77% Britons would welcome new Royal Mail mark recognising work of postmen and women
Our poll for the Royal Mail shows that over three quarters of British consumers would find it helpful to identify which company had delivered which item of mail, as the nation's flagship mailer announces plans to label everything its sends with a 'Delivered by Royal Mail' stamp.
- According to our poll of over 1,063 British people, 77% would welcome clarity on which company delivered which item of mail to avoid confusion
- In addition, when asked, 79% of postmen and women said they would welcome ‘Delivered by Royal Mail’ appearing on envelopes
Royal Mail today announced that from January 2013, a ‘Delivered by Royal Mail’ mark will be printed on the vast majority of 15 billion letters and parcels carried by the business annually, together with the Royal Mail cruciform.
The change is set to provide visible recognition of the work of Royal Mail’s 151,000 employees and is also backed by the Communication Workers Union.
Avoiding confusion
As Royal Mail explains, the UK is a very open postal market and many items are now handled by providers other than Royal Mail – which can raise the prospect of customer confusion if, for example, people don’t know which company to contact over issues such as misdelivered mail, or differing standards of service.
The new mark will be applied through a change in the design of the Printed Postage Impression (PPI) – or postage-paid mark ‒ although older envelopes will be permitted to enable old stocks of stationery which do not have the "Delivered by Royal Mail" mark printed on them to be used up and the new PPI design to be adopted.
A bilingual version of the mark will be introduced for letters posted in Wales.
Recognising postmen and women
When fully implemented early next year, it is expected that more than 80 per cent of all items Royal Mail delivers will carry the mark; or around 12 billion annually.
Moya Greene, Chief Executive of Royal Mail said: "Delivering to 29 million addresses six days a week is a major task. The new mark ensures that postmen and women get recognition for the vital task they complete every working day.
"We are proud of the distinctive service we offer and we want customers to be aware of the difference. It is important we avoid customer confusion in the UK’s very competitive postal market, where many items are handled by providers other than Royal Mail."
