Royal Mail apologises as weather hits delivery targets

Royal Mail has apologised to customers after it failed to reach its delivery targets for Q3 2010 as a result of “very severe weather”. The operator achieved an 89.2% success rate for First Class Stamped and Metered Mail in Q3 (6 September to 5 December) against a 93% target.

The target for Second Class Stamped and Metered Mail stood at 98.5%, with Royal Mail achieving 97.2% for the period.

Royal Mail highlighted ‘Period 9’ of its delivery cycle (8 November to 5 December) as a time when “performance was adversely impacted by the onset of exceptionally severe weather conditions in various parts of the UK”.

Before the difficulties suffered during ‘Period 9’, Royal Mail’s Q3 delivery statistics were above target..

However, UK watchdog Consumer Focus said that Royal Mail “cannot entirely blame the cold” and that the operator “must work harder”.

Royal Mail also published its service performance figures for the Christmas Period, from 6 December 2010 to 1 January 2011.

A Royal Mail statement said: “The company’s performance during the Christmas period was very significantly impacted by severe and prolonged weather conditions.  It was the coldest December across the UK since records began in 1910 (Met Office). UK road, rail and air services experienced very significant and protracted disruption.”

Royal Mail confirmed that under the terms of the company’s Licence, the Christmas period is not part of the Quality of Service measure.

For the Christmas period, Royal Mail achieved 33.7% for First Class Stamped and Metered Mail and 76.5% for Second Class Stamped and Metered Mail.

The equivalent figures in 2009 were 56% and 91.9% respectively.

Commenting on the results, Mark Higson, Royal Mail’s managing director of operations and modernisation, said: “Despite doing everything possible to get the mail through in exceptionally difficult circumstances, we were unable to deliver everything to our usual high standards.

“We apologise to our customers.  We hope they understand how hard our staff worked to ensure as many items as possible were delivered before Christmas.”

Royal Mail confirmed that it will be applying to regulator Postcomm for a “special exemption in recognition of the severity of the weather conditions that led to the decline of service standards during the quarter three period”.

The operator said it “believes that these conditions warrant our application on this occasion”.

However, when approached by Post&Parcel, Robert Hammond, of Consumer Focus, said Royal Mail “cannot entirely blame the cold for these dismal results”.

Hammond, head of post and digital communications at the UK-based watchdog, added: “Many consumers continued to get delayed deliveries until well into January, after any weather-related backlog should have been sorted. We are also aware that there have been problems in locations where Royal Mail has been modernising and this is reflected in the poor performance figures today.

“Local delivery issues suggest the company must work harder at minimising customer disruption from modernisation. Consumers face two more years of this vital programme. It is essential that Royal Mail are clear about the disruption modernisation can cause and communicate better with its loyal customers. If it is to quickly pick-up and address customer issues Royal Mail must also overhaul its complaint handling process.”

Do you believe the weather is to blame? What did you think of Royal Mail’s service over the Christmas period? Is Consumer Focus right? Please comment below…