Royal Mail performance condemned by Postwatch

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.brandrepublic.com/News/78748 ... Postwatch/

by Alex Donohue Brand Republic 29-Feb-08, 14:00

LONDON - Annual performance figures for Royal Mail have been criticised by Postwatch, the industry's watchdog, following a summer disrupted by industrial action that caused the first-class delivery rate to plunge far below its target.

Royal Mail's first-class delivery rate for the first nine months of 2007 was 83%, which was 10 percentage points below its target of 93%. Four of those months were blighted by rolling industrial action by workers over pay, pensions and working conditions.
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Postwatch said the results would likely result in Royal Mail missing out on 10 of its 12 annual licence targets by the end of the year, which would make it the worst annual performance by Royal Mail since 2003-2004, when the company missed all 12.

The watchdog warned that 2007 and 2008 could be "the pivotal year" in Royal Mail's decline unless it could modernise itself.

The company has responded that its performance was affected by strike action, resulting in a fall in first-class delivery targets between September and December to 80%, and second class post dropping to 91.4%.

Royal Mail said the figures contrasted sharply with its "target-beating performance" across all operations over the 12 months leading up to the strike.

Postwatch also criticised Royal Mail for its service levels over the Christmas period, which fell outside the annual target, and resulted in only 55.1% of first-class post being delivered the next day. The figure for standard retail parcels was 83%.

Millie Banerjee, chair of Postwatch, said: "Royal Mail is having a difficult year. It has let customers down and driven many of them into using alternative means of communicating; it is doubtful that those customers who moved away from mail will return."

Ninian Wilson, operations director at Royal Mail, said: "With the strike behind us and a wide-ranging agreement on modernisation in place, we are now focused on delivering once again consistent, high quality of service to all our customers."

[sevenandseven]

According to the Postcomm annual report for 2003/4 Royal Mail missed all 15 of its targets not all 12 as stated above. It also recorded profits of £230 million despite paying out compensation of over £50 million. So it missed targets last year because of strikes. You don't need to have a maths degree to realise that would happen. But the biggest hit on the profits will come from the absurd liberalisation and fines instigated by Postcomm in a hope of creating a 'level playing field'. If the alternatives are so great why am I still delivering Amazon packets coming direct through Royal Mail and also downstream for TNT? The whole thing is a Euro/British government farce and we are the poor sods - employees and social customers - that are suffering. Postwatch and Postcomm should be looking at where the real problems are but are unlikely to point the accusing finger at their masters.

[Stormproof]

2003/04 was'nt that the year we had the wildcat strikes?

[trythat]

Don't postcom what other companies to deliver mail, I thought they were there to make our life s**t!

[POSTMAN]

2003/04 was'nt that the year we had the wildcat strikes?

Yep.

[plodsie]

Competition is the best way to put
Consignia back in touch with its customers and back to profit. Postwatch strongly
believes the benefits competition brings should not be delayed and need to be
introduced as soon as possible. The Regulator’s proposals to open the market are
sound and measured and build in sufficient time for Consignia to get up-to-speed.
“Competition is not, as Consignia suggest, a threat to the provision of the universal
service but a failing monopoly is. Customers need the freedom and choice that the
progressive opening of the market place will offer over the next 4 years. If Consignia
cannot deliver the reliable services customers want then others must be given the
opportunity to do so.- Postwatch, 12th April 2002.

6 years on and the competition have yet to offer anything to the public masses. What exactly has competition succeeded in doing then Postwatch? Has competition improved the service for the public? No. Has prices for posting stayed at decent level? No. Has it made postmen and women unemployed, demoralised, and vote for strike action? Yes. Has it closed thousands of post offices? Yes. Postwatch and Postcomm are ran by idiots who wouldn't have a clue of what is either needed or wanted by the public. While we may have failed in our targets, Postwatch has never noticed that while TNT has collected millions of letters, they have failed to DELIVER any of them at all. Surely that is something that should worry them more?