Customers want 5 day week service?

[POSTMAN]

8 November 2010

Consumers say what they need from the universal postal service of the future

A major new piece of research from Postcomm and Consumer Focus, published today, has surveyed the needs of postal customers and tested their views on potential changes to the postal service. The research is being published against the backdrop of the Postal Services Bill which proposes major reforms to Royal Mail, and a general view that the postal service needs to modernise.

According to the in-depth new survey, customers may be prepared to make trade-offs to ensure a sustainable postal service, if it is guaranteed that changes to Royal Mail deliver a reliable, value for money, one-price goes anywhere service [1] Safeguarding the universal service remains key for customers.

Postcomm, the postal regulator, and Consumer Focus, the consumer watchdog, conducted comprehensive research to look at trends in how customers have used postal services over the last three years, and what residential and business customers need from the postal service.

The survey found that residential and business customers alike acknowledge that the way they use the postal service continues to change. As a result, they appreciate that changes to the service may be needed. In the survey, residential customers and businesses were presented with a range of potential changes to the postal service and asked to trade-off different aspects in order to test which were most important to them.

Customers are tolerant of small changes, such as slight increases in stamp prices or minor reductions in the quality of service, in order to retain the ‘one price goes anywhere’ guarantee.

Consumers and businesses said they could accept reductions to the current system, such as changing to a five day a week service [2], but trade-offs would be needed to make a new system work for them. Customers stressed that any reductions to the current service would need to be balanced out with benefits, such as no large price increases and the introduction of new services like paid for evening deliveries. Any changes need to be carefully considered, as both business and residential customers place a high value on the universal service.

For related documents visit our website at Universal Service Customer Needs Research http://www.psc.gov.uk/universal/customerneedsresearch" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



Postcomm has today also published a report of the outputs from the Customer Interest Forum. More details can be found at Customer Interest Forum http://www.psc.gov.uk/latestnews/2010/l ... restforum/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



[1] Postcomm and Consumer Focus jointly commissioned TNS-BMRB to undertake three separate surveys into the needs of residential customers, businesses and bulk mail customers. The surveys involved questionnaires and a trade-off exercise with 1,387 householders and 460 businesses (and 30 in-depth interviews with bulk mail customers commissioned separately by Postcomm). Development work was undertaken prior to the main surveys which included in-depth discussions with 30 residential customers and 15 businesses (and 4 bulk mail customers). In developing the range of propositions to be put to customers, Postcomm and Consumer Focus held workshops with a range of interested parties including Royal Mail, the Mail Users’ Association and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

[2] According to the survey, whilst customers were willing to accept changes to the number of days on which mail is collected and delivered, business customers expressed a strong need to maintain services on Monday to Friday for operational reasons. Residential customers prefer to retain a Saturday service, however only marginally so. Maintaining the current service but losing Saturday collection and delivery would still be acceptable to 89.7% of residential customers.

• Postcomm has no jurisdiction over the minimum requirements of the universal service, which are enshrined in law (the Postal Services Act 2000). It is for Government to consider and take decisions on any changes to the minimum requirements of the universal service and we hope that this research will be useful in policy making.

[DGP1]

Just in time for privatisation

[Sharkeyes]

Looks like you can have Saturdays off if you accept these changes for a poxy few hundred quid and work every evening until around 9pm because people will be at home to answer the door by then from work.
Sounds great if your not the one walking around in the dark with gangs of hoodies on every corner, muggers and thieves wanting to nick your bag / van contents.
:mfo
Another crazy idea dreamt up by an idiot on too much money who doesn't do the job and has no understanding of what 'receiving' customers actually want. I for one am totally against us doing any evening delivery or collection work in the dark hours of winter. Sadly a few years ago we lost a colleague in Sheffield to a mindless thug who killed him whilst emptying a pillar box .
It doesn't take Einstein to realise that evening deliveries is a recipe for further attacks on staff and the possibility of more loss of life and for what? So some one can get a huge bonus? The job won't be worth the risk. It won't just be 4 legged animals we'll have to deal with, it will those on 2 legs as well! :mfo :cfo

[fmrPOSTIE]

So predictable. To have a Sat delivery is great at the minute and Royal Mail should use it to its advantage (when compared to private sector companies). The end of the day residential customers voted to keep a 6-day delivery. Yet its clear Postcomm etc. want to chip away at this to make the business more appealing to an outside bidder. Royal Mail is being set up, good and proper.

[adrianjames]

So predictable. To have a Sat delivery is great at the minute and Royal Mail should use it to its advantage (when compared to private sector companies). The end of the day residential customers voted to keep a 6-day delivery. Yet its clear Postcomm etc. want to chip away at this to make the business more appealing to an outside bidder. Royal Mail is being set up, good and proper.

stuff saturdays

[POSTMAN]

What makes you think it will be Saturday that goes?

[DGP1]

What makes you think it will be Saturday that goes?

Businesses want their mail Mon-Fri, although with the times we'll be delivering they will be getting their post tomorrow anyway

[Wessex]

I have a feeling that Postconn are able to use 'surveys' likes this as the justification for the changes that have already been decided by them privately .Seem to remember that Sunday collections were got rid of after a similar survey.Pity we cant have our own survey on the usefulness of Postconn and Oftwat or whatever it is they are going to hide in.

[POSTMAN]

What makes you think it will be Saturday that goes?

Businesses want their mail Mon-Fri, although with the times we'll be delivering they will be getting their post tomorrow anyway

Don't be too sure at that,the last time this reared it's ugly head the big DM boys done their nut,they like Sat deliveries.

[DGP1]

What makes you think it will be Saturday that goes?

Businesses want their mail Mon-Fri, although with the times we'll be delivering they will be getting their post tomorrow anyway

Don't be too sure at that,the last time this reared it's ugly head the big DM boys done their nut,they like Sat deliveries.

Anyway, it'll never happen, too many vested interests in deliveries Monday to Saturday.

[POSTMAN]

You know what,give it a few years and they will drop a day.

[Phantom]

This is paving the way for 5 day delivery only, in 2 years Saturday will be gone

[fishtank]

This is paving the way for 5 day delivery only, in 2 years Saturday will be gone

It will be much more selective than that..Saturdays will stay where saturdays pay...in the cities and large towns.
Old Macdonald might have a farm but he won't have a 6 day postal service.

[DGP1]

This is paving the way for 5 day delivery only, in 2 years Saturday will be gone

It will be much more selective than that..Saturdays will stay where saturdays pay...in the cities and large towns.
Old Macdonald might have a farm but he won't have a 6 day postal service.

Old Macdonald might be lucky to get 3 deliveries per week

[brothermagrew]

Shades of the X Factor Wagner v Vagner pronunciation - it is MacDonald DGP1.