Despite complaints of being naughty, post office says it’s nice
OTTAWA — It’s supposed to be a time when festive packages are delivered with care and yuletide greeting cards are opened with glee.
But for some Canada Post customers — and the postal employees who have to deal with their complaints — it’s not exactly the hap-happiest time of the year.
As the volume of letters and parcels being delivered by the Crown corporation reaches massive levels over the holidays so, too, does the griping.
When Canada Post issued a release on its Facebook page Dec. 3, urging people to check international send-by dates for Christmas packages, there were dozens of not-so-kind responses from people bitterly upset about lost parcels, late deliveries and high postage costs.
“Purchased an item through Best Buy. Got your tracking number. The package was bought on Nov 28, delivered on Nov 30. I have not received anything. Where did the package go?” wrote Hamad Naqi of Toronto.
Similar messages are posted on other social media sites.
Faster technology has made it easier to locate packages, but has also raised people’s expectations of how quickly their goods should arrive, Canada Post spokeswoman Anick Losier said.
“Our No. 1 call to the customer service is ‘Where’s my parcel?’ the day before it’s due,” she said. “We’re now in a world where we’re ordering online and the next thing we do is go track our parcel to see where it’s at.”
Some people even post their tracking information online when they complain publicly about service they receive.
Adam Rose did just that, de- tailing how a package he sent Nov. 20 from Calgary never arrived at its destination in St. John’s by Dec. 3 when the item was marked “out for delivery.”
Within 20 minutes, Rose, who alleged that the package was stolen, received an online response from a Canada Post representative.
“We’ll respond to you via DM (direct mail) shortly. Kind regards, Joelle.”
Canada Post says it has an on-time delivery rate of 96 to 98 per cent, depending on the time of year and the way an item is being delivered.
It’s a massive feat, considering the agency delivers about one billion pieces of mail, including parcels, letters and advertising mail over the holiday period — fully one quarter of Canada Post’s annual retail volume.
This year’s delivery rates are tracking better than normal, Losier said. “Our own performance is actually better than it has been in the last few years,” she said.
“We are working 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Many people are seeing us deliver on the weekend and are a bit surprised by that.”