UK First Class service hits record high level

Royal Mail’s First Class service has hit the highest level ever, beating the record performance achieved earlier this year, it was announced today.

Preliminary results from independent research show that 94.2% of First Class letters arrived the day after posting during July to September this year – well ahead of the 93.0% target level.

The 94.2% performance during the summer also easily beat the 93.6% spring performance during April to June – the previous best performance on record.

Second Class mail beat its 98.5% target with a 98.8% performance during July to September while Royal Mail’s postmen and women also delivered target-beating performances for business mail.

Both First and Second Class mail have now been performing at or above target level for more than a year.

Mailsort bulk mail services, Presstream for magazine and catalogue mail, and PPI (Postage Paid Impression) services for mail posted in pre-paid envelopes all performed above target during July to September.

Royal Mail’s Special Delivery service – the overnight, guaranteed, registered service, which, unlike rivals, publishes its independently measured performance – hit its 99.0% target.

And Royal Mail’s Standard Parcels service to the UK’s 27 million addresses beat its 90.0% target with a 92.8% performance during the summer months.

Royal Mail’s Chief Executive, Adam Crozier, said: “Royal Mail is delivering its best service on record. Postmen and women are providing customers with a world-class performance. I’m very proud of our people.”
He stressed: “We will not rest for a moment on our record performance. Improving quality of service remains Royal Mail’s number one priority and we are determined to do even better.

“With the mail market opening to full competition is just over two months’ time on January 1, delivering consistent, excellent quality of service will continue to be a key part of Royal Mail’s offering to customers.

“The challenges we face remain daunting but Royal Mail is still determined to provide the best and most comprehensive service in the market.”

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