Spill the beans... on cutting Post Office queues (revisited)

mpython

avinabacca wrote: »

..., thirty seconds of any transaction at my local PO is taken up with the mandated sales-spiel....

I fully agree with this, I was in Broadgate PO last week, 20+ people in the queue, took maybe 15 mins to get served. 10 of which was caused waiting for everyone ahead of me to have a useless product talked to them about.

I think the PO hasn't a clue of what its there for, is it a public service, private business or historic anamoly. It gets £100m subsidy from the taxpayer, has more branches than any other shop yet still can't grasp the idea that people only have to use it where there is no alternative (like getting proof of posting).

You can save a lot of time by doing things that used to "have to " be done at the PO online, like pay bills, buy car tax, buy TV licence, print postage.

misterthrifty

This is a long thread so not sure if this has been mentioned before, but......I have to spend time in queues waiting for somebody to have parcels weighed and a label printed for each one, why? I buy all the stamps I need from online stamp dealers (jsut google 'discount stamps' or something) at a substantial discount to the face price. Some cheap scales and a bit of common sense are all that is needed. I only have to queue for the cert of posting, now if everybody else did that.......

flipper_2010

misterthrifty wrote: »

This is a long thread so not sure if this has been mentioned before, but......I have to spend time in queues waiting for somebody to have parcels weighed and a label printed for each one, why? I buy all the stamps I need from online stamp dealers (jsut google 'discount stamps' or something) at a substantial discount to the face price. Some cheap scales and a bit of common sense are all that is needed. I only have to queue for the cert of posting, now if everybody else did that.......

all the PO's would close as they wouldn't have the extra income from selling stamps

frivolous_fay

Savysun wrote: »

Special/Signed for/international signed for airsure deliveries - have your name and address on the back and if you can stick the labels on first.

Psst... they don't keep them out front anymore, only available at the counter (at least in my branch!)

aloiseb

At my post office there is now a nifty little machine which weighs parcels which are too big for the letter box, prints out a label and takes your payment by card. It's excellent for me as I send parcels off for Ebay. (under £39 value - if they were more I woudl have to queue) The floor walker told me about it one day when I was queuing.

Not sure if the receipt constitues proof of postage but with that time saving, I don't mind. (the one they issue you at the counter probably doesn't either, if push comes to shove) Haven't had any problems with non-delivery yet......they are a good service, 99% of the time.

mrcol1000

aloiseb wrote: »

At my post office there is now a nifty little machine which weighs parcels which are too big for the letter box, prints out a label and takes your payment by card. It's excellent for me as I send parcels off for Ebay. (under £39 value - if they were more I woudl have to queue) The floor walker told me about it one day when I was queuing.

Not sure if the receipt constitues proof of postage but with that time saving, I don't mind. (the one they issue you at the counter probably doesn't either, if push comes to shove) Haven't had any problems with non-delivery yet......they are a good service, 99% of the time.

There is no proof of postage with this so you would find it very hard to make a claim if it went missing. I was told that to get proof of postage you would have to buy all your labels and then queue up and put them on at the counter so they can check the item has been sent!

Gill61_2

I work in a post office and find that we are busier when it's coming up to the cut off dates for car tax renewals, ie then last day of the month and usually the middle of the month also.

cyberbob

flipper_2010 wrote: »

all the PO's would close as they wouldn't have the extra income from selling stamps

Scaremongering?! I've bought my stamps from the local co-op for years that hasnt put our PO out of business

JCS1

Gill61 wrote: »

I work in a post office and find that we are busier when it's coming up to the cut off dates for car tax renewals, ie then last day of the month and usually the middle of the month also.

So why don't they have more staff on when they know it is going to be busy?

flipper_2010

cyberbob wrote: »

Scaremongering?! I've bought my stamps from the local co-op for years that hasnt put our PO out of business

It's what the Post Office people on here have been saying..........some people