Focusing on a “three-day week” as the greatest potential outcome of Ofcom’s call for input on the future of Royal Mail is understandable, but is less than half of the story (“Stamp duties: Big service cuts outlined for Royal Mail”, Report, January 25).
First, there’s the question of which days to cut. Cutting Saturdays might seem an obvious answer, but as an important day for delivering business mail, it will demand a huge change in how organisations communicate with consumers. Not to mention no mail on the very day when people have time to read it.
Even more significant is Ofcom’s suggestion of allowing three days longer to deliver letters by extending the expected quality of service. Where this has been allowed to happen in other countries — for instance, in Greece — we have seen expectations eventually stretch to longer than a week. The result is people questioning whether it’s worth sending a letter in the first place, and services degrading in a vicious cycle. Nobody argues against reviewing Royal Mail’s offering. But if a functioning postal service is essential to society, Ofcom needs ways to encourage hitting delivery targets, rather than removing them altogether.
David Beirne
Head of Postal Relations, Quadient, London E15, UK
