Tag: UK

Post Office UK: New registration plates fail to impress UK drivers

Posted by | Feb 29, 2008 | |

As new car registration plates hit the forecourts this weekend, thousands of drivers across the UK are expected to flock to car garages to upgrade their wheels.

However, research from Post Office Car Insurance reveals that 1 in 4 people in the UK still find the current car number plate system confusing, 7 years after it was introduced, 1 while many see little point in paying a premium for 08 plates.

New number plates used to be considered as much of a status symbol as the house you lived in, but Post Office Car Insurance’s research reveals attitudes have changed, with 51 per cent of people claiming to have no interest in them.

When it comes to taking out car insurance, the research showed UK drivers to be particularly savvy, with more than half (59 per cent) saying they would shop around first before taking out car insurance with their car dealer.

The Post Office is currently offering customers a £50 cash back bonus when they take out a new car insurance policy.

Post Office Car Insurance includes:
• Free courtesy car
• 24 hour claims helpline
• 3-year guarantee on repairs
• Free windscreen repair service
• New replacement car if theirs is stolen or damaged beyond repair and under 12 months old
• In the event of a write off, market value will be given for the car
• Cover for driving in the EU for up to 60 days
• RAC breakdown cover (extra cover option)
• Motor Legal Protection (extra cover option)

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Royal Mail: Report shows impact of last year’s strike on service (UK)

Posted by | Feb 29, 2008 | |

Royal Mail has today published its quality of service report for the pre-Christmas period, showing the impact of last year’s strike action.

The industrial action resulted in a fall in First Class quality of service to around 80 pct during the three-month period from early September to the beginning of December, while Second Class was down to 91.4 pct – in contrast to the target-beating performance being delivered across almost every aspect of Royal Mail’s service before last year’s strike.

Ninian Wilson, Royal Mail’s Operations Director, said: “With the strike behind us and a wide-ranging agreement on modernisation in place, we are now focused on delivering once again consistent, high quality of service to all our customers.”

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Royal Mail: Quality of service figures released (UK)

Posted by | Feb 29, 2008 | |

Royal Mail reports that the quality of service for the pre-Christmas period, dipped down sharply through the impact of last year’s strike action.

For April to September, the average figures had been 81pct for 1st class (target 93 pct) and 96 pct for second class (target 98.5 pct).

However, the postal dispute (and based on figures from early September to the beginning of December) created a fall of around 80pct for 1st class and 91.4 pct for second class.

Royal Mail said it was “In contrast to the target-beating performance being delivered across almost every aspect of Royal Mail’s service before last year’s strike.”

Ninian Wilson, Royal Mail’s Operations Director, said: “With the strike behind us and a wide-ranging agreement on modernisation in place, we are now focused on delivering once again consistent, high quality of service to all our customers.”

Millie Banerjee, Chair of Postwatch, commenting on Royal Mail’s performance said: “Royal Mail is having a difficult year. It has let customers down and driven many of them into using alternative means of communicating. It is doubtful that those customers who moved away from mail will return.

“Even after the strike was over the company failed to meet customer expectations at Christmas. This is the busiest posting time for households and with more and more deliveries from internet shopping an opportunity to rebuild a tarnished brand was squandered.

“Unfortunately we may look back at 2007/08 as the pivotal year in the decline of the Royal Mail unless it can reinvent itself and show it cares about its customers.”

Steve Lawson, editor of Hellmail.co.uk said: “Royal Mail cannot afford to lose further business through any renewal of strike action. Whilst change may be deeply unpopular, there is simply no choice if the business is to survive and sustain jobs.”

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City Link starts work on new distribution centre

Posted by | Feb 29, 2008 | |

Nationwide parcels operator City Link has started work on a new 37,500ft2 parcel distribution centre in Norwich. The facility, at the Broadland Buisness Park, will become a hub for City Link’s services throughout East Anglia and replace its current distribution centre in Norwich.

Nick Long, depot general manager at City Link, says: “Broadland Business Park is an excellent location for us.”Being so close to the A47, we can get to all of the area’s main routes quickly, easily and efficiently, without any traffic problems, which means we can further improve our service to our customers.”

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Rentokil in profit warning after City Link fails to deliver

Posted by | Feb 29, 2008 | |

Rentokil Initial is facing calls for a break-up of the company after a disastrous profits warning prompted a sell-off of its shares and the departure of its chairman Brian McGowan.

Rentokil said problems at its City Link parcels delivery business would result in the company producing significantly lower profits in 2008 and warned it had not yet got to grips with the crisis.

The profits warning – the third such warning in less than a year – also raises serious questions over the future of Doug Flynn, the Rentokil chief executive, who was parachuted into the company in May 2005 by Mr McGowan.

Mr Flynn said he would remain with Rentokil because stepping down at the same time as his chairman would leave the company rudderless. He accepted that Rentokil’s new chairman, once appointed, might believe he was no longer a credible chief executive for the group.

The alert over the outlook for Rentokil follows a profits warning in December, also linked to problems at City Link. Back then, Mr Flynn said the company was surprised by lower-than-expected demand from businesses shipping parcels to consumers in the run-up to Christmas. Yesterday, however, he conceded the difficulties at City Link had been much more fundamental.

Rentokil is still trying to get a clear picture of the extent of City Link’s problems, but said yesterday it had failed to properly integrate two acquisitions. It has also lost customers after attempting to migrate local franchises on to a national structure and had been forced to compensate customers for service failures.

However, Mr Flynn said he would not be panicked into talks with suitors or a strategic review. “The performance from City Link was unacceptable,” he said. “I will continue to have an open mind about these issues. But I’m not sure [a break-up] is necessarily going to be the answer.”

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