Mr Read said that offering DPD and Evri services at post offices had nothing to do with Royal Mail's performance. "Consumers have told us they do want choice, they do want convenience, but they also want the expertise of coming into a branch," he said.

Although The Guardian says:

Industry sources said the decision was the result of increasing dissatisfaction at the Post Office with Royal Mail because of customers complaining about the standard of service.

Royal Mail has come under fire for poor performance and is under investigation by the communications regulator Ofcom after missing delivery targets in 2022-23. It was also hit by strikes during the peak trading period in November and December last year, when its delivery woes were exacerbated by poor weather.

The company has previously said that its performance is improving, pointing to the strain on its resources caused by record levels of parcel deliveries during the coronavirus pandemic, combined with staff sickness.

However, the Post Office is understood to have lost patience with Royal Mail after surveying customers, who raised fears that included parcels getting lost or arriving late, particularly at Christmas. In a press release on Tuesday, it said 48% of people who send parcels would like to be able to shop around for another provider.

As the Post Office and Royal Mail aren't joined at the hip anymore, they can do their own thing and if there surveys say their customers aren't happy...

The strikes really hurt it last year (and caused problems for other services when parcels started getting diverted to them) and it shows how important it is to pay your employees properly. The rush to the bottom doesn't suit them or the customers.