NZ Post – how to lose business and alienate people
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As reported in early 2017, Kiwibank and NZ Post continue to split their business, moving their retail postal and banking services into separate facilities. According to an un-named NZ Post spokesperson;
“NZ Post and Kiwibank are two independently run businesses, which currently share premises in some areas. With the longer-term strategies of the two organisations heading in different directions, it is now an appropriate time to review co-location.”
Even as NZ Post and Kiwibank were “un-co-locating”, the spokesperson also said,
“We are committed to providing postal services across New Zealand. What we are increasingly doing across our network is looking for local businesses to partner with to help us deliver postal services.”
A further 801 outlets are already “franchised” to supermarkets, book stores, pharmacies, dairies/superettes, stationery stores, video shops, etc.
For some reason, partnering with retail outlets was a better prospect for NZ Post than with an established bank. It is unclear why partnering with a pharmacy or video store is preferable to a bank – especially a major New Zealand-owned institution such as Kiwibank.
According another NZ Post spokesperson, New Zealand Post general manager of channels, Janet Selwood, said;
“In terms of the new outlet, we certainly provide a lot of training to our new partners and then on-going support for them. It’s not just about providing stamps – it’s about providing all the services that are currently provided.”
This is not true.
Splitting Kiwibank and NZ Post was recently carried out in Wellington’s eastern suburb, Kilbirnie and CBD location in Lambton Quay.
In the former, NZ Post has vacated it’s co-located building with Kiwibank in Bay Road, Kilbirnie, and franchised it’s operation to “Paper Plus” – situated immediately next door to the now-stand-alone Kiwibank operation;
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When this blogger went to re-register his car at the Kilbirnie NZ Post/Paper Plus agency, the response was that they no longer offered that service. I was advised to travel to the nearest provider for vehicle re-registrations at VTNZ. This was in Adelaide Rd, Newtown;
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The distance was several kilometres away.
Vehicle registration is a significant responsibility for most New Zealanders. With 4,154,891 vehicles registered in New Zealand by 2017, reducing NZ Post’s service in this area would be a major inconvenience for many people. To compound the problem, the policy of offering the registration service does not appear to be standardised throughout NZ Post outlets.
A phone call to another agency in Upper Hutt (approximately 30km north of Wellington) confirmed that the Upper Hutt NZ Post in that town will register cars.
Curiously, Upper Hutt NZ Post is also franchised to Paper Plus – the same retail-chain in Kilbirnie that refused to offer car registration.
So much for NZ Post assuring the public that it would not be “closing or downgrading” services to any areas. Provision of services now appear to be haphazard.
Ironically, a Kiwibank-branded ATM remains situated within the NZ Post/Paper Plus outlet;
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Apparently co-location of a machine was considered acceptable – unlike the humans associated with both businesses.
Elsewhere throughout the country, NZ Post announced late last year it would be closing the last seventynine of it’s remaining company-owned retail outlets. Petone, Stoke, Johnsonville, South Dunedin, Moray Pl, Dunedin North, Mosgiel, and Te Puke are amongst NZ Post and/or Kiwibank branches fated for closure.
For many small towns and rural communities, NZ Post and Kiwibank are the last remaining essential service left to them. Closure or down-sizing is not a blow that such communities will handle well. When the State retreats from such small communities the sense of alienation is palpable.
Perhaps one of the worst ill-thought-out de-couplings between NZ Post from Kiwibank occurred in Lambton Quay, in Wellington’s CBD.
Until last year, the combined NZ Post/Kiwibank outlet was situated at 94 Lambton Quay.
This blogger went searching for NZ Post to purchase postage stamps. Trekking along most of Lambton Quay, the prominent Kiwibank street signage was a welcome sight;
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Until, that is, this ominous notice was sighted in the window advising NZ Post customers “From Thursday 27th September 2018, bill payments and postal services will no longer be available at Lambton Quay NZ Post & Kiwibank, only Kiwibank services will be available“.
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Several possible options for NZ Post agencies were listed. The closest one appeared to be something called “Capital Office Supplies” at 114 Lambton Quay. Which was odd, as I had just walked along that part of the street and I had seen no indication of a NZ Post anywhere in that vicinity.
I retraced my steps, until I came to this NZ Post sign. Can you see the NZ Post sign in the image below?
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The NZ Post agency/Capital Office Supplies was not located on Lambton Quay proper. That is why it was not readily visible to anyone searching for it. The NZ Post signage in the above image (located beneath street signs for “Mason’s Lane” and “Pedestrian Access to The Terrace“) is wholly inadequate.
NZ Post/Capital Office Supplies is not visible on Lambton Quay – because it does not front onto one of New Zealand’s busiest retail/commercial precincts.
NZ Post/Capital Supplies is located down this alley;
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Even on closer inspection the NZ Post agency sign is difficult to make out in the gloomy light of the narrow alley;
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It simply defies understanding that any executive working for NZ Post would have thought that this site would be an ideal location for a postal agency.
And it doesn’t end there.
Once I bought the stamps, I was directed to the nearest posting boxes. Which was located…
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… opposite to the Kiwibank back at 94 Lambton Quay.
With the amount of walking I did that afternoon, I might as well have hand-delivered the letters myself. Any notion of “customer service” appears to have been discounted.
For a SOE that is fast losing money on it’s postal services – $39 million for the year ended August 2018 – NZ Post’s policy to de-couple from a well-established, highly prominent bank usually located on prime retail land, beggars understanding. How does one generate foot-traffic down an alley-way, compared to a highly-visible street frontage outlet on Wellington “Golden Mile”?
In November last year, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern responded to concerns that communities were losing their postal and Kiwibank services, or seeing those service downgraded;
“There are changes afoot that I have had concerns about; it is because the environment’s changing and people aren’t using those postal services in the same way. We are looking at how communities can still have banking services and postal services.
But with some of the changes we’re seeing, we do have some concern over loss of service and banking services as well.”
The Coalition government had better take notice of what is happening. This is a repeat of the late 1980s, when Rogernomics was rampaging through the country, gutting services; de-regulating imports which resulted in business closures and job losses; and a retreat by the State from communities that relied heavily on those services – or the money that was injected into local businesses.
The Opposition National Party has been exploiting planned closures of Kiwibank and/or NZ Post outlets. Nelson MP, Nick Smith, has been prominent and vocal in actively campaigning to save the Stoke branch of Kiwibank;
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In a press release on a National Party website, Smith lamented angrily;
“My job is to hold the Government to account for its promises. This Stoke closure contradicts the Labour/NZ First Coalition agreement that commits to expanding public services in regional New Zealand. It is hypocritical of Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones to have decried other bank branch closures when he is the Associate Minister of State Owned Enterprises that owns NZ Post and Kiwibank. Mr. Jones’ public comments indicate he is unhappy with the decision to close in Stoke Kiwibank and PostShopwith a strong community campaign he could use his powers to have the decision reconsidered.
We call on as many people as possible to join this campaign and to save the Stoke branch of Kiwibank and PostShop. These State Owned businesses need to get to the message that they exist to serve the community that owns them.”
And perhaps, this time, Dr Smith has a valid point when he rails against a possible broken promise from the Coalition Governmen; “This Stoke closure contradicts the Labour/NZ First Coalition agreement that commits to expanding public services in regional New Zealand. It is hypocritical of Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones to have decried other bank branch closures when he is the Associate Minister of State Owned Enterprises that owns NZ Post and Kiwibank”.
Smith’s “inner social activist” came to the fore at a public meeting in Stoke, where he called for public opposition to NZ Post/Kiwibank’s planned closures.
“I call to all businesses in Stoke to boycott the request for agency. Do not buy the line that they are the same. The postal services you receive at an agency in another shop are not as focused on the public as you would see in a dedicated service.”“
Which is deeply ironic as Dr Smith should also be reminded that it was his government that created a Deed of Amendment and Restatement with NZ Post on 12 December 2013. This Deed specifically permitted NZ Post to use “service points [agencies] hosted in other businesses“;
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The Deed was signed by Dr Nick Smith’s colleague, then-Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Amy Adams.
E tū Union national organiser, Joe Gallagher, pointed out the inevitable consequences of National’s actions;
“What everyone missed [at the time] is the Government allowed NZ Post to reduce the number of corporate shops they were required to have, as long as they provided service points. What you’re seeing now is all that being bled through into the system.”
I wonder if Dr Smith shared this item of information with the good people of Stoke on 23 November, last year, when he addressed a public meeting of concerned citizens? His chances for re-election in 2020 might be dented if this fact became more widely known in his own electorate.
And lastly, we come to perhaps the most ‘Monty Pythonesque‘ of NZ Post’s current policies…
In early December last year, this blogger visited the Kilbirnie NZ Post/Paper Plus agency to post a Christmas parcel for a friend. The cost of postage came $17.00.
I had $8.00 in postage stamps which I offered to stick on the parcel, and would pay the remaining $9.00.
I was informed by the staffer behind the counter that postage stamps could not be used for parcels. They could only be used for envelopes containing letters.
It defies belief: postage stamps are no longer accepted by NZ Post to be used to send a parcel through the postal system.
Add that bizarre policy to everything described above, and the inevitable question arises: Are our political leaders waging a covert campaign to undermine and destroy NZ Post, as happened with Solid Energy under National’s watch?!
It is difficult not to come to that conclusion. In fact, I wrote to the two ministers in charge of SOEs pointing out NZ Post’s strange policies;
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from: Frank Macskasy <fmacskasy@gmail.com>
to: “Rt Hon. Winston Peters” <winston.peters@parliament.govt.nz>,
“Hon. Shane Jones” <shane.jones@parliament.govt.nz>
date: 5 Dec 2018
subject: NZ Post – customer service?.
Rt Hon. Winston Peters
Minister,
State Owned Enterprises.
Hon. Shane Jones
Associate Minister,
State Owned Enterprises.
Kia ora Mr Peters and Mr Jones,
I am writing to you regarding a curious incident yesterday at a Kilbirnie Post Shop agency.
I was posting a parcel and the overall cost came to $17.
I had postage stamps with me, so was going to place them on the parcel, and pay the balance, to make $17 in total.
I was informed by staff that postage stamps can no longer be used for parcels – only for letters.
Are you aware that postage stamps (sold by NZ Post) can no longer be used on parcels delivered by NZ Post?
It seems bizarre that NZ Post has enacted such a policy; in effect not accepting one of it’s own systems to make a delivery. It would be like a bank not accepting cash to pay for a service.
It is unclear how NZ Post’s policy serves customer’s needs. Especially as their postal numbers are falling.
I look forward to your response to this issue and whether you will instruct NZ Post to change this policy.
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Regards,
-Frank Macskasy.
I have yet to receive an answer. Perhaps the reply… is in the post?
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References
Fairfax media: Kiwibank suffers growing pains as it splits from restructured NZ Post
Fairfax media: Union says more Kiwibank branches will shut as NZ Post separates
Mediaworks/Newshub: ‘Challenging times’ – 79 New Zealand Post shops to close amid Kiwibank changes
Ministry of Transport: Annual Fleet Statistics (p57)
NZ Post: Upper Hutt Paper Plus
Scoop media: New Zealand Post to close 79 shops
Radio NZ: Kiwibank customers ‘appalled’ by branch closures
Otago Daily Times: Closure of NZ Post, Kiwibank branches confirmed
NZ Herald: Kiwibank set to close Te Puke branch, new PostShop outlet sought
Fairfax media: Call for NZ Post agency partner boycott to stop Kiwibank’s Stoke closure
National: Public Meeting to Oppose KiwiBank Closure/Postshop Downgrade
NZ Post – NZ Government: Deed of Amendment and Restatement
Fairfax media: Union says more Kiwibank branches will shut as NZ Post separates
Additional
NZ Post: History of New Zealand Post
DPMC: Ministerial Portfolio – State Owned Enterprises
Previous related blogposts
Solid Energy – A solid drama of facts, fibs, and fall-guys
A positive indicator for NZ Post…?
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Thank you for documenting so many of the bizarre aspects of changes to NZPost & Kiwibank, Frank Mac. One of my gripes is the cut in delivery days. Even with high volumes of post before Christmas, NZPost stick to their reduced days. To ensure your parcels arrive in time for Christmas, many of us are using expensive courier post. All round, yet another stupid practice.
Excellent analysis of NZ Post withdrawing it’s range of services. If NZ Post makes any more reductions, it will become utterly irrelevent to our lives.
Despite the high salary paid to NZPost’s CEO, it seems no one has the wit and imagination to INCREASE that SOE’s services and make it more relevent to our lives.
For example, NZ Post could set up a rival email service, to counter gmail, and remove Google’s tracking of users on the net. Why hasn’t it even explored that option?? (I’d love that choice to get away from gmail.)
Cutting back on services and relying on agencies and poorly trained workers who have other retail skills is a poor way to promote a business.
NZ Post has potential. We need the leadership to exploit that potential.
In the early 1990s nzpost were approached by telecom to be the focal point of a nationwide network of email addresses.
Telecom didn’t want to spend the money and figured outsourcing it to a govt agency would be ideal.
NZpost were chosen as being a trusted agency and the plan was that email addresses could be linked to people’s post addresses.
So people could have signed up to email via NZpost with the server’s being provided by telecom. Customer service would be done via NZpost.
NZpost board declined claiming they could never see email being popular.
What a missed opportunity. Far too late to come to the ball now though.
Just Professional Bludgers IMHO
Sounds like a Neoliberal Business Model ?
“The Coalition government had better take notice of what is happening.”
/agreed
I hope the coalition government realise they’re going to have to wear the blame for all this.
This is a missed opportunity. NZ Post could have been used as a means to expand various services as a public interface to ‘all of government’ (both central and local).
Last week I went through the very same rigmarole around Wellington just to post a bloody package to the Bay of Plenty – eventually finding some pokey little outlet in Featherston Street where the agent didn’t seem to know what the fuck was happening.
Speaking of the BoP, the Te Puke downgrade is going to be interesting.
Maybe Grant Robertson should let Mr Walsh know that NZ Post’s current policy direction doesn’t really fit well with the public’s expectations or what they were given to believe when they were promised a kinder, more engaged government prior to the election.
He needs to do it soon, because the coalition are definitely going to wear all this in a couple of years.
But then you only have to look at the background of those involved to know that they come from a culture of short term cost-cutting and externalising costs as a priority. And then, once their work is done, they’ll have moved onto the next gig by the time it all goes tits up
With the world having moved digital 20 years ago
and with total deregulation banks and postal services
are quite understandably constantly down sizing.
20% of the 2000 number may survive
through merger and take over.
Amazing NZ Post Kiwi Bank have lasted this long.
A merciful euthanasia is appropriate.
Nothing political in it at all.
Farewell NZ Post you were there for 100 years.
Time to close the doors.
Wellington supposedly the capital city with a couple of hundred thousand of potential Post Office patrons, all of whom now need to travel to Johnsonville up state highway one to find the closest “Post Office.”
Post Shops and franchises around the city and suburbs do not cater for many “Post Office” services, so the city is stranded away from public services only found at a Post Office because a corporatised profit stream dictates what can be provided locally.
roger douglas would be exhuburant.
Stuff the people young and old who have been robbed of a state agency once proudly called the Post Office. Wellington now does not have one.
Try getting for example an 18+ ID card for evidence of your age.
Wellington occupants must travel to Johnsonville or the Hutt to do so at a Post Office and possibly make two or three trips as the website does not describe fully what you need to bring with you.
That may well include several bus and train trips or travel burning up fossil fuels and personal expense, waste of time and must lower the NZ productivity if such stupidity is abound nation wide.
And if you have no web access you cannot ring a Post Office for information as the menu you get once a phone call is made does not have an option of talking with a person for that information nor tells you where to go to find the service required. Its a black hole.
Mothers with children, pensioners, invalids and many others have had their access to a Post Office cut off by physical removal of its presence in community.
What a shallow thought.
This hasn’t only been happening in NZ!!!
The longterm plan is to eliminate privacy in communicating (letter writing)
It began with 1980’s “Economic restructuring”
>>. “Globalisation” (= Global Communism …by stealth.)
All the changes in small increments over many years.
What do you think the REAL reason for mass surveillance everywhere was?
One day suddenly nom de plumes in editorial page of Newspapers no longer acceptable (why???)
Cellphones/Smartphones have been forced on the population. Surveillance instruments.
Now they are getting everybody to do everything online.
Until one day >>> no more cash, … Then TOTAL CONTROL of peoples lives.
Can’t you see whats coming down the pipe?
David Walsh – the head of NZ Post – “Most recently he has played a pivotal leadership role in working through the complexities associated with the Kiwibank partial sale and operational separation from NZ Post.
He was also on Checkpoint last year saying that the postal service is a dying service which will be dead in 5 years.
Isn’t it time that the question is asked: is a postal sevice a Public service (so should be protected) and what would happen if it is given completely over to the private sector? Because for the last 20 yrs it’s been being run into the ground & treated like an embarrassing relative.
I do know speaking to the owner of Paperplus Kilbirnie, they were never offered a deal for bill payment services, when they bank changed over. Its like they never thought about the people of the Rongotai Electorate use post office bill payment services
Chruskl, I thought it was a ploy to get more income too, but overall they’re still operating at a loss. Not enough soft touch grandmothers like me who want their grandchildren to get their presents on time, use courier mail. I think the PO would up their income if they made regular mail more available to ordinary punters instead of excluding most people from their services as Frank Mac points out. Why is the government letting this happen?
Excellent reporting, Frank. NZPost has missed a golden opportunity to become a service hub or Gove services, as well as bill paying, postage, etc. it shows a real lack of imagination from those paid the Big Bucks to make a go of this SOE. So much for high salaries for CEO’s and other executives.
Absolutely ridiculous! Closing down an essential service and putting more people out of work, not to mention heaping more stress on those who wish to send cards, parcels or even letters (which some people still write).
I shall be sending an email to my MP about this extremely sorry state of affairs.
Thank you Frank for the detailed blog pointing out the insanity of closing post offices nationwide.