Column: We need to be setting a target that Royal Mail could actually hit

[TrueBlueTerrier]

https://www.chad.co.uk/news/opinion/col ... it-8753122

Complaining about the postal service is the brother of weather-based chat. It’s a British pastime, says writer and comedian Steve N Allen.

So I was delighted to read about Paul Edwards. As a new father he ordered Mother & Baby magazine for parenting advice.

We could point out he should have bought Father & Baby magazine but that’s a pamphlet saying, “It’s not about you.”

That magazine, brimming with tips for parents, arrived recently. The only problem is he ordered it in 2007. Royal Mail took so long to deliver the item his children are now 18 and 20 and at university. I hope he gets a refund. It will help with the tuition fees.

It took so long to get to him he’s now needing tips on how to deal with an empty nest. There’s probably a magazine for that but he won’t get his copy until 2043.

It’s part of a trend. Royal Mail delivered just 75.7 per cent of first-class mail within one working day in the year to March. Ofcom’s target is 90 per cent. The previous year it was 76.3 per cent, so performance is declining. We need to be setting a target that Royal Mail could actually hit, like asking them to drop fewer elastic bands on the floor every morning.

A first-class stamp now costs £1.80, up 10p in April. You are paying more for a service that is getting worse. The company was fined £21 million by Ofcom in October for missing targets but that just means money from the new stamp price goes to paying Ofcom instead of updating their systems.

They will also have to pay interest on that fine. I’m assuming they will pay late. It takes them two decades to get a magazine to someone.

While we all enjoy moaning about this terrible service we should also realise that it doesn’t really matter. That’s the problem. Back in the day the only way to get some information to someone was a letter and you wanted it there the next day. Now if you want something sending you pop it in an email.

It used to be the case that if you ordered an item of shopping to be delivered you had to give it 28 days to arrive, but a letter you wanted to get there in a day. Now, if you Amazon Prime something you want it there in a day, but if you send a letter you’re lucky if it gets there in a month.

And what can you do if it doesn’t arrive? You could send a complaint but, well, you know.