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AN POST HAS said it expects parcel volumes to reach 3.3 million each week between now and mid-December in Ireland’s “busiest ever online shopping fortnight”.
This is a 230% increase on the same period last year when more than one million parcels were delivered each week.
An Post said the increase in parcels in recent weeks has been driven by a mix of shop closures due to Covid-19 restrictions, online retail offers and early Christmas shopping.
Recently, the service has delivered 2.5 million parcels each week. An Post said the next two weeks will be driven by a surge of support for Irish retailers, along with Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales.
The CEO of An Post, David McRedmond, said the service is able to deal with this surge in volumes.
“Processing and delivery are taking longer than normal and we are delivering record volumes of parcels seven days a week,” he said in a statement.
We have 1,000 extra staff helping us this Christmas and our delivery staff have new scanning technology and electric vehicles to help them get parcels and letters to customers as quickly as possible.
The service said 7 December is the latest date for posting parcels and letters with standard service to the United States, Canada, Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
12 December is the latest date for European destinations, with 17 December being the latest date to deliver cards to Europe.
Earlier this month, the postal service asked customers to “please bear with us” as it dealt with a 130% increase in the volume of packages and parcels compared to 2019.
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Keep it Irish ☘️ keep it local … otherwise retail and town centres countrywide is are finished. All well have is booky shops. Charity shops and coffee shops ..?fact …
@Sean Beirne: excellent point sean.
@Sean Beirne: Nice sentiment but people will always look at price and if Amazon do it better….
@RogersRabbit: Couldn’t agree more, I moved back to Ireland from England over 5 years ago and no live just outside a small town so it’s either off to Limerick or cork to do some shopping. If I do this by the time I add on petrol and parking fees Amazon is far cheaper.
Then there is Irish websites and the lack of prices displayed for goods, this may have changed in the last few years but I don’t even bother checking now.
@Sean Beirne: 100% more important than ever or we will turn into the US (60% of all online shopping is done on Amazon) or the UK where towns and cities are decimated because of Amazon and they cannot compete
@Sean Beirne: KEEP IT LOCAL TO BE RIPPED OF,NO THANKS
My missus is responsible for 2.2 million of those
@Pete mc pete: there’s always divorce pete
@Paul Gorry: true Paul
I worked for an post for a year about 10 years ago, and have to say the staff are the best and diligent in there duties. So if you ask me can they achieve that target the answer is simply No.
@Paul Gorry: I can confirm you are correct. We use AnPost for our business for nearly 5 years very good but the last 6 weeks was completely dismal. Moved to DPD 2 weeks ago. Parcels to the UK with AnPost were taking at least 3 weeks. Not good enough. So certainly yes you are correct. I feel this is a damage limitation PR exercise. I expect this comment to be removed… State business after all.
@Eamonn Connell: we are in the same situation and Anpost PR spin is a million miles from the reality
They can’t cope today and containers going back over two weeks not processed but the ironic part is if you order from the Uk (amazon) you will get your parcel quicker because they have priority and Irish business suffers time and time again
@Benny Mc: my postman joked that next year they will have amazon written on their backs as it was amazon paying their wages.
I wish to thank An Post, and, in particular, my local post guy at Maynooth Park for his persistant service ( in the spirit of ” neither rain or Covit etc) during these times. Brilliant guy and always cheergul and welcome. A totally refreshing break in tge work at home day…bottle awaits as a thank you ( modest but sanitised)…& the thanks applies to all posties…brave public servants…thank you
@PF:.brilliant stuff pf and well said. Now make sure ye give him cash. He’s enough to carry without the bottles, a fiver would suffice imo.
Waiting over 2 weeks for a parcel, according to track and trace its still in the portlaoise hub. 3.3 million in a week, yea right.
@Damien Whelan: we see that too – they have containers upon containers to process they don’t even know which ones arrived when
We have put in massive amounts of claims for lost parcels and then sent with Dpd
Assume we’re all shopping on WineOnline.ie?
I ordered a book from Kennys Monday night, it arrived Wednesday morning.
@SevdaCMH: Was it the abbreviated version of Around The World in Eighty Days.?
“There are nine million parcels in An post..
That’s a fact,
It’s a thing we can’t deny
Like the fact that I will love you till I die.”
Hire more staff
@Anthony Sweeney: Easier said than done. There are limits on staff numbers working together due to social distancing.
An Post took on the Amazon account and close cork sorting office. The backlog must be huge. Can’t fall the staff though
@Noel Barnes: ummm noel don’t look over the wall and where’s the Union gone . gone baby gone
@Noel Barnes: terribly short sighted closing the CMC…and now the management are seeing the results.
The dogs wont like that.
Is it just an Irish thing to complain about how busy you are?
The AnPost lads are a great bunch. Always leave my parcels at door in all weathers. Have always tipped them and will definitely this year too.
My postman is great. Since the pandemic there has been an upsurge is Amazon Prime members. So they’re crazy busy every day. I shop local when I can. I’m on disability, so I have to be a savvy shopper.
@Gwen Langford: as much as I think we should support Irish business I 100% support that if you are up against it financially you need to look after number 1
Unfortunately that is reason they get bigger and crush countries. Look at the US and UK
We have to support our communities and that goes from buying local produce to keep farmers in work to supporting retail or e-commerce Irish business
E-commerce businesses support local jobs and if you branch out further they invest with book keepers / accountants / pay revenue PAYE / PRSI
Then this money is spent back into the economy and supports further jobs
It does full circle
Post is never going to get anywhere for Christmas, i have a package stuck in a sorting office in Dublin since 10th November, as do many people looking at trust pilot etc.. i understand they are busy at this time of year but they really should i seen this coming, i have a feeling the delays on post this year are going to be bad.
File image of An Post’s automated parcel hub in Dublin last year …The Fragile Department ;)
would be happy if a letter sent from gb last week would arrive before monday next week
have your say