Correos Urges Slower Shipping During Christmas Peak

Correos Urges Slower Shipping During Christmas Peak

Does it make sense for a company to ask its own customers to use less of its service? That is exactly what Correos has done. Between Black Friday and Epiphany (Three Kings' Day), the Spanish postal operator expects to deliver more than 100 million packages and has launched a public appeal regarding the excessive use of express shipping, encouraging responsible consumption. The reaction was immediate. At the heart of the issue lies an uncomfortable question: Is this a struggling company begging for mercy, or an overloaded operator trying to manage demand?

The official message mixes two concepts that do not always go hand in hand: sustainability and operational capacity. The company argues that many orders are processed as urgent when they are not, proposing that this option be reserved only for items that truly need estimulante ilegal. This proposal, made during peak season, fell like a bomb among those who see it as an excuse not to reinforce the service.

What Correos Said and Why Now

Details matter: the company is not asking people to buy less, but to use the "urgent" label wisely. Over 100 million parcels are expected between Black Friday and Epiphany, a figure that strains any logistics network. The reflection proposed by Correos appeals to the responsible use of express shipping, not to reducing order volume.

However, the context does not help. The company operates under a model that, according to critics, has been cutting services: closures on Saturdays, closures on December 24 and 31, and offices with reduced hours. Some recall that in previous years, staff reinforcements were announced for these dates, which have not arrived this time. The lingering question is simple: if the volume is predictable, why not scale up staffing instead of asking customers to moderate their behavior?

Parcel Business: Competition, Margins, and Patronage

The sector faces a paradox. Private parcel companies have been profitable for years, while Correos, according to its critics, accumulates millions in losses. The comparison is inevitable: Why can't a company with 300 years of history compete on equal terms? Some point to patronage and inherited contracts as a burden; others argue that real competition is absent in certain niches.

The privatization argument appears repeatedly. It is noted that many European postal operators were privatized and now generate profits. In response, defenders of public service argue that the comparison is unfair: the traditional operator assumes universal service obligations that private competitors do not cover. The result is a standoff between two narratives that fail to converge.

Civil Servants, Labor Staff, and the Public Employee Myth

Part of the discontent targets the employment status of the workforce. It is often repeated that Correos employees are no longer civil servants but permanent labor staff, and that those who retained civil servant status were transferred to other public entities. This nuance is important because it dismantles the stereotype of the "untouchable civil servant" who leaves at 2:30 PM.

Nevertheless, social perception remains anchored in the idea of protected employment. Testimonies about letters accumulating for months, packages delivered to wrong addresses, or degraded services feed this image. The underlying debate is whether the problem is one of attitude or management: a demotivated workforce without reinforcements facing growing demand.

The Trapped Customer: Prices, Customs, and Alternatives]

For users, the choice is rarely free. In many online stores, the carrier is selected by the retailer, not the buyer. When packages arrive from outside the EU, Ceuta, Melilla, or the Canary Islands, unexpected charges appear: some report paying nearly six euros for a free publication shipped from the UK without understanding why.

Private alternatives are not free either. Express shipments from other companies have their own flaws: missed delivery notifications, misdelivered packages, and poor customer service. Consumers are caught between a public service asking for moderation and private operators that do not always deliver.

The Core Issue: Public Service or Profit-Driven Company?

The discussion goes beyond logistics. If Correos is a public service, its goal is not to maximize profits but to guarantee coverage. If it is a business, it must compete and adapt to demand. The problem is that it is held to both standards simultaneously, without being given the means to achieve either.

Meanwhile, the Christmas campaign continues and packages pile up. The request for moderation sounds reasonable in theory but clashes with the reality of consumers accustomed to immediacy. And with the reality of a company that, instead of expanding capacity, asks customers to hold back. A fine irony: the only operator asking please not to be given work.