Royal Mail misses Quality of Service targets by large margin

• 17 November 2021
• Transport / Logistics Services

Royal Mail’s Quality of Service results for the second quarter of 2021-22 has shown it has delivered just 82.4% of First Class mail the next working day. 95.2% of First Class mail was delivered within two days and 95.7% of Second Class mail within three working days.

The postal operator said that the poor results have been down to a number of factors including COVID-related self-isolation, high vacancy rates and staff sickness.

Ofcom, that measures Royal Mail’s quality of service, has recognised that the postal operator has missed its delivery targets in a ‘regulatory emergency period’. This began in March 2020 and ended on the 31st August this year. Thanks to this condition, Royal Mail was not required to sustain its Universal Service without ‘interruptions, suspension or restriction’, and this included meeting the quality of service targets.

Shiona Rolfe, Service Delivery Director, Royal Mail said: “It has been a challenging period, and our Quality of Service has not been as we would have wished. We are working hard to get our Quality of Service back to the levels our customers expect everywhere. I would like to thank our postmen and women for the extra effort they have been putting into delivering for our customers. With around 20,000 people joining our organisation as we enter our busiest period, we are getting ready to deliver for our customers in the run up to Christmas.”