Postal shambles – Welsh mail delivery

Postal shambles
From DAILY POST, September 24th, 2001

Eryl Crump POSTAL bosses came under fire last night for their poor performance in
North Wales. Between April and June, the amount of first-class mail failing to
reach addresses in the region by the next working day was more than double the
national average. Meeting in Cardiff, the Postwatch Wales committee heard the
performance of the mail service continued to fall. Chairman of Postwatch Wales, Eifion Pritchard, said: “Customers are
not getting the service they deserve. When they pay 27p for a first-class stamp, they expect the letter to
reach its destination by 9.30am the following working day. “Consignia’s first-class target is set at 92.1pc. Between April and
June, performance was as low as 80.8pc in the LL, North Wales, postcode area.
It is very disappointing that the gap between performance and target is
continuing to widen. “As standards continue to fall, Consignia may be put under some
pressure from competitors and this could lead to improved standards.” Consignia, the company which operates the Royal Mail, said it accepted
performance was disappointing and unacceptable in the region. Royal Mail Area Manager for Chester and North Wales, Graham Brownhill,
said: “The first-class quality of service result for the LL postcode area in
the April to June period is deeply disappointing and it is unacceptable to
both customers and everyone who works in Royal Mail. “Poor rail performance and bouts of unofficial industrial action
nationwide were largely responsible for the fall in performance in the quarter
which saw below nine out of 10 first-class letters arriving the next working
day. “We are encouraged by better rail performance in the last couple of
months, and a significant improvement in the industrial relations climate
within the business. “Early reports indicate that performance during July and August was
much improved. There is also a huge amount of other activity already under way
to deliver further improvements, all aimed at building on recent progress.” Earlier this week, Postcomm, the postal services regulator, announced
it had issued a licence to Hays and is consulting on a proposal to issue
licences for UK Mail and Deya. The Hays licence was issued as it was considered it would further the
interests of users of postal services by promoting competition. It is the
first licence issued to a private company. Copyright: The Liverpool Daily Post & Echo LtdDAILY POST, 24th September 2001