Royal Mail failed to meet its delivery targets in the spring due to “teething problems” with itslarge-scale operational changes and external factors, but claims it has got better since then.
From late March to early June, the British postal operator delivered 91.4% of First Classstamped and franked mail on the next working day after posting compared to its target of 93.0%. Atotal of 98.4% of Second Class stamped and franked mail was delivered within three working daysafter posting, fractionally below the 98.5% target.
Disruption to air services caused by ash from an Icelandic volcanic eruption for several days inMay had some adverse impact on First Class mail which travels overnight by air, according to RoyalMail, while modernisation of letter mail operations also had an effect. However, Standard Parcelsand European international mail both beat their targets during the quarter.
More positively, in the five weeks from early June to mid-July Royal Mail hit its First andSecond Class stamped mail targets, according to independent research. In particular, First Classstamped and franked mail achieved a target-beating 93.1% performance while Second Class hit anon-target performance of 98.5%.
Mark Higson, Royal Mail’s Managing Director of Modernisation and Operations, said: “The mostrecent above-target results are encouraging and reflect the determination of our postmen and womento deliver the best-possible service.”
One of the biggest transformation programmes in UK industry is currently underway in Royal Mailas the company modernises its operations with new technology, consolidation of mail centres andchanges to the way mail is delivered. A key operational challenge facing the company is to deliverhigh-quality customer service while implementing major changes.
Higson said: “The operational changes we are making in Royal Mail are the biggest the companyhas undertaken in living memory. We constantly review the way we modernise to minimise any impacton customers. The scale of the changes sometimes leads to some teething problems which can have atemporary impact on quality of service. We apologise to any customers for any service which fallsbelow our targets, which are among the highest standards in Europe. Customers can be assured we aredoing everything possible to deliver the best possible service at all times.”
In response, Robert Hammond, Director of Postal Policy and Regulation at Consumer Focus, theBritish consumer protection organisation, said: “Royal Mail’s performance on first class post inthe first quarter is disappointing with 91.4% of post being delivered on time as against the targetof 93%. Royal Mail missed its delivery targets in half of UK postcodes. The first quarterperformance on both first and second class post was the worst for that period for four years.”
He added: “The company says its modernisation programme has affected performance. The programmehas been running since April 2010 and we would expect any teething problems to be over by now. Theprice of stamps has increased significantly in recent years to fund modernisation and consumersdeserve to see improvements in the service.”
