GUERNSEY Post is delivering a better service but there is still room for improvement. It announced yesterday that between October and March it had met or exceeded 13 of the 23 targets set by the Office of Utility Regulation.

It has admitted responsibility for missing some, but said that in other cases it was affected by the performance of partners, especially Royal Mail.

‘We are pleased with the results. This builds on the success of last Christmas and is a credit to the hard work of all the employees,’ said operations director Joe Domican.

‘Last year our thrust was to get back to basics by doing what a post office does well and we have begun to do that. We have a philosophy of constant improvement that will ensure we build on our operational excellence.’

The results, produced by an independent research company, showed that, excluding the Christmas post, intra-Bailiwick mail delivered the day after posting averaged 91.8%, beating the 86% target.

There were no regulatory targets specifically for December but, including the Christmas period and the discount mail, service was sustained at 92.6%.

‘Such a level of service could never have been delivered prior to automation. This gives us the ability to process a very high amount of mail in a very small period of time,’ said Mr Domican.

‘This December’s delivery was very good and was the best Christmas anyone can remember.’

Guernsey Post failed to meet its targets for the delivery of UK mail to and from the Bailiwick and was blaming the Royal Mail.

Some 56.5% of UK to Bailiwick mail, 41% of the total amount of mail handled by Guernsey Post, was delivered the day after posting, 3.5% below the 60% target.

‘Unfortunately, due to postal strikes in the United Kingdom and subsequent changes to Royal Mail circulation arrangements, we had several problems, but 95% of UK first class arriving in Guernsey received same-day delivery, in line with our internal target,’ said Mr Domican.

Bailiwick to UK mail cleared to the UK a day after posting averaged 59.9%, just 0.1% below its target. This type of mail makes up 30% of that handled.

Bulk mail from the Bailiwick to the UK, which had to arrive three days after posting, was just below 80%, more than 10% down on its target figure.

Mr Domican added that while some problems with other companies had been solved, Guernsey Post was looking for improvements from Royal Mail and Jersey Post.

Royal Mail admitted yesterday that there had been problems for customers and associated partners. But it expected an increase in quality as a result of a new pay deal and network changes.

It also had to fend off criticism from consumer group Postwatch yesterday which estimated that 14.4 million letters were lost every year.

Royal Mail said that only around 0.07% of the 21 billion letters it handled each year were lost or substantially delayed, but that it was continually looking to reduce that figure through staff training, better equipment and encouraging clear addressing.

Mr Domican added that problems with Jersey Post meant that while Bailiwick to Jersey mail delivered the day after posting was 6.4% above the 65% target, Jersey to Bailiwick mail was 8.4% below the 60% target.

A new service level agreement has just been signed between the two postal providers that Mr Domican said would improve inter-island services.

The figures showed also that all delivery rounds were completed every day and 72.8% were finished by 1pm.

During the same period, 97.8% of complaints were handled within two days, below the 99% target. There was an average of 155 mis-deliveries per month.

Last month the price of local postage went up from 22p to 26p and the cost of sending a letter to the UK went up to 32p. Mr Domican expected the service to continue to give value for money.

‘The whole service hinges on the quality. We already have a very high quality and now we must look to improve that even further. The targets the regulator has set are not unrealistic. They are challenging but by the end of the next six months, we plan to meet all of those set for this year.

‘The only exception is the target for delivery of second class mail which we feel is a bit too high.

‘But we have to continue to improve and we have a fresh series of initiatives for customers and workers that should improve the service still further.’

Mr Domican said that service should be improved through increased partnerships with bulk mailers, and identifying improvements in the post office box service and the delivery network.