Chief commercial officer, Nick Landon, tells us how costly complaints are and how vital it is we scan properly at the doorstep to avoid issues with our customers.
‘It’s all in our gift to make a crucial difference,’ explains Nick. ‘Denial of receipt is the biggest cause of complaint we’re receiving. And the trend is going in the wrong direction for us.’
This is a trimmed version of a myroyalmail video.
https://www.myroyalmail.com/news/2021/04/dont-deny-them
Denial of receipt is the biggest cause of complaints we receive – but it’s within our power to reduce them. In this week’s RMtv, we heard how colleagues in Northallerton are doing just that. Now read the thoughts of Oswestry delivery office manager Mark Robinson, who has helped successfully cut denial of receipt complaints in his office over the last year. Alongside the ‘scan at the door, not before’ mantra – take advantage of his top tips and help bring better results across the business…
‘We have seen complaints overall go down in this office but one of the issues we have had throughout the year is with denial of receipt. That is one of the key focuses I’ve had as delivery office manager over the last year to get on top of and drive those denial of receipt complaints down.
‘I think it’s really easy to stop denial of receipt complaints if we just do the things we’re supposed to do.
‘Firstly, it’s important that every item we receive gets each scan it is due – be that in the mail centre, when it gets to the delivery office – the ‘ready to deliver’ scan – and then the scan on the doorstep.
‘Secondly, it’s important that colleagues understand that each item should only be scanned right at the doorstep – nowhere else. So, not in the van at the beginning of a loop, for instance.
‘My key advice is to scan the item before doing anything else. That’s before the knock on the door, or before writing a P739 card out. If the item is scanned first, the postie has to do something else with it before moving. I find that’s a really good way of making sure they get the scan.
‘Lastly, there is a camera function on the PDA. Colleagues should use it to take a picture of where they have left the item. That is so good for customers to be able to see what the item has been.
‘People are paying for the scan. They are paying that little bit extra to see where the parcel is and to see it in the pipeline. As soon as that isn’t done, we’re not actually providing the service they’re paying for.
‘From a managers’ perspective it’s about having processes in place to make sure items receive the right scans inside the building in the morning, analyse the information available to us and, where we see things not working, try and put things in place to make sure they do function properly. And I talk through each complaint I get with the individual postie involved, too.
‘In summary, for our posties, scan the item at the door – nowhere else – scan the item before you do anything – such as knock on the door or write a P739 card out – so you don’t forget to do the scan, and use the camera to take a picture. That will help reduce denial of receipt complaints.’