Evri customers are the most dissatisfied with their experience contacting customer service for help, according to an annual ranking of parcel companies.
According to Ofcom’s annual Post Monitoring Report, around 39 percent of Evri customers are dissatisfied with the company’s contact processes.
This is despite the fact that the company has improved customer satisfaction over the past year.
The second worst performer was Yodel, with 31 percent of customers reporting their dissatisfaction.
Dissatisfied: Evri customers were the most dissatisfied with the company’s contact processes, despite improvements from last year
Last year, Evri saw only 26 percent satisfaction with customer service, while the score has risen to 32 percent in 2024. Customer dissatisfaction has also fallen compared to 46 percent last year.
A spokesperson for Evri told This is Money: ‘2024 has been a year of significant investment and listening to our customers to improve our service.
‘We recognize there is still more to do, but Ofcom found we are making improvements year-on-year and our rising parcel volumes are proof that customers and residential customers are voting with their feet and trusting us with their deliveries.
‘Evri processes 730 million parcels per year, with 99 percent successfully delivered on time – and strives to create a culture where every parcel matters. We have invested £32 million to develop our customer service options and improve the customer experience at the door.”
The report assessed the performance of parcel companies in handling complaints about missing or damaged packages.
While 78 percent are generally satisfied with parcel companies, 67 percent have experienced a delivery issue in the past six months, with delivery delays being the most common issue, affecting 27 percent of cases.
Amazon emerged as the best-performing carrier, with a whopping 56 percent of customers satisfied with customer service and just 15 percent dissatisfied, with the dissatisfaction rate declining by one percent year-on-year.
The second highest-rated company was DHL, with a 55 percent satisfaction rate and 17 percent dissatisfied.
Although FedEx also had a 17 percent dissatisfaction rate, its satisfaction rate dropped from 58 percent last year to 52 percent in 2024.
On average, around 45 percent of customers were satisfied with parcel carriers’ contact processes, but one in four was disappointed with the level of service.
UPS and Parcelforce also saw that more than half of their customers were satisfied with the companies’ customer service, while Royal Mail and DPD both had a satisfaction rate of 43 percent.
Both carriers also had more dissatisfied customers, with 27 percent and 28 percent of users respectively dissatisfied with the service.
Ofcom said it is concerned about the long-term sustainability of Royal Mail’s universal service, with the company continuing to make losses and failing to meet productivity expectations despite improvements.
While letter volumes fell nine percent from last year, some 3.9 billion parcels were delivered last year, an increase of 8.3 percent from the previous year and near the pandemic’s peak level of 4 billion reaches.
The stricter regulations are paying off
Ofcom said parcel carriers have improved their complaint handling processes as a result of improved regulations, including improved website information and better phone lines and live chats.
While it said it expects these improvements to continue, it noted that disabled customers are more likely to experience problems, with 71 percent of those affected, compared to 63 percent of other people.
The Evri spokesperson added: ‘Earlier this month, Evri announced a range of improvements to home delivery for people with a condition or disability. We have also launched an important three-year partnership with disability equality charity Scope, to work together to help customers with disabilities have a better parcel delivery experience.”
Ofcom’s new guidance states that parcel companies must explain to customers who to contact with complaints, what the complaints procedure will be and that staff dealing with complaints must be properly trained to do this.