On 29th April 2004 Channel 4’s Dispatches showed serious flaws within Royal Mail. The public were shown poor management and untrained staff with no respect for the mail in their care. Royal Mail promised to put its house in order. It promised to introduce appropriate recruitment procedures and to stop sending untrained casual staff out alone on delivery rounds.
Following a discussion with the programme makers Postwatch understands that customers watching tonight’s Dispatches will be disappointed to see that many of the irregularities exposed by the first programme are a continuing part of Royal Mail life.
Again, Dispatches are able to show agency staff walking fresh into a delivery office and being told to sort a delivery round and then go out alone, without the aid of a map, to find the addresses to deliver to.
Tonight’s programme is bound to lead to renewed vigour by Royal Mail management to sort out those offices that refuse to join the 21st century. As such Dispatches helps Royal Mail in its drive to provide a safe and secure postal service to the nation.
In advance of Dispatches the Royal Mail rushed out on Monday 11 July the good news that they are on course to at least achieve, in 2005/06, their minimum national average delivery targets for both 1st and 2nd class mail.
Peter Carr, Chairman of Postwatch, commenting on tonight’s dispatches said: “Changing a culture takes time. Postwatch accept progress is being made and Management should use Dispatches to provide new impetus to their programme of change.
“Customers will, however, be confused by the contrast between the good quality of service results published at the beginning of the week and Dispatches’ revelations at the end. Customers will either recognise or identify with a good mail service or one where mail is lost, damaged, delayed or delivered at irregular times of the day.
“All customers want regular, reliable and secure deliveries. They expect every letter to be dealt with professionally. Customers do not want to be shown year after year that Royal Mail talk the talk but do not walk the walk.”
Notes to Editors
1. The Dispatches programme, “Reopening the post” will be shown on Channel 4 at 9 pm on Thursday 14 July.
2. Following last year’s Dispatches programme, “Third Class Post” the postal regulator Postcomm started an investigation into Royal Mail’s mail integrity procedures. That investigation is on going with a report expected to be published later in the year.
3. For more information about Postwatch visit www.postwatch.co.uk
