Why we got that national "We love parcels" mailing

[POSTMAN]

We sent this mailing to all our customers across the UK to make sure that customers are aware of the great value they can get for £2.60.

With regards to the timing of the mailing, we have been considering all the options available to us for some time, however we have had to make this informed choice against the backdrop of forecast volumes of parcels versus actual numbers received through the Post Office, meaning that we had to hold off until we understood how much consumer demand was out there.

The mailing itself represents a significant investment in consumer advertising and we didn’t want to commit budget to executing this mailing until we had this clear indication of how much demand for parcels was coming through Post Offices.

Our central Marketing and Operational Planning Teams have worked very hard to deploy this mailing once we gave the green light. We used four printers to produce 26 million items – on a rolling basis, with the first of the mailers landing with customers on Thursday 5th December. The print run completed on Thursday 12th December, this was purely to do with the way the Postal Address File (PAF) national database had been split between the printers – in alphabetical order.

We were unable to send this mailing via Door to Door, for the simple reason that by the time we gave the go ahead our printers would have been unable to print the full volume, package up and palletise for Door to Door presentation and similarly it would incurred too much pressure on our RDC network to then break the mailing up to Delivery Office level.

As I said earlier, we have been considering all our options for some time – as I’m sure you can appreciate the making of our TV advert takes a long time and was something that we commissioned in May, when we wrote out to all our front line people in June to invite them to audition to take part in the TV advert. We made that decision many months ago to promote our business at this crucial time – and I want to assure you that like the TV advert - now is the right time for this mailing to land with our customers, as we correct any misperceptions that they might have about what they can send for £2.60 – at a time when occasional posters are most likely to use us.

Thank you again for your email and I hope my reply helps to explain the reasons for, and timing of, the mailing.

[osgoody1970]

just goes to confirm, what we all thought.... they have no idea what goes on in delivery offices!!!!

[ratchet]

The real reason they had to do it was because they got greedy and totally cocked up the pricing for small parcels.

[pyphon]

all cleared at mine :)

[luddite]

Leaflets arrived for delivery last Saturday, 1st class, all had to go, busiest day we had so far. We couldn't cope with what we had not alone a 100 percent call rate of leaflets wbich should have been D2D at the start of the month! No one wanted any overtime after been told they must go so the office to a man cut off, total fail. RM management couldn't run a f#cking bath!!!

[ted_e_bear]

We had them last thursday told they all had to go, you'd laugh if it wasn't RM management striking again as ironically 100's of parcels were left in office as there wasn't time to deliver them cos we were too busy delivering a leaflet that explained how much we love parcels !!

[superports]

On the day we got the "we love parcels" leaflets I told my manager I didn't want to work over.
He said "just deliver them where you're already going"
I said I would still be over, he then said "don't deliver your parcels".
I think he didn't see the irony.

[OnAFlyer]

On the day we got the "we love parcels" leaflets I told my manager I didn't want to work over.
He said "just deliver them where you're already going"
I said I would still be over, he then said "don't deliver your parcels".
I think he didn't see the irony.

We got two days to deliver them. On both days we couldn't complete our parcels.

We still love them though.

[DICK43]

Leaflets arrived for delivery last Saturday, 1st class, all had to go, busiest day we had so far. We couldn't cope with what we had not alone a 100 percent call rate of leaflets wbich should have been D2D at the start of the month! No one wanted any overtime after been told they must go so the office to a man cut off, total fail. RM management couldn't run a f#cking bath!!!

They secretly know that the public bang Door 2 Doors straight in the bin!, if not, there was no need to address them all!!....