Christmas post rush starts in Slaithwaite
Dec 6 2010 Huddersfield Daily Examiner
POSTIES across the country are gearing up to deliver some 750m Christmas cards and 160m gifts ordered on line.
And its all hands on deck in the sorting offices around Huddersfield as the prepare for what is expected to be the busiest day in the Christmas post calendar, December 13, when around 130 million items will enter the system.
That’s compared with an average daily figure of 68 million.
In the HD postcode area which includes Huddersfield and Bradford the week commencing December 13 will be the busiest of the year.
Mail chiefs expect to see 2,265,000 items going through the system compared with 1,469,000 on an average week.
Extra deliveries will be made on Sunday, December 19, and during the evening on both Wednesday and Thursday December 22 and 23 to give customers another chance to receive items Royal Mail could not deliver on an earlier occasion.
If customers are out when postal staff try to deliver local delivery offices, will be open later from December 13.
By logging on to www.royalmail.com or by ringing their local delivery office (the number is on the card), customers can arrange re-delivery of their Christmas parcels to their home address, a neighbour's address or their local post office.
Royal Mail has recruited almost 20,000 workers to help handle its festive mailbag of around two billion items, with more than 70,000 people applying for jobs, it revealed today.
The recruits will work in mail and distribution centres across the UK helping to sort Christmas cards and packets before they go to more than 1,400 delivery offices for postmen and women to take out on their rounds.
Royal Mail’s head of resourcing, Maurice Harbottle, said: “We have seen a phenomenal response from people keen to earn extra money over the festive season and help Royal Mail deliver a great Christmas for its customers.
“We are delighted with the number and quality of the applications and, as well as some new temporary recruits, many of the people we will be using are regulars who support our operation Christmas after Christmas.”
Younger customers are reminded that Royal Mail provides a special delivery service to and from Santa’s Grotto each year.
Children are advised that in order to receive a personal reply from Santa before Christmas Eve, they need to have their letters written, stamped and posted by Wednesday December 15.
Their letters should be addressed to Santa, Santa’s Grotto, Reindeerland, SAN TA1.
Mike Brown, Royal Mail’s fulfilment director, said: “Royal Mail is prepared for its biggest online Christmas ever and has taken steps to help people get their items as conveniently as possible – even if they are not at home when we first try to deliver.
“The majority of items ordered online are delivered first time but we have put in place a package of measures to help people who are not home to receive the item, in cases where it is too big to go through the letterbox or requires a signature.”
Recommended last posting dates:
Today, December 6 – Australia and New Zealand, South and Central America, Caribbean, Africa, Middle East, Asia and the Far East (including Japan)
December 10 – USA, Canada and Eastern Europe
December 13 – Western Europe and standard parcels
December 18 – Second Class
December 21 – First Class
December 22/23 – Special delivery.
Go online at: www.royalmail.com
