Firms forced to use couriers

Optical firms are resorting to using private courier services in an attempt to limit the disruption caused by on-going strike action by postal workers.

As Optician went to press, post watchdog Postwatch warned that the backlog of millions of items could take several weeks to clear. Business leaders warned that the action was imposing crippling costs on some small businesses.

This view was echoed by Jamie Murray Wells of Glasses Direct who told Optician: 'Postal strikes can be damaging to mail order businesses in general. Independents that rely on a reliable service to carry out their business will also be hard hit. We do have a back-up plan if the strike continues. If necessary we will resort to using other courier services.'