Courier September 2012 - myroyalmail

24 September 2012
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courier@abcomm.co.uk
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We do try to include as many publishable letters as possible, but due to space
we are unable to publish all of them.
P739s – your
views aired
Many times I’ve
needed to obtain
a signature
and the doors
and windows are
open, the lights are
on, the TV/stereo
is on, you can
occasionally see
children moving
about inside. So
I stand in the
doorway and
ring the doorbell
a few times
(which probably
doesn’t work), I
knock on the door a few times, I shout
‘Hello!’ many times at varying volumes.
I walk around the property to see if I
can attract someone’s attention, but
with no success. So after five minutes I
eventually give up and write out a P739
card, knowing the customer is present.
Guess what? Five minutes later the
customer is chasing me down the street
waving the card like a declaration
of war, their face contorted with
ideas on the cards
Here’s an easy way to improve ‘Something
for you’ cards and customer satisfaction.
Currently, P739 cards say:
Please leave ____ hours before collecting.
We fill in some figure here, which we
have to work out at every delivery stop
where there is no answer. And we must
also remember to write the current time
on the other side of the card, or the
number of hours will tell the customer
nothing. This is not a good system!
It would be far better if the P739 said:
Your item will be ready to collect Mon/Tues/
Wed/Thur/Fri/Sat at _________ am/pm.
If a postie is not going to return to the
office in time for a customer to collect the
item that day, he/she can quickly circle the
next working day. (This works, whatever
public holidays are ahead). Best practice
would also be to put in the opening time -–
typically 7am – of the delivery office.
If a postie is returning to the office in time
for the customer to collect that day, he/she
The lights are on...
rage, shouting ‘Oi postie! I AM IN!’
Despite my best attempts to explain
what had happened, they simply sign
for the item, snatch it from my hand
and stomp back home, satisfied that
once they’ve called my delivery office
to complain then they’ve succeeded in
sorting the problem that they’ve read in
the papers about dodgy postmen.
Chris Hubbard, postman, Shipdham
We do recognise that the vast majority of our
postmen and women perform their role in
the correct way, including following the P739
‘Something for you’ process correctly.
However, P739 complaints continue to
increase and have now become the single
biggest cause for our customers to complain
to us, especially regarding customers saying
they were in.
It is important that we continue to work
in the correct way, and follow our internal
processes correctly at all times. As long as we
do, then any customer complaints relating to
P739s can be dealt with in the knowledge that
all our staff are following the correct process for
items that are too large or require a signature
on delivery.
can easily circle the current day, and enter
the time that the item will be available. It’s
easy to do, and very clear and simple for
the customer, who can see immediately
when the item is ready to collect.
Another idea would be to add a DO
NOT BEND item on the P739.
It would be helpful for the caller’s
office staff if there was a tick box on the
P739 indicating this, and it will save the
conscientious postie from having to write
“DO NOT BEND ITEM” on the card.
Stephen Collings, postman, Redhill
These are excellent suggestions. We are limited in
the amount of information that can be provided on
the cards, but there is currently a project looking
at this type of idea, and in particular standardising
the time in which undeliverable mail can be
made available for collection. I have passed your
suggestions to the team looking at the redesign
so they can be considered for inclusion, along
with the other good ideas that have come as a
result of the wraparound.
• Ed: Courier will keep you posted on any changes
Our mailbag was brimming with comments after our wraparound
(pictured) on P739 ‘Something for you’ cards last issue. Here’s a
selection – unless indicated, replies come from Andy Hughes,
operations customer experience manager.
Speed v quality
The wraparound P739 feature on the latest Courier
was quite interesting and useful. I sincerely wish
that Work Time Listening and Learning sessions
covered this sort of thing in depth more often.
Most of the customer complaints that our office
justifiably receives about P739s are a result of lack
of training and foresight. Regrettably, doing the
job quickly (and therefore cheaply) is too often
viewed as being preferable to doing it carefully
and properly – this is a fact of Royal Mail life in
many locations and no amount of World Class Mail
initiatives will change it, unfortunately.
I do, however, take issue with a couple of points
in your feature. I don’t doubt that occasionally
compensation is paid as a result of P739 complaints,
but this is surely very rare, and it is typically
misleading of you to give this such great prominence.
You are correct, however, to highlight the effect that
poor performance has on all our reputations.
Peter White, postman, Hampshire
Thank you for the feedback. This is one of many cascades
we have done to the frontline on the subject and to help units
in training and guidance on P739 process and completion,
especially for new entrants or as a refresher.
The P739 Intervention Pack, on our Customer Experience
SharePoint site on the intranet, provides in-depth detail and
understanding of the P739 process. These are very useful
for Work Time Listening and Learning, and we have recently
time to communicate
I read your letter about ‘bad timing’ when
delivering P739s to time locked premises, and
the response from Brian Thorley. In 27 years as a
postman I have never heard of the 18 days of trying
to deliver a packet to a time locked building.
I am also confident a lot of my colleagues haven’t
heard about this either given conversations that
have cropped up over the years.
Fairly recently a driver had told me he couldn’t
deliver an item to a flat due to the time lock, and
when he brought the item back to the office was
told by a manager to put a “kill off” sticker and
endorse it as “unable to gain access”. Consequently,
the recipient of this item never received it and
had no knowledge for a long time as to what had
happened to their item. I too have been told to do
this with letters that I could not gain entry with. We
have regular and informative Work Time Listening
and Learning sessions, but I and my colleagues do
not recall this ever being mentioned.
Does this same scenario of 18 days apply to
posties who cannot gain access with letters? If so,
can you tell me how a postie would be expected
to go to a tower block if the buzzer system was not
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filmed a RMTV feature on this as well.
I will ensure that your office and sector managers are fully
aware of the P739 Intervention Pack and RMTV film, and will offer
further support on how to cascade the information in your unit.
Mixed messages
There is quite a focus on P739 cards and complaints
at the moment. I’m sure many customers think
the brown cards we deliver without knocking and
the red ones are the same thing. This is causing
confusion and extra complaints.
We often deliver the brown cards that say
‘Unfortunately there is a fee to pay.’ Could a
bold statement be clearly printed on the card to
mention to the customer that the postman does
not have the item with them, or redesign them to
look totally different?
On many occasions I have been halfway down
a street, only to have an angry customer come out
wanting me to come back and explain to them
where the item is and why I haven’t knocked on the
door!
Andrew Hunt, postman, Basingstoke
A valid point. In most instances of us leaving a P739
‘Something for you’ card or P4605 ‘Fee to pay’ card, the
customer recognises the difference by the different colours.
However, I have forwarded this suggestion to the product
manager so our branding can be reviewed when the cards
are next due to go for a reprint.
working for a long time? The postbag would be
really heavy after a few days, let alone 18.
Neil Rixon, postman, Leagrave
Brian Thorley, operations and product
specification manager, replies:
Following the letter and reply, we received a number of
queries regarding the correct procedures if you are unable to
deliver mail to occupants in time locked premises.
We therefore ran an Ops Focus communication in the week
beginning 27 August reminding delivery office managers of
the correct procedures when Royal
Mail delivers to such buildings.
Clear instructions for delivering
to time locked premises can be
found in our Controlled Entry
Systems Operational Procedure.
Anyone who is unclear
about what actions they
should follow should contact
their manager as soon as
possible and ask them
to provide coaching and
guidance for this particular
situation.
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