Communications regulator Ofcom’s latest Post Monitoring Report has detailed the latest customer satisfaction trends in the UK’s postal sector, with International Distributions Services PLC (LSE:IDS)-owed Royal Mail coming somewhere in the middle.
Amazon and DHL led the sector with high customer satisfaction ratings (56% and 55% respectively) for contact processes, while Evri and Yodel reported the lowest satisfaction scores in contact processes.
Although Evri remained the worst-rated parcel operator at just a 32% satisfaction rating, this is a notable improvement from last year’s 26% approval rating.
Royal Mail, on the other hand, fell from 44% to 43%.
Postal satisfaction table
Image credit – Ofcom
Contact processes refer specifically to complaints handling and having issues addressed.
Regarding the service as a whole, 80% of consumers said they remain satisfied with Royal Mail, “although there are increasing signs of dissatisfaction with the cost of postage and value-for-money”.
Only 39% said they were satisfied with Royal Mail’s cost of postage.
Ofcom reminded readers that Royal Mail remains a loss-making operation.
Royal Mail's EBIT margin was negative 6.3% in the last fiscal year, significantly below the service’s target range of 5-10% EBIT profit.
This is despite a 6.6% rise in parcel volumes and a 4.7% increase in parcel revenue, which were offset by a substantial rise in operational costs, including a 6% pay award.
“Given these risks and uncertainties, we continue to have concerns about the longer-term sustainability of the universal service, and we are continuing to monitor the situation closely,” said Ofcom.
Royal Mail’s Universal Service Obligation (USO) mandates certain quality standards, covering delivery speed, route completion, and performance metrics across different UK postal regions.
Currently, Royal Mail must collect and deliver letters six days a week and parcels five days a week to every UK address.
There are concerns that a planned private takeover by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky of IDS risks diluting Royal Mail’s USO, even though Kretinsky has vowed to maintain a six-day postal service.
