Why has Hermes changed to Evri?

It’s pretty unusual for a company to change its name when everything is going swimmingly and customers are delighted with its service. So why has Hermes changed to Evri? Is it an exception to the rule? It would seem highly unlikely…

Hermes’ poor reputation

There’s not much love out there for courier firms. When parcels arrive on time, people don’t really notice the courier. Only when the other half’s Christmas present doesn’t show up until the 8th of January do people go a funny shade of purple and start slamming the courier firm on social media.

Alas, it seems Hermes had more than its fair share of purple-coloured customers. A “parcels league table” published by Citizens Advice in November 2021 put Hermes rock bottom of the five-firm league. It was the courier equivalent of Norwich City.

As you can see, Hermes scores about as well as a Big Mac at a vegan convention. For “customer problems” it scores a shoddy one out of five, and the overall score of 1.5 isn’t much of an improvement. Hermes described the research as “flawed”, according to a report in The Evening Standard.

So why did Hermes change its name?

Explaining the decision to rebrand Hermes to Evri in March, chief executive Martijn de Lange told FashionUnited:

“Our new brand has been developed with the people who are important to us – our customers, employees, couriers and partners. It reflects the ongoing journey we are on and the fact that we have listened and are continuing to change and adapt.”

One of the ways in which the company is “listening” is by opening a 200-strong customer service team in the UK, so hopefully you can get through to someone if your parcel falls off the back of a delivery lorry in Didcot. Except…

How do I contact Evri?

When you have a delivery due from Evri, you should get an email with a link to the company’s website which allows you to track the package.

However, if your parcel doesn’t arrive on time, Evri’s FAQ basically says “don’t call us”.

If you’re still waiting on your parcel and it’s been with us for over 7 days, please let the sender know so that they can get in touch with us, and we can look into it.

It’s hard to believe the company does so poorly in customer satisfaction surveys, isn’t it?

Evri’s not the least bit keen to hand out its phone number, either. If you’ve got a problem with a parcel delivery, you’re urged to contact the company via the chat facility on the Evri website. Click Help in the top-right corner of the screen and follow the instructions.

What’s the Evri telephone number?

Didn’t get anywhere with chat? You might want to try and reach an actual human being, although you’ll have to fight your way through the “press 1 to hurt yourself with a blunt instrument” menus first.

The Evri customer service number has recently changed to: 0330 808 5456 (if you’re dialling from the UK).

Can’t imagine why the firm has changed its phone number? Anyone?