Business as (un)usual

My inbox has been filling up with questions about business operations during the pandemic so I thought I should post and explain how everything happens behind the scenes. In terms of lockdown 2.0 nothing much has changed my end.

Once an order is placed these sit on my system then every 1-2 days I print everything off and package your order in a Covid safe way.

Once your order is packed you will receive an email confirming dispatch and a tracking reference number. I usually do this at some ungodly hour when most people are watching Netflix or sleeping, this then means the parcels are physically dropped off at around 7am the following morning as I can leave the smalls with Daddy.

Once your email has been sent to confirm dispatch and I’ve dropped the parcels the following morning, it’s down to Royal Mail to deliver. The tracking reference only shows when the item has been delivered or delivery has been attempted and no one was home (unlikely at the minute).

Royal Mail are a huge operation and parcels go through different sorting centres and delivery offices and at this point it’s dependent on their staffing levels and delivery schedules.

Areas with a higher level of Covid cases naturally have more people self isolating and unable to work. Royal Mail are also experiencing a pre-Christmas shopping surge so are also streamlining their services to only deliver parcels on some days such as Saturdays instead of a mix to include letters.

With all this in mind Royal Mail have issued a statement on their website:

Coronavirus update: We’re keeping the UK connected. We are open for business. Despite best efforts some services may be disrupted.

At this time I am allowing Royal Mail up to 2 weeks to deliver parcels before chasing them up. This is fair all things considered and in my experience so far, no parcel, even in the areas affected the most, has been any later than 2 weeks.

I hope this is helpful.
🖤 Natalie