Australia Post is set to bid farewell to those notorious illegible “while you were out” slips, a source of frustration for many customers. It will now venture into the digital era with its new delivery notification system.
Australian Post’s dropping the notes
The announcement was posted on AusPost’s official Facebook page in response to customer complaints.
The post boldly declares, “More accurate information on missed deliveries? You ask. We deliver,” accompanied by a conversation between the account and a concerned Australian.
The concerned Australian shared his dilemma, stating, “The postie left a missed delivery card. That’s great, but I can’t read their handwriting, so I don’t know when it’ll be ready to collect. That’s not so great.”
To this, AusPost responded with empathy, saying, “We hear you. That’s one of the reasons we’re transitioning to digital missed delivery notifications on the AusPost app, so you’ll have more accurate (and legible!) information.”
Digital notfications ahead
While the Facebook post did not provide a detailed timeline for the rollout of the new missed package notification system and did not permit comments, it did elicit four angry-face emoticon reactions out of the 39 total reactions at the time of writing.
An AusPost spokesperson confirmed to PerthNow that the digital notification system is being introduced for customers with an account for the service’s online portal, My Post.
“For customers who don’t have a My Post account, they will continue to receive traditional paper cards as usual,” the spokesperson said.
They also emphasized that the new digital notifications would reduce paper waste, offering customers greater convenience, reliability, and flexibility in planning their parcel pickups while away from home.
The transition to digital missed delivery notifications is not entirely new, as it has already been operational in Western Australia since July.
AusPost’s modernization strategy
This year, AusPost suffered a $384.1 million blow to its letter business. When the financial results were released, it reported that further losses were expected unless it could secure the “necessary support required to modernize its business.”
“If we do everything in our power to run this business well and we get a favorable regulatory response towards modernization, I’m confident that Australia Post will return to profit. Without this support, the FY23 loss will be followed by many more. Inaction could result in a greatly devalued Australian asset,” group CEO Paul Graham said.
The move towards digital notifications is definitely a move in the ‘modern’ direction from the postal service.
