Trial of later parcel deliveries aims to improve customer service

Isle of Man Post Office has started a trial this week to deliver packets and parcels in the late afternoon and evening in a bid to look at ways of improving service to customers.

Over the weeks leading up to Christmas, Isle of Man Post Office will be trialling the delivery of non-express parcels in the late afternoon and early evening in selected residential areas of Douglas.

Malcolm MacPherson, Managing Director of Mails, Isle of Man Post Office said: "This trial will help us determine whether there is an overall benefit to customers. Many of our customers are out, at work or elsewhere, when we attempt to deliver parcels earlier in the day. We are always looking for ways to improve our service to customers and one aspect of this is to reduce the frequency of those occasions where people are not at home when we attempt delivery."

He continued: "As well as quantifying the possible benefits of changing delivery times, we are also asking for feedback from customers on what they think. We will therefore be asking them to let us know what they feel about changing the way we deliver their parcels and a short questionnaire will be delivered with every parcel as part of the trial. Once we have these valuable opinions, we can look to introduce any necessary improvements to the current parcel service we provide. We certainly won't be making permanent changes without considering them carefully."

Throughout the trial period, letter deliveries will be carried out at normal times.

Isle of Man Post Office will also be running a campaign from next week to promote its 'safe place' service which gives customers greater choice on how a delivery is made to them. A significant number of customers already use the 'safe place' service and the Post Office is seeking to extend it to others. Customers can nominate a 'safe place' for an item to be delivered if no-one is at home to accept it. There are two services options to choose from, both completely free of charge and customers can opt for either one or both of them:

1. If the package does not need to be signed for but is too big to fit through a letter box, customers can nominate a safe place for their post person to leave items. This could be either on their premises or it could be with a neighbour who is willing to look after their mail.
2. If the package needs to be signed for then customers can authorise their post person to sign it on their behalf if they are not at home. Isle of Man Post Office can then deliver it as normal through the letter box or, if it is too big, leave it in their chosen safe place or with a neighbour.  In either case, Isle of Man Post Office will pop a note through the letter box to let customers know there is an item waiting for them.

Malcolm added: "This is welcome news to customers as parcels, letters and packets can be waiting for them when they get home without the inconvenience of collecting them from the sorting office – saving time and trouble. A leaflet detailing this service will be delivered to all residential addresses from next Monday (November 18) and all customers need do is complete and return the application form to start benefiting from this service."

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