News • November 16 2003

Service at Maltapost deteriorates but privatised entity disagrees

Julian Manduca
Snail mail was one of Malta’s hallmarks for efficiency, a letter posted before 7am would arrive that very same day, but with a privatised post office things are not what they used to be.
The transfer of several employees from post offices to post office hubs has caused delays at several post offices, but Maltapost is satisfied with the service being offered.
At the Sliema post office in Manuel Dimech Street last Monday a queue stretched outside the office and several people took one look, thought they were in downtown India, and walked away. Customers spoke of waiting up to 45 minutes, but many just did not bother. Others said it was becoming usual for them to wait for half an hour.
That particular post office is serviced by two post people, who have to deal with customers wanting to send letters or packages, picking up parcels, buying stamps and paying for utilities bills.
Several in the queue told MaltaToday that this was not the only day they found they had to wait for an unacceptably long time to be served, and the post people at the counter told the customers: "We know the wait is too long, but this was not our decision, speak to the management." However, there was no manager to speak to in the branch.
When MaltaToday asked Maltapost how many personnel had been transferred, the reply was: "There has not been any cutback of staff serving the public at any branch post office in Malta and Gozo. The only staff movements effected recently were transfers of post persons from the branches to newly set-up Hubs, a move which has resulted in faster sorting and consequently, an improved mail delivery service to the public. Counter services to the public, including sale of stamps, philatelic items, postal orders, payment of bills, posting and collection of parcels, etc. are still being offered at the respective counters.
Asked by MaltaToday whether it felt the service being offered was acceptable, Maltapost said: "There has not been any reduction in the number of postal staff serving the public at post office counters. The level of service has always been found to be acceptable. However, the situation regarding levels of service to the public is constantly being reviewed by Maltapost, and if it is felt that more personnel are needed at certain branches during exceptionally busy periods, Maltapost will not hesitate to put this into practice."
While it is correct to state that the number of personnel serving customers has not decreased on the counters, these same post people now have added duties including looking for and fetching parcels for customers, a job that was previously done by the personnel that have now been transferred to the hubs.
When asked by MaltaToday what Maltapost was doing to cut down the time customers had to wait, the company replied: "As already explained, levels of service are constantly under review, bearing in mind that an optimum service to the public is one of Maltapost's main aims.
"It should be appreciated, however, that a certain amount of waiting is the accepted norm at outlets offering a service to the public. Examples that come to mind include banks, hospitals, supermarkets, doctors and dentists. Retail counters are manned to cope with an average number of customers at any time. Customers tend to turn up for service as and when convenient, resulting in idle periods on the one hand, and queue build-up on the other.
"However, timing has shown that on average, customers do not wait for more than ten minutes. There are exceptions, of course - some customers walk in and get served immediately, others may have to wait a bit longer."
julian@maltamag.com