Evri delivery vehicle
(Picture: Evri)Evri could be the worst courier service used by fashion retailers, a new analysis has found, as frustrated shoppers rush to get presents for loved ones delivered in time for Christmas amid a wave of strikes by postal workers.
Customer Intelligence startup Chattermill analysed feedback from over 152,000 public Trustpilot reviews, registered from 1 January 2021 to 4 September 2022, from customers buying at ASOS, H&M, New Look, Next and Zara.
Evri (formerly Hermes) is the most problematic courier brand, followed by DHL and Yodel in number of negative reviews, according to the analysis, with the negativity often carrying over to the brands that use them.
The analysis found delivery is one of the biggest issues for retail customers, with speed and timeliness being key contributors to the negative sentiment received by some of the most popular fashion retail brands.
Delivery complaints frequently centre on the fact that despite stating on their websites a limited number of days for delivering purchases — usually around 2 to 4 days — packages tend to be delayed, with items frequently arriving out of the suggested timeframe.
Dmitry Isupov, co-founder of Chattermill, said: “Delivery is one of the most important aspects customers take notice of during the Christmas shopping rush. Everyone wants to make sure their gifts will get to them on time for the holidays.
“Interestingly, negative sentiment about delivery comes from the misalignment between expectations and reality vs the absolute speed or cost of the delivery, so it’s critical to stay on top of whether your customers are getting the service they were promised.”
A spokesperson for Evri said: “Like others in the delivery sector, we are currently experiencing higher than normal volumes driven by the Royal Mail Strikes at an exceptionally busy time of year.
“We have made significant investments to improve our service as we grow, adding dedicated customer service teams operating seven days a week in depots; building the biggest parcel distribution hub in Europe, in Barnsley; and expanded our network of ParcelShops and Lockers.”
It comes after Royal Mail workers initiated a wave of strikes in an escalating row over pay, jobs and conditions.
The Communications Workers Union (CWU), the main UK trade union for people working for telephone, cable, digital subscriber line and postal delivery companies, confirmed six strike dates in December on November 17. These follow several strikes in November.
The postal service apologised to customers, saying that though it had “well-developed contingency plans”, it was unable to “fully replace the daily efforts of our frontline workforce”.
Earlier this year, delivery delivery company Hermes changed its name to Evri, in the wake of allegations of poor customer service and parcel mishandling.
The rebrand came in the wake of negative headlines about the company. Workers at the courier service, which is one of the top 5 in the UK by sales, were found to carelessly throw parcels around delivery depots over people’s fences, video obtained by the Times showed.
