2014: MCA Perceptions Survey - Postal Services - Large Bulk Mailers
The MCA has today published the results of a survey it carried out between July and August 2014, in order to evaluate organisations' perceptions and satisfaction levels with regard to the bulk-mail service, amongst other postal services provided by MaltaPost. The bulk mail service refers to postal articles consisting of 50 items or more (of identical format, size and weight step) that are deposited with a postal operator, at the same place and at the same time to be conveyed and delivered to the addresses indicated on the postal articles. Forty organisations participated in this survey.
The survey results suggest that the main bulk mail users are government agencies, financial institutions and telecom operators. The findings indicate that the majority of organisations using the bulk mail service do so every week; 25% on a daily basis. The survey also shows that 35% of participating organisations claim to have increased the number of addressed letters they sent using the bulk mail services, up from 30% in a similar survey carried out in 2012. On the other hand, 18% of participating organisations claim to have decreased the number of addressed letters they sent and resorted to other non-postal alternatives such as email and online services. The remaining 40% of all organisations say the number of addressed letters sent has remained relatively the same over the past twelve months. 8% of organisations did not know whether the number of addressed letters sent had increased, decreased, or remained the same over the past twelve months. Interestingly all interviewed organisations intend to continue using MaltaPost’s bulk mail service in the next 12 months.
With regard to price levels, the majority (55%) of large bulk mailers are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied with the general price levels of postal services. Moreover, only 38% of participating organisations say that the prices of the bulk mail services are reasonable; a significant drop compared to 61% price satisfaction levels registered in 2012. Subsequently, 43% of those organisations claiming to have decreased the number of addressed letters they sent over the past 12 months mention the increase in postal tariffs as their main reason for the decline in letter mail volumes.
On the other hand, when compared to 2012 survey results, there has been a significant improvement in the perception of large bulk mail users with regards to the overall quality of postal services. In effect, 83% of organisations perceive the overall quality of postal services provided by MaltaPost to be good or very good, up from 68% in 2012. Moreover, satisfaction levels with the bulk mail service provided by MaltaPost increased from 48% in 2012 to 83% in 2014. Similarly, the majority of organisations are satisfied or highly satisfied with the registered mail service provided by MaltaPost. The survey also shows that 64% of organisations which made a formal complaint with MaltaPost were satisfied with the way their complaint had been handled. Indeed this also reflects a significant improvement over 2012 results whereby only 8% were satisfied.
Meanwhile, the survey also tries to gauge activity and the level of satisfaction with the services and facilities offered at the post offices. The results from the survey show that 85% of large bulk mailers have been to a post office during the last 12 months. The majority of organisations visiting a post office had done so to post letters and send registered letters. The survey shows that satisfaction levels with the facilities provided at the post office also increased, with 71% of organisations claiming to be satisfied or highly satisfied, up from 63% in 2012.
As for other services offered by MaltaPost, namely the PO Box and Business reply service the survey shows that circa 25% of all organisations participating in this survey use these services. Moreover, the significant majority (80%) of organisations using these services consider them to be very useful. Finally, the survey also shows that fewer large bulk mail users write down the post code (53%) when compared to households (71%) and the general business community (76%).
The survey results suggest that the main bulk mail users are government agencies, financial institutions and telecom operators. The findings indicate that the majority of organisations using the bulk mail service do so every week; 25% on a daily basis. The survey also shows that 35% of participating organisations claim to have increased the number of addressed letters they sent using the bulk mail services, up from 30% in a similar survey carried out in 2012. On the other hand, 18% of participating organisations claim to have decreased the number of addressed letters they sent and resorted to other non-postal alternatives such as email and online services. The remaining 40% of all organisations say the number of addressed letters sent has remained relatively the same over the past twelve months. 8% of organisations did not know whether the number of addressed letters sent had increased, decreased, or remained the same over the past twelve months. Interestingly all interviewed organisations intend to continue using MaltaPost’s bulk mail service in the next 12 months.
With regard to price levels, the majority (55%) of large bulk mailers are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied with the general price levels of postal services. Moreover, only 38% of participating organisations say that the prices of the bulk mail services are reasonable; a significant drop compared to 61% price satisfaction levels registered in 2012. Subsequently, 43% of those organisations claiming to have decreased the number of addressed letters they sent over the past 12 months mention the increase in postal tariffs as their main reason for the decline in letter mail volumes.
On the other hand, when compared to 2012 survey results, there has been a significant improvement in the perception of large bulk mail users with regards to the overall quality of postal services. In effect, 83% of organisations perceive the overall quality of postal services provided by MaltaPost to be good or very good, up from 68% in 2012. Moreover, satisfaction levels with the bulk mail service provided by MaltaPost increased from 48% in 2012 to 83% in 2014. Similarly, the majority of organisations are satisfied or highly satisfied with the registered mail service provided by MaltaPost. The survey also shows that 64% of organisations which made a formal complaint with MaltaPost were satisfied with the way their complaint had been handled. Indeed this also reflects a significant improvement over 2012 results whereby only 8% were satisfied.
Meanwhile, the survey also tries to gauge activity and the level of satisfaction with the services and facilities offered at the post offices. The results from the survey show that 85% of large bulk mailers have been to a post office during the last 12 months. The majority of organisations visiting a post office had done so to post letters and send registered letters. The survey shows that satisfaction levels with the facilities provided at the post office also increased, with 71% of organisations claiming to be satisfied or highly satisfied, up from 63% in 2012.
As for other services offered by MaltaPost, namely the PO Box and Business reply service the survey shows that circa 25% of all organisations participating in this survey use these services. Moreover, the significant majority (80%) of organisations using these services consider them to be very useful. Finally, the survey also shows that fewer large bulk mail users write down the post code (53%) when compared to households (71%) and the general business community (76%).
Additional information:
The survey consisted of face-to-face interviews with a total of 40 organisations. Each respondent, on behalf of the organisation, was the person responsible for the handling of mail and other postal articles in that organisation. Moreover, to be eligible to participate in this survey and exclude one-off users, the organisation had:- to be using the bulk mail service to send addressed letters; and
- to send on average more than 750 addressed letters in a year using this service
View Survey Results
MCA Reference: MCA/S/14-2039