Mailers wish to have their consignments delivered on time and without damage. The Czech Post is committed to comply with these essential requirements in order to maintain its good reputation and further existence in the competitive market. However, timely delivery without damage depends not only on the postal operator but also on the sender. Despite the best care, a poorly packed consignment can hardly be delivered unharmed. Every consignment passes not only through the hands of a number of our personnel but also through a series of sorting machines and other technological facilities boasting a maximum accuracy but missing the finger-tip sensitivity of the human hand. During the sorting process the gigantic volumes of consignments can lead to the piling up of consignments inside the sorting machine as well as on the discharge chutes that feed conveyor belts leading to mail trucks. The Swiss Post therefore wisely incorporated a clause into its postal terms and conditions that requires that every consignment must withstand a drop from a height of 120 cm. This is not a case of tolerated bad handling of mail; rather it gives the customer the certainty that no damage will occur even if the machines get choked or collapse. 

How to correctly pack the consignment? 

If you need useful information about how to pack your consignment properly, go to our website and click on Packaging advice.

The advice you will find there is general, but sufficiently clear. There are as many different ways of how to pack a consignment well enough to be delivered unharmed as there are different kinds of goods that can be transported by post. 

• If you are sending anything that can withstand a potential impact (such as books, printed materials, clothes), just use a solid package - a cardboard box would be the best choice.
• But if you need to pack something fragile (such as glassware, electronic goods), you should be much more careful. Do not forget to fill the inside of the solid package with any suitable material that would soften the impact - the best choice would be insulators such as wood wool, granulated polystyrene, bubble wrap. 

The packaging of mail is subject to the Postal Terms and Conditions. We transport huge volumes of different kinds of consignments with a different size, weight or type of package. The materials contained in these consignments also vary. This is why we cannot give you a set of precise instructions on how to pack a specific content. A general rule is that the outer as well as the inner package of the consignment should be adequate to the nature of the things within the consignment and duration of its relocation.

Always use a solid package tied up with string. The string will not only secure the package but also prevent the consignment from potentially sliding off the sorting machine. 

In a series of reports broadcast on 22-24 January 2012 TV Nova revealed bad quality transportation services provided by a Prague-based post office. It is good that the sloppy work of several of our employees was uncovered; yet this unique incident cannot be related to the work by all our staff. This is not a mere statement: it is supported by the following facts that clear the shadows cast by the reports. 

• There were 58 complaints of damaged contents out of one million parcels. 44 complaints were justified.
• The television series documented one pickup drive, but there are several thousands of pickup drives run every day.
• We are number one in the fully competitive parcel delivery market. And although the customer can choose another postal operator, we are the choice in most cases - both because of the quality we provide and the price. The huge interest of online shop operators in our services proves that we have been able to keep pace with the times in the fast growing parcel market. 

Any breach of work guidelines and code of ethics by postal employees will not be tolerated. The reported incident had serious consequences for the persons involved. The system of inspections aimed to detect similar errors early on has also been substantially updated.  

 

Marta Selicharová
Spokeswoman
Czech Post
selicharova.marta@cpost.cz