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04.01.2021
While complying with security measures and restrictions on customer service in the premises of post offices with a view to contain COVID-19, Latvijas Pasts managed to deliver a record-high number of postal items before Christmas: an average of more than 48,300 items per day. This is an increase of more than 27% compared to the average number of items issued on a working day in early December. At the end of the year, until the 30th of December 2020, Latvijas Pasts extended the opening hours of Riga and Riga Region post offices and brought on additional staff to regulate the flow of customers. Latvijas Pasts urges customers to make maximum use of the opportunity to apply for postal services remotely and show up at the post office just in time for receiving the service.
At the end of the year the amount of postal items traditionally increases all over the world, but this year the limited international transport capacity and the established security measures due to COVID-19 have led to an uneven flow of items and a complicated delivery process at post offices. In December Latvijas Pasts simultaneously receives a large number of items, which must not only be processed and sorted quickly, but also delivered to many customers at post offices at the same time.
In order to improve customer service during this busy pre-holiday period, Latvijas Pasts brought on several dozen additional employees at more than 30 post offices, as well as extended the opening hours of more than 60 post offices in Riga and Riga Region until the evening of the last working day, the 30th of December 2020.
Kristaps Krūmiņš, Member of the Board of Latvijas Pasts, explains: “This period is full of challenges and predicaments for our employees, as they have to quickly adapt to new circumstances, ensuring the most efficient item delivery process in conditions of reduced service possibilities and at the same time complying with all national security requirements. In order to compensate for the operation of the servicing cash register counters, which we are not allowed to open due to the established restrictions, we have opened more than 80 post offices on Saturdays, extended the working hours in the post offices in Riga and surrounding areas and brought on dozens of additional employees. This extra labour helps to regulate the flow of customers and ensures faster receipt of items by delivering them to customers also outside the post office premises, thus eliminating the need for recipients to visit the premises at all. Besides, we delivered items from a microbus outside the premises at the busiest post offices in Riga. It can be said that this is also a time of lessons and new opportunities for us, which we can use to further improve the service.”
Taking into account the restrictions and the company’s capabilities, the average number of items delivered at Latvijas Pasts post offices in the days before the Christmas holidays exceeds the number of items delivered at the beginning of December by more than 27%, with more than 48,300 items delivered on average per day. In some post offices the increase in the number of services provided has reached a record-high figure of 62% and 59%.
Demand has also grown significantly in the parcel locker network of Latvijas Pasts: in December 2020 the parcel locker load increased by more than 100% compared to the same period last year.
Latvijas Pasts urges customers to be understanding, because in order to contain the spread of COVID-19, restrictions are in place throughout the country on the number of customers who can stay in the premises of service providers at a time. Therefore the capabilities to provide services at post offices have decreased significantly and customers may have to wait for their turn to receive the services while standing outside the post office and keeping a distance from each other. Due to security reasons the total number of cash register systems serving customers at Latvijas Pasts post offices has been reduced by several dozens.
In order to avoid spending more time than necessary at a post office, Latvijas Pasts encourages you to make maximum use of the company’s mobile application, which allows you to apply for the service remotely and show up at the post office just in time for receiving your service. You can apply for services remotely in 86 largest and busiest post offices throughout Latvia; the list of these post offices is available here.
The up-to-date opening hours of the post offices at the end of the year can be seen here.
Latvijas Pasts has created a special frequently asked question-answer section about the company’s operations in the emergency situation, which is available in the News section of the company’s website www.pasts.lv and is regularly updated.
About SJSC Latvijas Pasts
Latvijas Pasts ensures the widest availability of postal services throughout Latvia by maintaining more than 600 post offices. The primary function of the company is provision of the universal postal service; Latvijas Pasts also provides commercial transport, express mail, payment, press subscription, retail and philatelic services. Latvijas Pasts is a wholly State-owned company with around 3,200 employees. The quality measurements of Latvijas Pasts domestic mail deliveries are regularly conducted by Kantar TNS, one of the leading market, social and media research agencies in Latvia. In turn, the quality measurements of the cross-border deliveries are provided within the framework of the International Post Corporation through the intermediary of the research companies Kantar TNS, Ipsos and Quotas.
Additional information:
Vineta Danielsone | Senior Public Relations Project Manager
E-mail: pr@pasts.lv; vineta.danielsone@pasts.lv
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