New vision for Royal Mail's future

[bogstandard]

I must be missing something here, am we seriously being expected to believe that there are people out there who used to write letters but now send text messages instead. Just out of curiosity what percentage of the 5 million is that.

Secondly,
Mandelson backed the report's call for a "strategic partnership" with one or more private sector companies "with demonstrable experience in transforming a major business... in circumstances comparable to those now faced by Royal Mail". Would i be correct in concluding that, at present we DON'T have people with these skills currently in place. What a f***ing surprise.
Did Mr. Hooper agree to do this report for his own personal sense of wellbeing or was he paid cash money for his findings.

BIG question,
What did the report look like before Mandy took over which caused the susequent delay, what's been changed, should we not be able to see what exactly Mr.Hooper was prepared to put his name to prior to Mandys fiddlings?

[heapsy]

I've said all along that it would be a complete stitch up and I'm sorry to say I was right. The politicians of this country just cannot resist trying to screw just about everything up, as long as they get their pound of flesh. They are more corrupt than all the governments of Italy, and the entire continent of South America combined, and what makes it worse, is that the opposition are no better. Even if the government was different, and the opposition also, it wouldn't make any difference.

[BELIAL]

Ah ,but they are savvy .Most folks giving the subject a cursory thought ,will equate e-comms with all communication, not studying the data and accounting for addition rather than substitution.
However this is where RM subterfuge comes into play. Not being stupid they are perfectly aware of this common public misperception and will play it to support their ends. However ,they are, perfectly aware of the true picture as revealed by a senior managers comments ,that E-comms has massively upped traffic. Seems counterintuitive , but increased trade requires physical proof and fulfillment ,we talk more ,we deal more cyber scarfs don't warm your neck

[Big Daz]

I send plenty of text messgaes but they are 99% to the missus or the area delivery rep so there has been no replacement of letters on my part.

I also send plenty of emails but these havent replaced letters as I wasnt sending flipping letters to start with.

[DGP1]

I send plenty of text messgaes but they are 99% to the missus or the area delivery rep so there has been no replacement of letters on my part.

I also send plenty of emails but these havent replaced letters as I wasnt sending flipping letters to start with.

I used to sit and write letters all the time, short ones like 'I'll be home in 30 minutes' and 'What's for dinner' and now I've replaced them with texts.

[Big Daz]

Public phones boxes are the real victims of text msgs and mobile phones.

Yes emails are replacing some letters (paperless billing) but how many phone calls have been replaced by a email?

[ar26]

I read some where that MR Richard Hoopers background is in electronic media ie emails texting and all things non letter. Should the fact that he has an ineterest in this medium of communication therefore make his report biased. Just reading the first page makes me cringe. I can't see any fall off in the mail I deliver, packets are way up and his report says there is an unpresended drop in mail volumes, what did he do look at a Mondays traffic and then compare that to a Tuesdays.

[dvbuk55]

I send plenty of text messgaes but they are 99% to the missus or the area delivery rep so there has been no replacement of letters on my part.

I also send plenty of emails but these havent replaced letters as I wasnt sending flipping letters to start with.

I used to sit and write letters all the time, short ones like 'I'll be home in 30 minutes' and 'What's for dinner' and now I've replaced them with texts.

And the answer is still a definite NO - well a maybe then

[Big Daz]

I used to sit and write letters all the time, short ones like 'I'll be home in 30 minutes' and 'What's for dinner' and now I've replaced them with texts.

I think you deserve a award for this post, its the funiest post ive read in ages!!!!!

[AndyK]

The report says: "The Post Bank should be established as a social enterprise geared towards the public interest in local communities rather than maximising returns for shareholders." The MPs intend to table a Commons motion next month. Peter Hain, the former cabinet minister, who has spoken out against the privatisation plans, is said to be offering his support.

Neal Lawson, director of Compass, the centre-left pressure group, who worked alongside Alan Johnson, the current health secretary, to kill off privatisation plans in 1994 when Johnson was general secretary of the Union of Communication Workers (UCW), said Gordon Brown was making a "massive mistake" in taking on his party.

"At some point, the centre-left has to find a service it can successfully modernise, while it remains wholly public. The Royal Mail is it. No one rules out private-sector innovation, but it should be for the benefit of people, not profit.

This is exactly what was done in New Zealand in 2002 by the then Labour Government.
There were of course howls of opposition from many quarters, in particular the private banking sector, who proclaimed that such an idea would never work , be unprofitable and just another drain on scarce governement resources.

Six years later the bank is highly successful and profitable and has over 600,000 customers in a country with a population of a mere 4 miilion. Moreover, during the recent market turmoil, the bank has been the least affected of all the banks as it has no exposure to offshore borrowing and complex financial instruments.

The old KISS principle (Keep It Simple Stupid) definitely seems to have worked for this little bank. It would appear to be a far better and viable solution than the idea of part privatisation that Peter Mandelson seems to be floating. Not only can it generate revenue needed to modernise the current postal service, it will also provide a bank that serves communities and helps keep the other banks honest. Surely all that privatisation is likely to bring is a reduced postal service that maximises the return to private investors.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sundaystartimes/ ... 22981.html

[DGP1]

The report says: "The Post Bank should be established as a social enterprise geared towards the public interest in local communities rather than maximising returns for shareholders." The MPs intend to table a Commons motion next month. Peter Hain, the former cabinet minister, who has spoken out against the privatisation plans, is said to be offering his support.

Neal Lawson, director of Compass, the centre-left pressure group, who worked alongside Alan Johnson, the current health secretary, to kill off privatisation plans in 1994 when Johnson was general secretary of the Union of Communication Workers (UCW), said Gordon Brown was making a "massive mistake" in taking on his party.

"At some point, the centre-left has to find a service it can successfully modernise, while it remains wholly public. The Royal Mail is it. No one rules out private-sector innovation, but it should be for the benefit of people, not profit.

This is exactly what was done in New Zealand in 2002 by the then Labour Government.
There were of course howls of opposition from many quarters, in particular the private banking sector, who proclaimed that such an idea would never work , be unprofitable and just another drain on scarce governement resources.

Six years later the bank is highly successful and profitable and has over 600,000 customers in a country with a population of a mere 4 miilion. Moreover, during the recent market turmoil, the bank has been the least affected of all the banks as it has no exposure to offshore borrowing and complex financial instruments.

The old KISS principle (Keep It Simple Stupid) definitely seems to have worked for this little bank. It would appear to be a far better and viable solution than the idea of part privatisation that Peter Mandelson seems to be floating. Not only can it generate revenue needed to modernise the current postal service, it will also provide a bank that serves communities and helps keep the other banks honest. Surely all that privatisation is likely to bring is a reduced postal service that maximises the return to private investors.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sundaystartimes/ ... 22981.html

It's a great idea in princible but we already had that and was sold off for a few pounds remember Girobank.

[paulsmd]

Would profit from the banking / financial side of POL really be enough to fund investment in Royal Mail, i doubt it. Its a good idea, dont get me wrong, but the revenue generated from this should go back into the network and possibly open up new outlets. Rather than going into the letters side. Im personally thinking of withdrawing all of my money from my high street bank as and when the Post Office come up with a current account. I dont trust these tossers in the banking world no more, things are going to get alot worse. I'D rather have my money in a PO as the transactions that i hope to make will play a part in keeping them open.

On Royal Mails future, yes there are many senior managers who cant organise a piss up in a brewery but take a look at Parcelforce, it went from a total disaster losing millions to making a £5m profit....and all done within Royal Mail. They closed countless depots to restructure, so it can be done.

Royal Mail letters dev`s all of Parceforce parcels for them. Apart from 12/24hrs.
That is how Parcelforce make a profit. If Parcelforce was to dev` all of royal mails letters we would make millions in profit.