My name is Fiona Tilly Anne Poppyward and I am currently in Copenhagen to continue my ongoing segment can the Danish government run a successful business? Today we are taking an in-depth look into the Danish equivalent of Royal Mail.
Their latest idea is to make a pop-up post office in the rural areas which they claim will heighten customer service.
It will only be open for ten minutes, and they will announce it on Facebook.
I sat down with the consultant behind the idea, Mr. Forrester Atwater.
Mr. Atwater, can you tell us more about your idea?
Certainly, Ms Poppyward my area of expertise is making companies more effective and improving customer service, it is mainly done by firing people and outsourcing to other countries, we find the countries with the nicest people and give them the jobs instead.
In this case, it is a little different because, after all, a private company doesn´t have to worry about getting reelected. Unfortunately, a mass layoff was off the table, but then we could double down on effectiveness, which always makes my day better.
That sounds positively delightful. Can you tell us more about the pop-up post office and how exactly people will know about its existence?
To keep costs down it is essentially just a tent and my so-me team has done extensive research and concluded that people in the countryside love Facebook. Now to make it really funny and promote our idea further, we have decided to announce it in the specific dialect for that area, so only those who understand this dialect will know that the post office is in their area.
What a peculiar and different approach. I wonder if there are any other security measures.?
No, that costs money, but our customers will not know the precise address, just that it is in their area if they understand the specific dialect.
How about newcomers? let’s say from abroad, whose concept of Danish is very little.
Good questions, we have done something brilliant any newcomer gets assigned a buddy of our choosing, and that buddy is legally contracted to inform you of where to retrieve your parcel.
How did you get them to sign that contract, and what if that buddy decides to move away?
Before this project, we sent out contracts all across Denmark, saying sign this or else. If a buddy moves away, he or she is still under contract and, therefore, still has to help.
This does not sound legal.
According to our barristers, if no one is protesting, then ipso facto, therefore, it is legal.
It does not sound like you have taken people with disabilities into consideration, for instance, the blind.
Thank you for asking that. As a civil servant, my heart goes out to all people who face challenges. However, we can not afford to do much, but our posts on Facebook will also be in braille. Otherwise, we recommend that you get someone to read for you.
It was previously stated the post office will only be open for 10 minutes it seems like very little time for retrieving your parcels.
Again, it is all about being effective. The tent has to be somewhere else.
I see. You cannot have an employee standing around waiting.
There are no employees; a random customer will be selected to carry the tent to its next location.
I am afraid to ask, what about any remaining parcels. ?
Apparently, we cannot legally say they are free for the taking since the owners did not want them anyway.
Thank you very much for your time today, Mr. Atwater, and I will never complain about the Royal Mail again.