Xmas competition is heating up for Britain’s premier parcel delivery firm Royal Mail, after nearest competitor Evri confirmed a £46 million spending bonanza on customer service and operations in the build-up to this year’s holiday season.
Evri will introduce a new automatic callback service via a dedicated phone line, aimed at assisting customers with any order-related concerns.
The news comes just days after Royal Mail lost its 360-year monopoly on delivering Post Office parcels to DPD and Evri.
Though the Post Office didn’t give a specific reason, reports suggest it’s due to a disastrous Christmas in 2022, when an extended strike and huge backlogs hit Royal Mail.
Royal Mail, the UK arm of International Distributions Services PLC (LSE:IDS), is facing an inquiry by regulator Ofcom for missing delivery targets in 2022-23, which it blames on strikes as well as absences due to sickness and Covid.
Evri, however, is also clamouring to resuscitate its poor reputation following years of being the worst-ranked parcel delivery firm in Britain.
Earlier this year, Evri came last out of 17 couriers in MoneySavingExpert’s annual service poll, while Royal Mail came in at number eight, a significant downgrade from previous years.
For the past two years, Evri, formerly called Hermes, has also been ranked the worst courier in the UK in a survey carried out by Citizens Advice.
Britain’s two largest couriers have their reputations on the line this festive season, but hopefully, customers will be the ultimate beneficiaries.