A local play cafe owner is claiming she paid £1,500 for a 'failed' Royal Mail leaflet campaign.
Gem Arnold, owner of Bambinis Play Cafe in Birkenshaw, has spoken out after claiming a Royal Mail door-to-door leaflet campaign, costing her small, independent business over £1,500 "failed" to reach large numbers of local residents.
The mother-of-two claims that the campaign, designed to promote her business' new offerings, was not executed properly by the British postal service - with some residents claiming they never received a flyer, and others receiving multiple.
Specifically, the aim of the leaflet was to inform residents of the cafe's new gelato offering, their free and funded perinatal support classes and children’s movement holiday activity sessions across selected BD4, BD11, BD19 and WF17 postcode sectors.
What Royal Mail said
A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We understand how important this campaign was and we are sorry for the concerns raised about the delivery of the leaflets.
“We are engaging directly with the customer and our investigation is ongoing. To properly investigate reported delivery issues, we need address-level information so we can identify the relevant delivery points and review what happened. We will continue to work with the customer to look into the concerns they have raised.”
Ms Arnold began her own investigation
She told the T&A that concerns first arose after a local resident contacted her directly on Instagram to report receiving about 20 copies of the same leaflet through their door.
After seeing this, Gem posted in four local Facebook community groups asking residents whether they had received the leaflet.
The posts generated more than 200 comments from residents reporting:
no leaflet received
multiple copies delivered
leaflets stuffed inside other advertising bundles and flyers
Reports of leaflets being discarded in bins
Ms Arnold has since gathered screenshots, resident reports and public comments from individuals identifying themselves as postal workers discussing leaflet delivery practices.
'I understand postal workers are under pressure' - but...
“I completely understand postal workers are under pressure,” Ms Arnold, originally from Liversedge, said.
“But as a small independent business owner, I paid for a professional service during one of the hardest times of year for my business.
“Play cafes are incredibly seasonal. When the sun comes out, customer numbers can drop dramatically overnight. This campaign money could have gone towards paying business bills during the quieter months or been reinvested back into the venue and community services.
“When local families are saying they never received anything, while others received two or three copies, something clearly hasn’t gone right.”
Royal Mail require more details, she claims
Ms Arnold claims Royal Mail has refused to fully investigate the complaint unless she provides full addresses for 10% of the campaign area where the service allegedly failed, which she says equates to more than 1,000 addresses.
Despite this, she says local residents rallied behind the small business to show support and voluntarily offer their address details to assist with the complaint.
She says she has now submitted evidence to Royal Mail and requested a formal investigation into the campaign.
Bambinis Play Cafe is a family-focused play cafe and community venue based in Birkenshaw, offering play sessions, community classes, parties and family events.