Corruption Instances in Indian Postal Services: Inputs Sought

Last week a member had indicated in the Anti-Corruption circle how they were forced by a post man to pay a bribe to get their passport. India Post has contacted LocalCircles and requested details about post office related corruption. If you have experienced cases of bribes/tip demanded by India Post postmen and staff in the last 6 months, you are invited to share the details of the same. Also, if you are aware of some systemic bribery/corruption issues, you are invited to share the same as well.

For reference, below are the key issues, root causes and solutions identified by you to transform Indian Postal Services. We look forward to your inputs!

Improving Indian Postal Services - Solutions

1.The entire postal system should be revamped with process re-engineering and made systems driven from head office, local post office to every postman
2.The post office system should be computerised
3.Major technological advancements should be brought in the sector
4.A delivery target should be set for each postman
5.Bosses should ensure that the letter boxes are cleared daily
6.The physical structures of the post offices should be modernized
7.Postmen should be trained on customer service
8.A code of conduct should be designed, deployed and re-iterated for the postmen
9.Deliverables should be set for the post office staff and they should be strictly monitored
10.Customer satisfaction should be made of prime importance
11.The operation procedures should be scrutinized and amended
12.The services available at the most offices should be made at par with the services provided by courier companies
13.The delivery of the letter/goods should be guaranteed in a particular time frame
14.The status of the packages should be made trackable online
15.Delivery confirmation should be sent through sms and emails
16.The salaries of the postmen should be increased
17.A variable pay component based on performance should be introduced for the postmen
18.Post office services and products should be well marketed
19.A complaint redressal system should be developed
20.Postmen should be provided with bikes/scooters to improve the delivery time
21.Parcel service and courier services need to be revamped. They are more revenue earning and hence need more attention
22.Effective business marketing services should be introduced with account manager assigned.
23.A series of new age services, secondary in nature should be introduced so people visit local post offices or contact their post man regularly.

Indian Postal Services – Root Causes

1.No major technological advancements in the sector
2.Most of the tasks are done manually which are error prone
3.No set timelines from the department for the delivery of posts
4.Salaries of the postmen is less and hence they try to make more wherever possible
5.Shortage of staff in post offices
6.Ineffective supervisory control
7.Job of the postmen is physically very demanding and the work load is high
8.Lack of sense of duty among the staff
9.Lack of performance based pay structure
10. No focus on customer service
11.A general feeling is that they are doing a favour to the public by delivering letters
12.The think-tank in the department is lazy and does not want to take initiatives
13.System is fragile and hence prone to sour incidents
14.Number of people using postal services is very high
15.Lack of initiative from the Government to revamp the sector
16.Poor Marketing of Post Office Products and Service
17.The post offices are not expanding in tune with the expanding population in cities
18.Complaint redressal system is poor
19.No mind set to compete with courier services or other competition
20.Except remote rural areas, post office staff don't enjoy good social status and recognition in society.

Indian Postal Services – Key Issues

1.Posts are not delivered on time
2.Letter boxes are not cleared for days
3.Post offices are very dirty
4.Postman do not behave properly and posts are missed for years. They ask for tips to do their job.
5.Behavior at Post Office reflects that the Government employees do not care for customers
6.Arrogance in behavior of the employees
7.Employees are very lazy
8.Archaic operating procedures
9.A major part of the operations is still not computerized
10.Mobile services not available
11.Ignorance in services
12.No office timing followed
13.Theft of pricey goods during transition
14.Money order amount fraud
15.Non delivery of periodicals/magazines, books
16.Tracking system is very poor
17.Not enough counters in Post Offices to handle the crowd
18.No electronic delivery confirmation
19.Staff/postmen are not educated properly and do not know many things. They make their own rules and regulations
20.Quite a good number of post offices don't have facility of accepting off shore posts. more