There has been much debate in the press regarding the impact of the strikes on the Post Office’s reputation but I wonder how much thought has been given to all the businesses that rely on the PO to deliver on their behalf? Amazon for example, have an exclusive distribution agreement with them and the continued postal delays are having an equally detrimental effect on many brands which rely on the Christmas trading period to buffer sales through the rest of the year. For some, sales during Oct-Dec make up 70% or more of their annual profit and it will be their brand reputation on the line as much as the PO’s.
Ironically, some brands are taking active steps to help reduce the impact on those who rely on the postal service like Ebay, which has temporary altered its feedback mechanism so that you can no longer rate sellers on the speed of delivery. But let’s face it, many businesses are struggling to survive the downturn and initiating strikes which could potentially put more out of business is likely to damage the PO’s reputation, perhaps permanently.
What is clear is that the longer it goes on, the worse the impact will be on the PO’s brand reputation, but to be fair this means little as what alternative do we have for consumer mail? All of this would be far worse for the Post Office if they had a direct competitor so maybe it is time to open up the market a little.
Richard Branson might be interested?
They lost Amazon second class deliveries a couple of years ago and larger parcels last week.
www.guardian.co.uk/.../royal-mail-amazon-postal-strikes
If you don't live in a small rural village then the sooner they're gone, the better.
that's the point though - what if you do live in a small rural village. Where is the profit in delivering post to villages - so where is the interest in a competitor taking on RM. Universal delivery is a heavy burden that any new entrant would struggle to make work. Perhaps people who live in villages will have to pay buy collecting their own post from a centralised locations in nearby large towns - because that sounds sooo much more manageable, doesn't it?
Graeme Crossley
Blogging for:
Member since: 18 Aug 2008
Last login: 24 Nov 2009
Total Posts: 35
