General News of Tuesday, 19 March 2002

Source: Network Herald

Door-to-door delivery: Can Ghana Post deliver?

Ghana Post Company’s introduction of door-to-door delivery service to its customers is seen as a big step in the right direction especially in this era of “golden age of business” but the company has not been able to cope with the growing demands of its customers.

The door-to-door delivery service introduced two years ago still covers only customers in some Eastern parts of Accra and is yet to be extended to other parts of the metropolis. Since the introduction of the service, there has been an increase in demand for the service but the unavailability of receptacles is threatening the objectives for which it was introduced.

Customers who registered for the service have complained about the unavailability of receptacles in spite of the assurances by management that they will be provided with receptacles in the near future. Some of the customers interviewed indicated that they registered for the service since last July but are yet to be provided with receptacles.

Officials at the Sakumono Post Office who are in charge of the exercise could not explain the cause of the delay claiming that although management had indicated that it had given the go ahead to a local manufacturer to produce the receptacles there has been no sign of it. Over 70 people who registered for the service have not received the receptacles. They rather directed the Network Herald to the head office in Accra for explanation.

Mr. Ferguson Gidiglo of the company’s marketing department explained that due the due to the high patronage, the company ran short of receptacles. According to him, “the manufacturer experienced some technical problems” with the first consignment of receptacles, it was also identified that rain could enter the receptacles therefore the company is taking steps to correct it.

He stated that although those who had registered had not paid for the receptacles, their letters are delivered to them at home on weekends or in the evenings when it is possible to meet them home. Mr. Gidiglo also disclosed that there are about eight different kinds of receptacles, which are being studied at the moment before it is put on the market for customers.

The marketing manager of Ghana Post Company Mrs. De-Heer was however surprised that the delay had been attributed to management. She asserted that “we want to put on the market a better service”. The manager was optimistic that “ hopefully before the middle of the year” the receptacles would be ready.