Covirus 19 coronavirus: business facing the impacts of delays in New Zealand courier

Concerns are being raised about delays in Courier Post deliveries, and one company is making additional efforts to alleviate the effects of that on business.

A staff member of a private hospital company across the country told NZME anonymously that he was concerned about delays in the Courier Post, which is a NZ Post brand, that prevented his company’s staff from working at home because they were not key equipment was delivered.

The man said he was told that medical and pharmaceutical deliveries were being prioritized. But he said that didn’t include the technology needed to keep behind-the-scenes staff working at home and only front-line staff in hospitals.

“I had to wait up to a week for things that normally took all night.”

Auckland coffee company Kōkako e-mailed customers on Tuesday to address Courier Post delays.

He said that “after an investigation,” the Courier Post told the company that May 4 was a “record day” with almost double the number of packages being handled than at its Christmas peak.

Kōkako was told that shipping delays “are now five days for the North Island and eight to 10 days for the South Island.”

“Once a package leaves our shipyard, there is unfortunately nothing we can do to pursue individual orders,” said Kōkako.

Speaking to NZME, Kōkako’s managing director Mike Murphy said the postal delays started when the country went to alert level 3. “It was then that many other online retailers started shipping products.”

To remedy some of the delays, the coffee company began making its own deliveries in Auckland and parts of Waikato. “That’s just a short-term solution to make sure if you’re operating as a coffee shop you can still sell coffee,” said Murphy.

He said the company had been “proactive” in communicating to individual and business customers on social media, email and by phone, to ensure customers were aware of the delays.

“I think because there are so many people ordering things online, people are generally aware of the situation.”

Murphy said it was “a bigger problem than Kōkako’s problem.”

“I think people who have ordered online probably need to be patient and if they can’t wait for the product … they need to see if there’s another way to get it.”

A recent statement to NZME said NZ Post was “proud to deliver packages on time 97% of the time,” but questions about the current delivery rate were not explicitly answered. That statement was in response to questions about how NZ Post was preparing for Level 3 and whether it would hire additional staff.

• Covid19.govt.nz – The official government Covid-19 advisory website

In response to Tuesday’s questions, NZ Post chief marketing officer Bryan Dobson said his staff was working to get packages out as soon as possible, but people need to expect deliveries to take “a little longer” than usual. .

He said most packages are expected to be delivered in two days, but items like food and medical supplies were prioritized.

Dobson said the NZ Post “has been prepared with additional shifts throughout the day,” but noted that the current restrictions mean additional security measures and limitations.