Health & Safety vs Humanity

[Stacey Steve]

Our postal deliveries have been suspended due to the adverse weather conditions and I don't blame them, it would have been dangerous humping bags of mail. I know I used to be a postie years ago.

Still we have been waiting on a delivery of Milo's medication, so I went to our local delivery office yesterday to try and pick it up.

I went into the reception area but was immediately confronted by a member of staf who announced "We're closing, health and safety".

I explained why I was there and that our vet does not stock the tablets the dog needs and it would take them days to get them in.

"Sorry, can't do anything, health and safety"

Now the only reason I could see where there was a health and safety issue was the state of their visitor's car park and the walkway to their front steps but as I had already crossed that problem and would have to cross it again whether I was successful or not, I asked, "What about the health and safety of my dog?"

"Well is it a special delivery, because I'll get it then"

"No it's normally a recorded delivery"

"Well then no were closed"

"Look can't you just go round to the delivery frame and look for me, it'll only take you 2 minutes"

"No I wouldn't know where to look and we're closed due to health and safety"

"Please use a bit of humanity. There is no health and safety risk to you inside your office"

"We're closed, I don't make the health and safety rules, I didn't make the decission to close, what do you want me to do about it . Blah blah blah....."

I left, so angry, "she started to say sorry, if it were down to me.."

"Look if you don't have a spark of humanity, then please don't talk to me"

So now we are having to reduce his dosage to eke the supplies out till either the vet can get some or them post office can deliver them.

Right I've vented my spleen but I don't feel better for it though.

[coomber]

Unbelievable, I work for RM so know how unhelpful some staff can be.
It would have only taken a few minutes for them to look for you
Its staff like this that give us all a bad name

[squashysu]

that has annoyed the hell out of me!!!! omg, what is this country coming to and the poor dog!!! the person at the PO needs the same thing to happen to them! sorry SS, and i know we are bad here and you only up the road!

i went to sainsbury yesterday and it took me 1.5 of queuing to get stuff it was a joke, total joke! I hope they come tomorrow. And by the way, we are still getting post!!!!

[jackie j]

That is ridiculous not a lot more you could have done.
One of our posties has been wearing shorts in this weather. !!!

[Two_Sheds]

You should complain not to us, but to the Post Office (even though we do sympathise)
http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/j...diaId=15400379

Mind you, are the sorting office staff employed by Royal Mail?

[Stacey Steve]

I already did put a complaint into the RM as soon as I got back.

I tried ringing the main sorting office for the area as the delivery office is just a small satellite office, hoping a manager would see sense and ring them up. I know they were still working in the office as the collection vans were out and about.

What really got me was that she wouldn't know where to look, if that's the case she shouldn't be in the office. I hate it when people try to fob me off because they can't be asked.

Coomber, as I said I used to be a postie and I know it's a bit harder work than most people think and espacially in bad weather conditions and as I told RM in my complaint, it's a shame that this to so people would tarnish the rest of the staff.

I know that we used to really put ourselves out for people who had difficulties, perhaps that's another reason I feel so angry.

[Two_Sheds]

I know that we used to really put ourselves out for people ... perhaps that's another reason I feel so angry.

And rightly so.
Too many people are scared of litigation, and getting into trouble with HSE these days.


(HSE: off on a tangent. Mr Sheds is only allowed to take 15kg of baggage in the chopper. The piece of kit he needs to fly out weighs 15kg on its own ... meaning he really ought not to take even a change of pants. He's going to be out there for a week doing dirty, greasy work)

[allotmentlady]

how flamin ridiculous...........how does she sleep at night? I would complain.....

[Alice]

That's just ridiculoius Stacey Steve. I think I would have exploded into my elements.
Definitely follow up that complaint. Hope the dog's allright.

[miffy]

That is so sad, people seem to have lost the ability to measure risk themselves and just issue a blanket directive.
It would have been obvious to this person how important this package was to you and she should have at least tried to contact someone to get the o.k to look for you.
It is all due to people's fear of being sued. I so hope your pooch will be o.k, hopefully the snow will have cleared enough by Monday to allow you to get your package.x

[Stacey Steve]

Unfortunately, it's snowing again.

I'll try to call in on my way to work but as they haven't salted their car park, I guess the office is going to be closed again tomorrow.

If I wanted to make an issue of it, I could go down the route that they are withholding my mail but to be truthful, all I want is this one package.

I have decreased his dosage and am trying to keep him "calm" but with a young Dalmatian, this is not the easiest of things. Just trying to keep some sort of serum level going till we get our supply from one source or another.

[Jardiniere]

It's because people are scared of litigation...the HSE has very lttle in the way of teeth....they only prosecute after a death.
Unfortunately Health & Safety Regulations which are there to protect people against death and injury at work are used as an excuse by anyone who just dores not want to do something or is scared of doing something .....many managers are incredibly risk averse because they dont understand risk...... i know this because I was a H&S person ...protecting schools ....the times i gave advice which would allow a visit or activity to go ahead without risk of successful prosecution and then found that a headteacher just didnt dare take the risk are too many to count.
The person at the PO was using H&S as an excuse ...poor old H&S gets such bad publicity .....hope your dog is OK.

[Jameslovell]

I might be being really dim here, but you went to your local delivery office to collect a very important package. You got inside the building, I presume safely. All the post office person had to do was go look for it. Yes? Where was it? I am stuggling to understand why there is a health a safty issue is. Was it outside?

It seems that she was loving the idea of going home adn just wanted to leave asap.

She had got me really angry now. Why does this person work on the reception desk where customer service is key and yet have no decernable customer service ability. As much as I loath the American way of customer service where everything is forced and fake, at least they try to help and actaully do what they are paid to do.

And as for not knowing where to look, clutching at straws or what! I am sure that there is a very established, tried and tested method of storing post. It is not like she had to go and manually sort the post just to find one package. Again just plain laziness on her part.

I hope you got her name and put it in your letter of complaint. Only yesterday I received stinking customer service, so made a point of getting his name and that of his manager's so I can write a letter tomorrow.

[Rhona]

That is so sad, people seem to have lost the ability to measure risk themselves and just issue a blanket directive.

I agree with Jardiniere's point that H&S gets a bad name, and bad publicity. Certainly reporting all the good it does isn't so juicy, and I doubt we pay as much attention to all the H&S measures that make our lives nice and safe and comfortable!

But specifically on the above point, yesterday in Tesco, someone had dropped a jar of pasta sauce by the till, and there was glass everywhere. Two assistants were clearing it up with their bare hands, pretty badly, and dangerously. Tesco do have a strict clear-up policy, like anywhere, and they sure weren't following it!

They weren't capable of measuring the risk at all... but quite the opposite to SS's experience. They were more... H&S? What H&S?!

[gemlady]

I'm sorry to read this, and I would say that the person in the office was being particularly unhelpful. Would he/she have got the sack if going to look for the parcel, has he/she not got a brain and eyes to go and look for it for goodness sake. I hope your dog does not suffer because of this, write a letter of complaint if it makes you feel better. If I were a postie in these troubled times, I would be looking to try and gain support from my customers, not angering them.

On a H&S note, I went to local shops yesterday and only one of them had cleared snow from front of shops, it was like a sheet of ice. There were old people trying to negotiate the ice between shops, absolutely treacherous. One of the assistants said they had been told not to clear it, presumably fearing they may get sued. Where is the humanity in letting an old person fall and end up in hospital?