This paper examines the Northern Ireland postal consumer’s experience of Royal Mail’s delivery network and in particular its Enquiry Offices. This experience is of increasing relevance to large numbers of postal consumers since, with the growing levels of online shopping and changes in consumer lifestyles, Royal Mail is handling an unprecedented level of fulfilment mail. Royal Mail recognises that the parcel and packet market is an area of considerable volume growth, yet, disappointingly, they are failing to adapt their delivery infrastructure at the same rate as their competitors, despite having the largest network and widest reach of all postal operators in the UK. As the national postal operator and the universal service provider it is important for Royal Mail to focus its attention on its delivery network and delivery options to ensure consumers are offered choice and control over the delivery of their postal items.
Enquiry Offices are an essential element of Royal Mail’s delivery network. In Northern Ireland, Royal Mail has 71 Enquiry offices, 27 of which are located within Royal Mail’s main Delivery Offices and 44 are Sub-Delivery Offices which usually operate from a post office branch. They provide a facility that is open to the public, from which consumers can collect undelivered items of mail, for example, surcharged items, items requiring a signature and items too large for normal letter box delivery.
Consumers typically recognise Royal Mail’s failed delivery attempt by the presence of a ‘While you were out’ card. These cards inform the consumer of the address of the Enquiry Office from which they can collect their mail item, as well as offering them a number of alternative delivery options, such as redelivery on an another day or to an different address, or for a fee of £1.50, to a local post office (Local Collect).
Although Enquiry Offices are widely dispersed throughout Northern Ireland, the number of Enquiry Offices in each county varies; in some instances quite significantly. Most noticeable is the low level of offices in County Armagh and Belfast. Furthermore, in rural areas, where the distances to Enquiry Offices are often greater, consumers can typically face detriment in terms of both the cost and inconvenience of retrieving their mail item. The additional travel will also have a negative environmental impact. There is also wide variation and inconsistency in Enquiry Office opening hours across Northern Ireland which can cause confusion for consumers.
Research undertaken by our predecessor body, Postwatch Northern Ireland, in 2008 indicated a significant level of dissatisfaction experienced by consumers who used Royal Mail’s Enquiry Office facilities. This survey revealed that inconvenient opening hours and difficulty in getting through to Enquiry Offices by telephone were among the main concerns for Northern Ireland postal consumers. Following on from these findings, Consumer Focus Post decided to commission further research in early 2010 to explore the consumer’s experience of Royal Mail’s Enquiry Offices, and in particular, how the current delivery practices employed by Royal Mail are meeting the needs of today’s postal consumer in Northern Ireland.
