Our Delivery to Neighbour guidelines

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Joint agreement with the CWU emphasises the importance of Delivery to Neighbour http://www.myroyalmail.com/news/2014/07 ... guidelines" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

We recently agreed a new Delivery to Neighbour national guideline with the CWU. Here, we pull out the key points.

Importance

At the start, the guideline sets out the importance of first-time delivery. It states: ‘The continued growth in the UK home-shopping market and customers’ expectations for greater delivery convenience means we need to improve customer experience by improving our first-time delivery success.’

The guideline notes that ‘first-time delivery is becoming a critical competitive lever in this market.’ It comments how most of our competitors try to delivery to a neighbour, but at Royal Mail ‘we have the advantage of outstanding in-depth local knowledge. We should use this to achieve higher success rates.’

Using Delivery to Neighbour and improving our first-time delivery rates not only helps our customers. It also ‘helps to protect more high quality and well-paid jobs.’

In detail

Also included in the guideline is the service outline and operational processes. This includes a definition of what we mean by ‘neighbour’.

And, that a completed P739 Something For You card needs to be left at the original customer’s address to let them know where their parcel is.

Other information includes:

The opt-out option for customers
Which products are exempt from Delivery to Neighbour - Special Deliveries and Inbound International Signed For
The Delivery to Neighbour process
You can read the nationally agreed guideline, which is jointly signed by Jane Hooper, our quality and customer director, and the CWU’s assistant secretary, Bob Gibson, by clicking here.https://www.myroyalmail.com/sites/defau ... ghbour.doc" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[TrueBlueTerrier]

ROYAL MAIL & CWU NATIONALLY AGREED GUIDELINES

FIRST TIME DELIVERY - DELIVERY TO NEIGHBOUR


Introduction
The continued growth in the UK home-shopping market and customers’ expectations for greater delivery convenience means we need to improve customer experience by improving our first time delivery success. Delivery to Neighbour was launched nationwide in September 2012 after a successful trial.

Convenient or First Time delivery is becoming a critical competitive lever in this market and Delivery to Neighbour provides Royal Mail with an opportunity to provide a more reliable first time delivery rate than our competitors.
Most of our competitors attempt delivery to neighbour. In Royal Mail we have the advantage of outstanding in-depth local knowledge and we should use this to achieve higher success rates to help retain work and provide a platform to obtain more contracts as a consequence of an improved first time delivery service.
The investment in time to undertake Delivery to Neighbour means that customers get their items quickly and conveniently, resulting in higher customer satisfaction driving competitive advantage for Royal Mail versus other carriers. By offering the best service in the final mile, Royal Mail can win and hold more parcel volume, which helps to protect more high quality and well-paid jobs.

Royal Mail and CWU are fully supportive of the deployment of this revised initiative and believe it will have a positive impact on the service, our customers and parcel volumes going forward.

Service Outline and Operational Processes
.
Delivery to Neighbour will enable delivery OPG’s to deliver items that cannot be successfully delivered first time, to a neighbour instead.

A neighbour will be considered to be a person who lives within close proximity to the original address. They may be a next door neighbour or someone who lives sufficiently close by.

Delivery OPG’s will be free to use their initiative to decide which neighbour an item shall be left with, based on their local knowledge and experience.

If an appropriate neighbouring address is identified by a delivery OPG, they will ask the neighbour to take receipt of the item on behalf of the addressee. If the neighbour agrees to do so, the Delivery OPG will record the neighbouring address onto the P739 delivery card, and will then post this at the original address. Royal Mail Signed-For 1c and 2c items will require a signature from the receiving neighbour.

If an item cannot be delivered to a neighbour, for example
if there is no answer,
if the delivery OPG believes there is no appropriate alternative address where an item can be left, or
the neighbour refuses to sign for a RM Signed-for 1c or 2c item
then the item(s) should be returned to the Delivery Office in the normal way.




Opt-Out for Customers
Customers will still be able to opt out, this will include those who are having items delivered to them and neighbours who do not want to take things in.

These customers will continue to be responsible for displaying an Opt-Out sticker on their letterbox or window or somewhere that is clearly visible to delivery staff

To do this the customer must contact Royal Mail Customer Services by telephone or by using the dedicated website that has been set up. A range of communications are being utilised to inform customers of the Opt-Out process.

Customers opting out will retain the option of collecting their items from their local delivery office. In addition the Opt Out customer must not be asked to accept an item for their neighbour. Delivery staff must therefore return the item to the delivery office using normal Undeliverable processes.

Trial product Specification

Packets, Tracked, and Recorded Signed for products are all included in the service.
Special Delivery and International items requiring a signature are not part of the service and normal operational processes will continue to apply to these items.

The process

Delivery OPG’s will continue to have the sole responsibility to decide if, when, and where, it is appropriate to deliver to a neighbour. However alternative delivery addresses should always be attempted except where the delivery OPG has reviewed or risk-assessed the alternative neighbour delivery options and has significant concerns over either their own safety, or the security of the item.

Any complaints arising as a consequence of the delivery OPG’s decision will be brought to the attention of the individual and CWU rep to find a mutually acceptable solution. Both parties recognise that there will be some additional walking involved in a second attendance call and returning to the original address with the P739, where this is not possible within existing duty time this may result in individuals having to extend beyond their scheduled finish time. Any extended delivery as a consequence of providing this service will be dealt with using normal local procedures.

Service Review
The provision of this enhanced service will remain under review as part of the Integrated Delivery Programme (IDP) going forward and will fall specifically under the remit of the Safety, Customer Service and Quality Strand, and will include the time necessary to carry out this service and any consequential impact on delivery times, enquiry offices, redeliveries and complaints etc. Consideration will also be given to other alternative means of improving customer service such as dedicated parcel deliveries within the delivery office structure, and how we might use PDAs to help us increase first time delivery success.

All information/data will be shared with the CWU and jointly analysed as part of the ongoing IDP.



Signed……………………………….. Signed………………………………………
Jane Hooper - Royal Mail Bob Gibson - CWU


Date: 23rd April 2014

[pinstripe]

If either RM or the CWU were determined to ensure that parcels were delivered "first time", then they would agree to a system that actually allowed delivery staff to deliver the parcel when the recipient was actually at home, like ................in the morning.

Instead we get this guff, week after week.

[Lincox]

Any extended delivery as a result of this process will be dealt with under normal local procedures. In other words, no you will not be paid overtime as the line manager reckons you make at least an hour on a Tuesday. Cut off, Cut off, Cut off.

[bigbazza]

Knock knock who's there? No one so leave a card.

[Acca Dacca]

If the customer cared that much about first time delivery they would be in to accept it.

Or get it sent to their work.

[Jamesethefirst]

Knock knock who's there? No one so leave a card.

Like that,a lot.

[mdm]

How many times does the management and CWU need to be told, since park and loop came in and lapsing everyday to take us up to our time, THERE IS NO SODDING TIME TO DO IT.
Phew, rant over.

[malcolm3011]

How many times does the management and CWU need to be told, since park and loop came in and lapsing everyday to take us up to our time, THERE IS NO SODDING TIME TO DO IT.
Phew, rant over.

Yes totally agree but like everything RM wants the CWU agree with, shame they don't ask the workers their view first

[Spedley]

With tracked deliverys I don't see any reason why we cannot do like DPD etc. Email the customer the day before and ask them what they want us to do with the parcel tomorrow (e.g. leave at 31, leave in porch, leave at P.O) then when we scan the item to deliver it the pda tells us what to do with it.

Surely everything is in place to do this?

[Sidley]

Except the will and/or money/hours.

[ApuChunk]

In our office we have been told that if it is a tracked item, we must try 3 houses either side and scan the parcel in as 'not delivered' each time if there is no one in. At the end of the day our managers have been asking us for the address of each of our returned tracked items so they can check we have done it! I don't see this in the agreement anywhere so why can they get away with this? Anybody else having to try 3 houses either side or is it just our hell hole of an office?

[RedBagMan]

"Leave enough time for customer to come to the door and knock twice"
"Attempt delivery to neighbour"
"Complete P739 card and leave with original address"

Try doing all that in the 60 seconds that we are allotted for a knock-on ....

[wannabeek]

ATTENDANCE CALL TIMES

Non-PDA Items
Successful attendance call - 25.6 seconds
Unsuccessful attendance call - 60.4 seconds

PDA Items
Successful attendance call (no signature) - 37.0 seconds
Successful attendance call (signature) - 52.9 seconds
Unsuccessful attendance call - 78.3 seconds

No additional time has been agreed for Deliver to Neighbour.

Tight doms you have, they're conning you out of 18.3 seconds each time!

[Postie45]

In our office we have been told that if it is a tracked item, we must try 3 houses either side and scan the parcel in as 'not delivered' each time if there is no one in. At the end of the day our managers have been asking us for the address of each of our returned tracked items so they can check we have done it! I don't see this in the agreement anywhere so why can they get away with this? Anybody else having to try 3 houses either side or is it just our hell hole of an office? :arrrghhh

thats a reasonable request, the question is, does doing this affect your ability to complete your delivery. I know for a fact if I did this Id be bring a 1/3 of a walk back every day.