Personal contact? You could try speaking to our nice kiosk

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Thousands of post office closures have robbed communities of a traditional form of personal contact. Now it seems there is another threat - Post & Go self-service kiosks.

These have already been fitted in 100 bigger post offices over the past 12 months. It is believed there could be as many as 700 of them in the 370 main Crown post offices in the next few years.

The units, which are estimated to cost up to £100,000 each, are hugely complex. For users confident enough to grapple with the touch-screen technology, the machines dispense with the need to interact with human staff.
James Hughes of London using the automated machine in High St Ken Post Office

They weigh letters and parcels and allow users to send single or multiple items first or second class, or overseas, printing the stamps as necessary. Payment is by cash or card. The Post Office does not advertise the self-service machines on its website. Instead, branch managers have been told to discreetly encourage and monitor customer use.

The Crown post office in Kensington High Street, west London, had customers queuing out on to the street last week, waiting to be served. Such queues are commonplace after the closure of at least two nearby branches in recent years.

The Post & Go machine was installed a week ago and stands alone at the end of the hall. Despite the queue, only a few brave customers used it.

Mary Haynes, 69, a retired TV scriptwriter, was willing to use the machine to post letters to avoid a 15-minute wait. But she asked: 'What buttons are you meant to push? There is no one to help.'

But not everyone was so frustrated. James Hughes, 24, an architecture student from Finsbury Park, north London, says: 'It's a great idea and really speeds things up, but I can see why some might prefer being served by real people.'

For now, at least, this particular branch will still employ human beings. But a once-flourishing branch in Ludgate Circus in the City, which closed last April, reopened soon after without any staff. Instead, it was 'manned' by four Post & Go machines and two electronic stamp vendors.

The Post Office is believed to have offered Post & Go machines to other outlets such as supermarkets, petrol stations or the 76 former branches taken over by WHSmith stores in 2007-2008.

Post Office bosses, reeling from public hostility towards the closure of thousands of branches in recent years, are anxious to downplay any suggestion that services will be 'robotised.'

A spokeswoman said: 'Post & Go machines offer customers in certain branches added convenience for some postal transactions. Of course, we are committed to continue providing face-to-face services at the counter for all our products in branches across our network.'

A spokesman for Age Concern and Help the Aged says: 'It's not that the elderly cannot use computers - they just tend to appreciate the personal touch more than others. We're concerned machines are being introduced without adequate support for people. We hope it will not jeopardise the future viability of post offices.'

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[The BFO]

Mary Haynes, 69, a retired TV scriptwriter, was willing to use the machine to post letters to avoid a 15-minute wait. But she asked: 'What buttons are you meant to push? There is no one to help.'

We had a visiting ‘Head Office Bod’ yesterday ‘helping’ us. He didn’t know which buttons to push either…

[goggins69]

We have two post and go machines. They seldom work without a problem for more than an hour or two.No one is trained to sort them out. Luckily it means the managers go out front and try and that gets them out of our hair for a while.