun-2020 21:30

zespri:

I wonder how much it would cost YOU.

Well Australia Post will do it for $50 a year for up to 50 parcels, so make of that what you will.

Geektastic

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#2502808 11-Jun-2020 11:10

Kyanar:

zespri:

I wonder how much it would cost YOU.

Well Australia Post will do it for $50 a year for up to 50 parcels, so make of that what you will.

Quite. All these claims that it cannot be done are little short of pathetic.

I forget what we pay for the PO Box (and note we would pay NOTHING for one at the end of the drive...) but it's less than $200 a year.

Fine, double it for all I care if that is what it takes to actually get the service. It would still only be $400 a year or less.

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Geektastic

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#2502810 11-Jun-2020 11:11

Handle9:
Geektastic:

`I still maintain nobody is looking at this from the correct perspective - that of the customer.

If Joe Bloggs needs to have a PO Box, that is his post box, the same as if it were at the end of the drive. It should be treated in EXACTLY the same way. Any delivery, by any organisation, that would go to a normal end of the drive post box should also be able to go, with no further hassle, to a PO Box.

Every argument laid out here is made because it inconveniences some company - not because it benefits the customer. A service business exists only to benefit the customer.

Incorrect. A business exists to make profit. A service business does this by providing services.

There is a fairly large difference.

The postal service isn't really a business, otherwise it would have been wound up by now.

No service = no customers = no profit....

dejadeadnz

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#2502948 11-Jun-2020 14:30

Geektastic:

Quite. All these claims that it cannot be done are little short of pathetic.

I forget what we pay for the PO Box (and note we would pay NOTHING for one at the end of the drive...) but it's less than $200 a year.

Fine, double it for all I care if that is what it takes to actually get the service. It would still only be $400 a year or less.

They are not interested in providing this service. If they were and if there were enough demand for it, a deal likely would have been worked out by now amongst the parties. Your endless whinging won't change anything.

It's funny how when all the free market and right wing ideology doesn't work out for you, you get rather uninterested in your so called principles.

Kyanar

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#2503055 11-Jun-2020 16:44

Handle9: There will be a couple of aspects to accessing po boxes. The first is cost per transaction, which is important

The other aspect is liability and indemnity. If a third party accesses the back end of the po boxes they will have to indemnify NZ Post for any loss caused by them (unless post has hopeless lawyers). Basically it's a big can of worms for the third party courier.

It's much easier for them just to say no.

Even CourierPost likely doesn't put the items in the box - they would handover the parcels to the mail sort employee of NZ Post or the holder of the franchise for the box lobby, who would put the parcels in the appropriate boxes (couriers are not going to want to sit there unlocking and loading parcels into dozens of boxes, they're paid a piece rate...)

There is no practical reason other couriers cannot do this - Post offers it as a service to them, after all. They choose not to as they would rather not lose any of their profit to pay for the piece rate to the box lobby handler (who is in many cases not an employee of Post, so receives a fee for the service which has to be paid by Post, and or which Post wants to receive reimbursement from the third party courier).

Australia Post has decided they're willing to forgo the fees from the third party courier if the customer (recipient) will pay them instead. NZ Post has decided the uptake of this service would likely be low enough that it isn't worth the hassle, or just hasn't come up with the idea yet.

Handle9

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#2503171 11-Jun-2020 18:45

Geektastic:

Quite. All these claims that it cannot be done are little short of pathetic.

I forget what we pay for the PO Box (and note we would pay NOTHING for one at the end of the drive...) but it's less than $200 a year.

Fine, double it for all I care if that is what it takes to actually get the service. It would still only be $400 a year or less.

It is being done, it's offered by NZ Post. If the couriers don't take it up what do you expect NZ post to do?

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