The majority of UK citizens ranging from an ordinary householder, to a small business and allthe way to a large corporation are satisfied with their postal services, according to the latest
research by the British postal regulator, Postcomm.The data was gathered during the industrial action by the Royal Mail postal workers late lastyear and in a period of falling mail volumes as a result of the economic recession and the growthof digital media.
The results revealed that eight out of 10 householders and small businesses are satisfied withRoyal Mail while around half of the householders are very satisfied with the company. Among largermailers which are companies that spend more than £5,000 on mail services, eight out of ten alsorated the services of Royal Mail and its rivals as satisfying.
Despite the high satisfaction among larger mailers with Royal Mail, their loyalty to the companyhas decreased, Postcomm showed. The percentage of respondents who said they would never switch to arival operator has almost halved in the latest findings compared to 2007 survey results.
As specific aspects of the Royal Mail service rated by residential customers and smallbusinesses, the number of delivery days per week and the proximity of letter boxes were given thehighest ratings, Postcomm revealed. In case of complaints due to mis-deliveries, damaged, loss ordelayed mail, however, the majority of complainants are not satisfied with the way Royal Mailhandled their complaint giving it an average score of five out of ten or lower.
The findings are based on two annual surveys carried out by Postcomm. As part of the CustomerSurvey 2009, 1,116 residential customers and 500 small and medium-sized companies across the UKhave been interviewed. The Business Customer Survey 2009 interrogated 800 British businesses whichspend more than £5,000 a year on mail. This refers to licensed area mail which weighs less than350g and costs less than a pound to send.
Tim Brown, CEO of Postcomm, said: “These are difficult times for post but these results showthat despite falling volumes in mail as a result of the changing world and even despite strikeaction, customers say they’re generally pretty happy with their postal services, whether they getthem from Royal Mail or rival operators.”
