When I review the Postal Department Service of India, I think a distinction is to be made between conventional postal services and the Speed Post service which functions as a separate wing of the Postal Department. The Speed Post service is much better when compared to ordinary postal department services, but not very efficient when compared to good courier agencies like Blue Dart, DHL, TNT etc. But these prestigious private courier services offer superb service at hefty costs, often 5 to 10 times of Indiapost’s rates for similar services. I am leaving innumerable small courier services, most of which offer shoddy services at lower costs and do not have all India coverage.
I have mostly good experiences with using Speed Post and only a handful of bad experiences. Letters and documents ( not large packages) sent by me from Calicut in Kerala are generally delivered by Speed Post the very next working day at towns like Tiruchirappally, Bangalore or even Nagpur in Maharashtra. Speed Post is much efficient in smaller cities and towns and not that efficient in Metros and large cities. They are generally safe also. Speed mostly depends on from where you send the item and to which destination it goes.
Speed Post Mail to North East and Eastern India from South sometimes takes more time, however, they get delivered ultimately. I am not ruling out cases of delay and general in-efficiency especially in posting tracking details. There are several instances where the article get delivered within two three days, but the Speed Post tracking system still does not show its movements at the Indiapost site https://indiapost.gov.in.
Shall we say they are not interested in proclaiming their efficiency? NO, improvements are definitely necessary for Speed Post. It has been shackled being part of the white elephant that is Indiapost, a department of Govt. of India. Unshackle it, make it an independently managed corporation like IRCTC, it will improve much. No other agency has the spread of net work in India like Speed Post, they should streamline the way they work and use the resources much better. Staff is generally courteous and hardworking in Speed Post centers; they don’t have even time to answer to your queries, immersed in work all the time with long queue at the booking counter. In most cities speedpost work even during night time, Can you see any private courier open at 10 pm. when you want to send an urgent document?
But there are minus points or areas where they should improve the efficiency also.
Tracking packages are not efficient. Helpline at Call Centre is pathetic ( all call centres are like that, they should be named DO NOT CALL CENTRES ) More counters and better amenities for seating customers at Speed Post centers are needed. They should be able to deliver any package anywhere in India within 48 hours normally and within 60 hours where holidays comes in between. Complaint tracking and follow up should be improved much.
Most important, customers should have confidence in speed post service. Recently I got a speed post cover sent from New Delhi Lodhi Rd, HO here in Calicut. It arrived within 3 days promptly, but three out of 4 items enclosed in the envelope (philately items) are seen removed by opening the envelope and again pasting it. The Speed Post Logo and label pasted on the cover should stand as a security for the customer. When the department can ensure that, people will definitely use speed post. My experience is that 99% of Postal staff are honest and good people, there may be 1% black sheep in the flock, and they should be eliminated by prompt vigilance and follow up of complaints efficiently.
We should realize that Speed Post being part of a gigantic and out-dated government system has its limitations. Once it is made independent, I am sure it can do wonders. We have an example in IRCTC which successfully ended large scale corruption and inefficiency in passenger reservations in the Indian Railways. Gone are the days, when you need to bribe a railway booking clerk or TTE to reserve a ticket even before 30 days of your journey. now you can use the online ticket reservation system and book ticket quite easily from your home in a much transparent way. The big question is whether the Govt is prepared to make some entities independent and entrust them with professionals rather than bureaucrats to run them efficiently.