Damaged Deliveries and Lost Packages: A Look at the complaints Against Deutsche Post and its Competitors
Post office troubles detailed in mass reports, revealing extensive consumer complaints
Social media platforms like Facebook Twitter Whatsapp E-Mail Print Copy Link are abuzz with complaints about parcel delivery services in Germany. The revised Postal Law now forces Deutsche Post and its competitors to reveal the number of complaints they've received, for the first time.
Last year, Deutsche Post, along with its subsidiary DHL, received close to 420,000 complaints about the delivery of letters and packages. These complaints were due to "significant disruptions in the provision of postal services," such as loss, theft, damage, and delays. This is a stark contrast to the approximately 39,500 complaints reported to the Federal Network Agency, which oversees the postal industry.
The increase in complaints comes as no surprise, as Deutsche Post and its competitors are now required to publish their complaint figures publicly. The actual number of complaints may have been much higher, as many consumers may voice their dissatisfaction directly to the postal service before approaching the supervisory authority.
Elevating Transparency in Postal Services
When examining the complaint rates at various postal and parcel companies, it's essential to consider that not all companies offer the same services. While Deutsche Post handles both letters and parcels, competitors focus solely on parcels, which can be more prone to problems like loss and damage.
Deutsche Post's complaint rate of 0.003% is relatively low, but errors may still occur in a company as large as Deutsche Post, with around 187,000 employees and 50 million items processed daily. The company emphasizes its commitment to learning from each complaint and improving service quality.
Complaint Rates at Major Parcel and Postal Services
Some of the other significant players in the German postal and parcel market include DPD, GLS, Hermes, UPS, and regional letter carriers like Citipost from Hanover, Pin Mail GmbH from Brandenburg, and Xendis from NRW.
DPD reported a complaint rate of 0.11%, which is significantly higher than Deutsche Post's. This could be due to DPD's exclusive focus on parcel delivery. GLS has a complaint rate of 0.1%, and while this may seem high, it's important to remember that like DPD, GLS operates solely in parcel delivery.
Hermes and UPS have yet to publish their final complaint figures, but they've indicated percentages of 0.04% and 0.0001% of shipments lost or damaged, respectively. It's likely that the actual complaint rate for these companies is higher than these figures suggest.
Bridging the Gap: Improvements in Postal Services
Despite some companies' higher complaint rates, it's encouraging to see that they all prioritize improving the quality of their services. SPD member of the German Bundestag, Sebastian Roloff, welcomes the increased transparency resulting from the changes in the Postal Law and remarks that mistakes can occur in any enterprise, especially amid personnel planning changes like Deutsche Post's plan to cut 8,000 jobs by the end of the year.
References:- ntv.de- raf/dpa
- Deutsche Post
- DHL
- Federal Network Agency
- Parcel service
- The revised Community policy now mandates Deutsche Post and its competitors to disclose the number of complaints regarding parcel services, a requirement that was previously absent.
- Vocational training programs could be beneficial for postal employees, helping to reduce errors in parcel delivery and thereby lowering the number of complaints received.
- The Bundestag member, Sebastian Roloff, believes that the increased transparency in parcels services, as mandated by the changes in the Postal Law, will aid in identifying areas for improvement and fostering a better overall service.
