One thing I admire about India Post is its adorable ad infinitum honesty and this is not at all adulation. Almost all services are exceptionally good except Rural Postal Life Insurance, which is worst. Let us see good and not so good account of India Post, India Government’s mammoth Service and India’s one of the most respectable service.
*People:** Postman was always like an uncle to me. Postman is the face of the India Post. .***Dakiya Dak Laya . *****is a very famous song, isn’t it? Be it raining, be it scorching heat, be it cold….show must go on… is the slogan of this bicycle pedaling man. Nowadays commercial interest is transcending personal relationship. ***Diwali Bakshish*** is personal choice!
*Speed Post: **It is advertised as India’s best courier and indeed it is. Most cities are connected via speed centers called as SPC. Come what may delivery happens. Most articles are delivered within 2-3 days. Rural articles are delivered in 4-6 days. For prompt delivery one must print 6 digit pin code. Writing mobile number of receiver do help as these days few post offices try to contact the receiver if the door is locked or if receiver is moved.
Online tracking facility is available. While industry uses one click tracking, India Post offers tracking in two tabs i.e. delivery and movement. Why is not understood. Probably answer lies with Postal Training Centre(PTC) Mysore. National Centre is at Zero Mile Nagpur that treats everybody so well that one tends to forget other couriers!
Recently speed article booked on February 29, 2008 was shown as delivered on November 2007. **Fun2sh** was good movie where actor triplet travels to earlier century. ***Jana Tha Japan Pahuch Gaye China*** does happen. I was instrumental in making suggestions via mails or thru writing in the newspapers and in response correct telephone numbers of speed post managers are now listed on web. Few don’t pick up the mobile that is a sad story.
Local delivery cost is INR 12 only whereas national delivery costs INR 25 only which is much cheaper than any other courier. Ease of booking, 24 hour bookings at few SPC, huge distribution network, online tracking, accountability, grievance handling, business solutions and delivery to restricted areas makes speed post my first choice. You can book on railway station post offices too. I vote speed post as best courier but do expect lot of improvement in online tracking and support functions.
*Letter boxes: **A typical red and black sculpture in every locality stands as tall testimony of India Post. Letter boxes are in proportion to population. There are 3 sized letter boxes. Green letter box is for local delivery. In few cities city specific letter boxes are also available. Unfortunately miniature rural letter box is hardly painted and even do not bear clearance time tag. Few imported officers postulate theory of cost and viability and hence the question comes: in Global age why demarcate rural and urban areas? **Rural is mural.*
*Saving accounts: **In last decade India has witnessed banking as phenomenal success story. E-governance, E-commerce and E-business initiatives in banking industry are fabulous and so is the market for information technology products-n-services. Although India Post is playing a trumpet of Finance Marts, most savings accounts are managed offline. To close a saving account you are required to visit post offices for more than twice. Double accounting practice is praiseworthy, local post office obtaining clearance from head post office is also good but why subscribers should suffer? And if the account proceeds are not claimed then it is treated as suspense account. These suspense accounts passbooks are stored in jute bags, traceability is the issue and one is required to wait for months and years to reopen or close suspense accounts. This is not a healthy situation. India Post opening banking services is welcome move but existing bizarre situation requires immediate attention. To summarize saving accounts are managed in brick and mortar fashion and requires shift to click and mortar economy.
*Passport Service: **Now one can deposit passport application at select head post offices. This service is approved by Ministry of External Affairs. One can obtain an application form at a fee and submit the same at specialized counter. Trained executive scrutinizes application, its enclosures and accept fees. Such office functions between 10 AM to 12 noon only.(based on Pune experience). Your passport application reaches concerned passport office much later than you could have deposited in person. And you are required to re-visit post office to redeem you temporary receipt to confirmed-n-computerized passport application acknowledgement. Why?
*RTI counter: **Every****vigilant citizen****should exercise Right to Information Act 2005 to assess Government information whenever s/he requires it and at a place s/he requires it. Fee for RTI application purpose is INR 10 and can be paid in cash at local post office. Post office issues UCR i.e. unclassified receipt(also called as miscellaneous receipt) and your name is printed on this RTI fee receipt. Such cash receipts are acceptable at Central Government offices for RTI purpose. RTI application is also accepted at post offices having specialized RTI counter.
*Collaborations: **Western Union Money Transfer, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited telephone bill payment, Idea Cellular bill payment and recent understanding with TATA AIG for insurance products payments make a good business sense.
*Fixed deposits: **One can invest money by purchasing NSC and other certificates. You get appropriate rebate in tax calculations. Be sure to preserve the certificate. It happens regularly that maturity amount is refused due to non availability of cash in post office. So be sure to intimate post office about your maturity and write a letter to branch manager that you will be collecting your maturity proceeds on particular date.
*Others: **The product and service basket of India Post is too big. Money orders, hybrid mail, e-post, recurring deposits, monthly income schemes, philately, window delivery, under certificate of posting, registered post, parcel service, stamp sale, satellite post, greetings, bulk mail, media post, franking, book now pay later scheme are few to name services most of us would be interested to know. Those who are interested to know more can refer to postal manuals where everything is documented in a systematic manner. RPLI and particularly RPLI Nagpur is insipid and do not even deserve further comments.
To conclude, India Post is one of the most respected business service offered by Government of India. Forget networking most rural post offices do not have weighting machines. Regular training to executives facing customers will certainly improve profits. The most important value of India Post i.e. ad infinitum honesty should also be imbibed in new recruitments. Inertia at senior level is killing the organization. Customer is the purpose is not acceptable to few senior officials. I wish India Post to become more responsible and customer driven service organization which will make the competition irrelevant.