I print labels, pay, do customs forms etc for international parcels online with the Post website. It works well.
When I go to the post office, they stamp the the forms, check the weight and that's it. Two minutes tops.
When I take the same parcel to the Post service at my local Volg (which is nearer), the lady there laboriously types in the address into her system, very slowly, using one finger and with a lot of confusion - and, more importantly, with a massive possibility of getting it wrong - especially post codes etc.
The parcel has a bar code on it. This is what they scan at main post office.
I tried to explain to the Volg lady that I thought she was doing it wrong and she just needed to scan but she said no, she had to do it that way.
Has anyone had the same experience or has this woman had a lack of training like at other franchises within shops?
I can't use DPD for the same reason - they don't know what they are doing.
I'm going to contact the post office but I thought I'd ask here incase it really needs to be done like that - which means I need to drive to the next town to post parcels as I have no confidence that an error won't creep in with her one finger typing and I don't know whether the address she manually types in overrides the one I have already entered in to the system online.
We don't have the postal service in our local Volg but the staff there seem to be akin to the types you get working as doctor's receptionists in the UK. Massively inefficient jobs-worths, short-fused, stubborn and mainly there for local goss.
You could mention their short-comings to the post office but they are likely to get a flea in their ear if they go and try to sort them out.
Surly you have been in Switzerland long enough to know people here learn their job by rote and will not deviate from it no matter how obvious the easier solution is....
Yes, if you want to send something via DHL there are 2 options: (i) you fill up the form, print the shipment labels yourself and call the courier, (ii) or have to deal with people who were hired for "knowing local language" at customer service in shops.
In my case I wanted to send something stopped by Migros and customer service was too busy. 10 mins later, I was told the country I wanted to send the envelope did not exist. Of course, it's not remotely possible that the person does not know how to use the DHL software, country not existing is much more probable. Since then, I created a customer account, fill up forms and print labels myself
So many rural Post Offices have closed and then moved to small grocery stores, Museums even (here locally)- but the people behind the counter have had little training. Before, anyone working at PO would have done a proper apprenticeship over a 3 years, and would have been monitored by a Senior person for quite a while. You really can't blame those poor people who have had to take over a skilled job with hardly any training, at your local store. Most have agreed to take on PO counter as a social gesture for locals, especially the elderly, and it barely covers cost.
If you have anything 'fancy' to do, go to your local town for qualified staff and proper facilities.
Always drive to the next town and skip the local Volg PO when sending important stuff. Also having to pick up stuff at the Volg is the pits. Have to wait in line till its my turn and get nasty glances from the others in line behind me while the cashier runs around looking for the package or letter. Once I came back from vacation and the cashier insisted that I had to have a slip to pick it up. Went to another employee and explained that I had no slip. Upon finally getting the mail with a warning that next time I had to have a slip. Upon getting home I found the slip bundled in the vacation mail.
Please read my original post again. It wasn't anything fancy she needed to do. I had done everything online - including paying.
All she needed to do was scan the parcel, check the weight perhaps, and drop it in a collection box. After all, that's all they do at the main post office.
I understand your frustration but please remember those people were trained to be shop assistants and probably had little training to become post office clerks. Their pay scale most probably didn't increase with their additional responsibility and they were basically given the ultimatum to sink or swim.
As someone has mentioned, if you don't like Volg's service, take the bus and go to the nearest official post office. If you complain (which is your right), that specific employee may not type faster but she might get additional training. Perhaps. Tentatively.
As we march further into the digital world, it is essential to realize not everything will be easier or more efficient. It's just different.
If no one uses the local service then it will indeed disappear.
It's the Post Office who are encouraging people to go online. If I have to drive to the next town, or get the bus then I may as well pay an international courier to collect from home and the Post Office won't get my business at all.
And people complain on here when we don't use local services.
Do I understand correctly that you say that in order to work in post office you need 3 years training + multiple months supervision?? I mean using cash register isn't exactly rocket science and even people with very low IQ should master things within days / weeks - not more than that.
I have only used the service inside the local Volg once and as far as I can remember she just scanned the code and put it in the crate she had beside her. I don’t remember any faffing around entering address details etc and I’m sure that’s something I would have remembered as it is time consuming.
We are lucky to have the post at home service where we live so the post person just has to pick it up either from the bottom of the post box or ring the bell if it’s a large parcel.
I only took it to the Volg in the next village on that occasion because I had missed the deadline for collection from home on that day.
Digital competence is neither intuitive nor easy for some. The digitally unskilled are already experiencing a feeling of "underclass" when it comes to their daily lives.
My advice is be helpful when possible. The situation you depicted will be a common occurence in many areas of our lives.
Honestly I don't get why post is so slow with rollout of MyPost24 lockers - this is simply super convenient (and in other conutries rollout of such solutions goes way, way faster).
You can post anything you want with pre-printed label, you can print label in thr machine (and pay in cashless way directly, including internet / self print discount on parcels), you can do the same for tracked letters (I think , you can order to the locker and not worry about package being stolen if left by postman in front of the door.
It's is also money saving for post, less remote addresses to deliver packages to in favor of a central place for delivery + pickup.