When will Post Offices stop taking on more functions?

[TrueBlueTerrier]

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I WAS dismayed to hear recently that the Post Office plans to take over some police paperwork functions.


Counter staff already have more to do than they can cope with and queues are unbearable. But now they also intend to start high street banking services. They cannot be serious.

I use the Post Office as little as possible because it is the most annoying shopping experience, even worse than the supermarket on a Friday. I had to post a parcel last week and arrived at my local branch to find the queue extended outside the building, which is not unusual. Oh well, I thought, I’ll wait because if I go later it might be even worse.

There were only two out of six counter staff on duty and – as always – some customers took up a ridiculous amount of time.

Heaven knows what transactions they were making, involving intricate form-filling and explanations. The rest of us stood there gnashing our teeth and it wasn’t helpful when some pinstripe pushed his way straight to Counter Six for “High Speed Drop”, which turned out to be half speed”.

One of the reasons for delays is that they plod futilely through a whole rigmarole of asking if you need other services such as insurance, to save up for your funeral or wanting to know the meaning of life. They seem to take a perverse delight in extending your stay and ignoring the Third World line of supplicants.

If the Post Office keeps adding more services I fear that customers will die waiting to be served. For some it will be the Last Post.