Henry Smith MP has visited Crawley Delivery Office to see first-hand the operation of delivering Christmas post, and to pass on early season’s greetings to its dedicated and hard-working staff.

The Crawley MP was shown around by the Delivery Office Manager and was introduced to the postmen and women, who will be pulling out all the stops to sort and deliver mail in Crawley in the busy Christmas period.

The festive season is Royal Mail’s busiest period, as millions of people shop online for gifts as well as sending Christmas cards and parcels. Royal Mail also plays a key role in e-commerce for many businesses sending goods to customers throughout Christmas shopping season.

Henry said;

“At no other time is the hard work and dedication of postmen and women clearer than during the festive period. There is a huge amount of effort and dedication that goes into delivering a first class Christmas all over the country.

“It was great to meet the team here at Crawley and thank them for the extraordinary lengths they’re going to ensure Christmas parcels and cards are delivered to loved ones on time, as well as thanking them for delivering our mail services all through the year, in all weathers.

“I’m particularly grateful for their work in ensuring my Christmas cards, which were designed by a local Crawley school pupil, have been delivered across the town in recent weeks!”

Pawel Sromek, Royal Mail Delivery Office Manager, commented;

“Our postmen and women will be working extremely hard to deliver Christmas parcels, cards, letters and parcels to people in Crawley.

“We are grateful that Henry Smith MP visited the office to see our operation and to support the team.

“We’d like to remind our customers to post early this Christmas and to ensure all their mail is posted by the recommended dates, so that friends and family can enjoy their Christmas greetings and parcels. If everyone uses the postcode on every item of mail, this also helps us greatly in the job that we do at this very busy time.”

Customers do not need to travel to a Royal Mail Delivery office to pick up parcels if they cannot or do not want to. They can arrange a redelivery free of charge on a day that is convenient for them (including Saturdays), or Royal Mail can deliver the item to a different address within the same postcode area. This service can be arranged by calling the number on the ‘Something for You’ card which is left, or by visiting: www.royalmail.com/redelivery.

Royal Mail can also now leave many mail items with a neighbour if customers are not at home when they attempt delivery. Customers can nominate a dedicated neighbour to take in their parcels by filling in a form at their delivery office.

The last recommended Special Delivery posting date for Christmas is Saturday 22nd December.

Customers can also help Royal Mail ensure that all their letters, cards and parcels are delivered as quickly and efficiently as possible by taking a few easy steps:

• Post early – Avoid disappointment by posting your cards and parcels early. 
• Use the postcode – A clearly addressed card or parcel, with a postcode, and return address on the back of the envelope, will ensure quick and efficient delivery.
• Use Special Delivery – For valuable and important packages and parcels guarantee delivery with Royal Mail’s Special Delivery, which means your gift is tracked, traced and insured against loss.
• Wrap parcels well and always give a return address.

For more information about Royal Mail’s last recommended posting dates, please visit: www.royalmail.com/greetings or call: 03457 740 740.