Do customers want direct mail?

Royal Mail and the industry call it direct mail, but the media and most customers call it junk mail. It's mail that is unsolicited and advertises various products and services. Some of it is addressed to customers as individuals, while some of it is unaddressed and is simply delivered door-to-door.According to this story in the "Daily Express", a new survey shows that much of this mail is unwanted and unopened.

The problem is that Royal Mail is a network business with a large proportion of fixed costs and, until recently, it has been the continued growth of this direct mail that has kept volumes up and costs down. In the last year or two, volumes have fallen and, if there is an adverse reaction to direct mail, they will fall even further, putting more pressure on Royal Mail's finances.

At the end of the day though, it must be for customers to make an informed choice as to whether or not they want such mail and, if they don't, they should be free to opt out.

What do you think?

Last Christmas posting dates

The last posting dates for Christmas have been published over on the Royal Mail site. You can find the information here.

A Conservative view on post offices

The Conservative Party's Quality of Life taskforce report, chaired by John Gummer and Zac Goldsmith, was released today. It has some interesting views on the future post offices:

"Shop, post office, church, pub, and primary school – these are some of the indicators of a vibrant rural community, but few villages possess all five. However, they remain vital for the minority of the population – e.g. young people, mothers in one-car families, the elderly – who do not have access to a car. Conservatives should aim to minimise the closure of these services and stimulate innovative ways of providing alternatives for villages that do not have them.

Sub post offices play an important role in village life and could become again a vibrant centre for rural services. In the age of the internet, they already perform a useful role in mail order fulfilment. Their demise is partly because of the failure of Government to design modern benefit delivery packages that would make use of their services and partly the legacy of Post Office history where labyrinthine systems, a lack of interest in the network, and a failure to keep up with modern retailing was bred by a belief that the system had a God-given right to survive.

There are clear indications that the Post Office has changed significantly and would be capable, given the chance, of running a sensibly sized rural network providing a wide range of services in communities that would otherwise be without. Instead of complaining when supermarkets do not want to continue to house a post office, we should be redesigning the sub-post office so that it becomes a much sought after adjunct to a business as well as a business in its own right.

To that end we should initiate an independent enquiry chaired by a successful retailer and with full access to Government Ministers and Departments, to recommend innovative structures and technologies to make the Post Office rural network modern and indispensable. It should also be charged with advising Government on the redesign of its services so that they could be provided better through the agency of the local post office.

In the meantime, Conservatives should pledge to keep the £150m a year subsidy for rural sub post offices in order to maintain the network while exploring radical solutions for service delivery in rural areas, which might include their being the agent for suitable local authority services, the centre for parish council transport-sharing schemes, and the provider of an emissions-saving means of taking services to rural customers."

Meeting of the Counters Advisory Group

The Postwatch Counters Advisory Group convened today (Tuesday 11th September) for the fourth time this year. The group comprises a wide range of stakeholders with an interest in the future of the post office network and the needs of its customers.

The group’s aim is to promote the views, concerns and interests of all consumers and in particular people with disabilities, the elderly, those on low incomes and people who reside in rural areas.

Today’s session enabled Postwatch and Post Office Ltd to update stakeholders on the plans for public consultation and how customers will be informed of proposals. Members recognised the continuing challenges facing the network and will continue their work on post office issues in the coming year.

You can read about the remit and membership of the Counters Advisory Group here.

Statistics on mail thefts

The Information Commissioner, Richard Thomas, has ruled under the Freedom of Information Act that Royal Mail must disclose statistics on the number of thefts from private vehicles being used to deliver mail.

The complainant made a request to Royal Mail concerning the organisation’s use of private vehicles to deliver mail. The complainant also requested statistics concerning the theft of mail from private vehicles when being used to deliver mail. Royal Mail did release some of the requested information on the use of private vehicles, but argued that by raising awareness that private vehicles are being used for mail delivery, the disclosure of statistics on thefts would increase the likelihood of these vehicles becoming targets for criminals.

Further information on the ruling here.