Australia Post “supports” recommendations of Postal Ombudsman

Australia Post has responded to the review from the Postal Industry Ombudsman, saying it “supports” the recommendations his office has made.

While conceding that “the number of complaints received last year was not good enough”, Australia Post said it is introducing new pgorammes to improve its customer service as it is “transitioning from predominantly a letters business” to one that is now managing millions of parcels.

The full text of the Australia Post statement, published on its website on Tuesday (3 April), reads:

“Australia Post is strongly committed to serving the needs of our customers and the communities of Australia. We believe in the importance of continuing to improve and we take all feedback very seriously. We have worked closely with the Ombudsman following his review and we support the recommendations his office has made.

“Although Australia Post successfully serves and delivers to millions of customers every day, we know we do not always get it right and we recognise the number of complaints received last year was not good enough. Improving how we serve our customers and striving to be excellent in what we do is a key strategic focus for Australia Post as we go forward.

“Australia Post is transitioning from predominantly a letters business to now managing millions of parcels each year for our customers. Last year the number of parcels delivered across the country grew by 16 per cent.

“As the significant growth in our parcel volumes has continued, so has the number of customers contacting us through a variety of communication channels, wanting to know when, where and how their parcels will be delivered.

“We are trialling and introducing new programs such as after-hours deliveries and improved parcel tracking. We now text customers on the day of delivery to check if they will be home or need the parcel taken to their local Post Office. We are rolling out new parcel lockers and very soon we will have more than 270 locations across major towns. All of this is aimed at supporting customers receiving their parcel first time where and when they want it.

“Our on-time service performance hit a record of 99 per cent for letters and 97 per cent for parcel deliveries last year. We appreciate the Ombudsman acknowledging the improvements Australia Post has made and we know there is still more work to be done.

“We recognise that when a customer does have a complaint we also need to improve how we support them.

“Through collaborating with the Commonwealth Ombudsman, we have a range of activities underway to improve our customer service, including:

• A simpler compensation process
• Shorter call-waiting times
• Updates to our website to make it easier to lodge a complaint
• More information on how customers can insure, protect and select the right product for their goods
• A clearer complaint review process for customers, and
• Better visibility and accessibility on mobile and tablet devices

“We continue to add staff to our contact centre, including 340 permanent staff last year. During Christmas we also hired another 250 people to help manage this busy period. We now offer 24/7 customer service on social media.

“It is our priority at Australia Post to put the customer at the heart of everything we do and we aim to always serve them better. We are absolutely committed to the ongoing improvement in our customer service and will work closely with the Ombudsman on adopting their recommendations.”