Royal Mail’s standards of service: still nothing to write home about
Royal Mail has today published in a low-key manner via its website its performance statistics for the quarter (October to December 2004).
The service standard targets are cumulative for the year. The cumulative statistics for the first three quarters of 2004/05 show that performance against 13 of the 15 service standards is below target.
Based on these statistics Postwatch predicts that Royal Mail will for the year as a whole fail possibly 12 of its 15 service targets, including that for 1st class stamped and metered, Special Deliveries and the Standard Retail Parcel. It is recognised that failing 12 standards will be an improvement on last year when all 15 targets were failed.
However, it has to be remembered that Royal Mail’s targets represent the minimum service levels that customers pay for. Not reaching them means Royal Mail will not have provided an acceptable postal service in 2004/05, following complete failure in 2003/04.
Peter Carr, Chairman of Postwatch, commenting on Royal Mail’s performance said: “Whilst we are pleased that recent performance is on an upward trend, the results that matter continue to disappoint. Yet again, customers have paid for service levels that have not been delivered.
“In 2003/04 Royal Mail failed all 15 service targets. The Regulator, Postcomm, is still considering what action to take to incentivise Royal Mail’s management to put customer service at the top of its priority list. The Regulator should act urgently in the interests of customers.
“For example, customers in Oxford (Postcode OX) and East London (Postcode E) – which includes Canary Wharf – must be fed up with being told their service is improving. The fact is they get a worse service (84 per cent and 85.5 per cent of 1st class letters respectively delivered next day) than customers in the Shetland Islands (Postcode ZE: 87 per cent), whose remoteness means they are officially excluded from the UK national target.”
NOTES TO EDITORS
1. Royal Mail website link
http://www.royalmailgroup.com/aboutus/aboutus_ourperformance.asp
2. Postwatch’s website is www.postwatch.co.uk
3. The following table shows which standards are expected to fail their full year targets:
STANDARD Full year target % Cumulative performance April to December Postwatch’s pass/fail prediction for 2004/05
1st Class Stamped & Meter All 92.5 90.9 FAIL
2nd Class Stamped & Meter All 98.5 98.4 ü
1st Class Postage Paid Impression 90.6 86.6 FAIL
2nd Class Postage Paid Impression 97.4 95.8 FAIL
1st Class Response Services 90.3 78.8 FAIL
2nd Class response services 97.5 93.2 FAIL
Special Delivery 99.0 98.0 FAIL
All PCAs (except3) to achieve 91.0 for 1st Class Stamped and Metered posted to UK 118 63 FAIL
All PCAs to achieve 92.5 for 1st Class Stamped and Metered Intra Postcode Area 121 96 FAIL
Mailsort 1 91.0 91.0 ü
Mailsort 2 97.5 96.9 FAIL
Mailsort 3 97.5 98.1 ü
Presstream 1 90.5 89.7 FAIL
Presstream 2 97.5 97.3 FAIL
Standard Retail Parcels 90.0 88.9 FAIL
4. Top 20 and bottom 20 performing postcode areas:
The following table shows the 20 best performing postcode areas during 2004/05. This is based on the percentage of 1st Class Stamped and Metered items posted within that area arriving the next day.
Position Postcode Area Apr 04 – Dec 04
1 WN Wigan 94.3
2 SR Sunderland 93.9
3 AL St Albans 93.7
4 TR Truro 93.6
5 S Sheffield 93.5
6 DT Dorchester 93.2
6 CT Canterbury 93.2
8 WS Walsall 93.1
8 HR Hereford 93.1
10 RH Redhill 93
11 NG Nottingham 92.9
11 CW Crewe 92.9
13 WD Watford 92.8
13 KT Kingston upon Thames 92.8
15 LN Lincoln 92.7
15 DD Dundee 92.7
17 YO York 92.6
18 PH Perth 92.4
18 ME Maidstone 92.4
18 LA Lancaster 92.4
Bottom 20 Postcode Areas, April 2004 – December 2004
The following table shows the 20 worst performing postcode areas during 2004/05.
Position Postcode Area Apr 04 – Dec 04
1 OX Oxford 84
2 E London East 85.5
3 PE Peterborough 88.2
4 NP Newport 88.4
4 WC London West Central 88.4
6 NR Norwich 88.5
7 NN Northamptonshire 88.6
8 L Liverpool 88.8
9 ST Stoke-on-Trent 89
9 UX Uxbridge 89
11 SA Swansea 89.1
12 CB Cambridge 89.2
13 BA Bath 89.3
13 G Glasgow 89.3
13 OL Oldham 89.3
13 TQ Torquay 89.3
17 CV Coventry & Warwickshire 89.4
18 EX Exeter 89.6
19 CM Chelmsford 89.7
19 N London North 89.7
19 TS Teesside 89.7
19 W London West 89.7
KW Kirkwall (87.4), HS Hebrides (83.6) and ZE Lerwick (87) are not included in the National Quality of Service figures because their geographical remoteness makes next day delivery very difficult. They have not been included in this list for the same reasons.
More Information
Contact Andy Frewin on 020 7259 1223 or 079 00263 004 or
Daryl Barrett on 020 7259 1239
