Wood Green post office queues a 'disgrace'

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.tottenhamjournal.co.uk/conte ... :09:22:870" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

SPIRALLING queues at a major post office have been slammed as "absolutely horrendous" - two years after services there were slashed.

Post Office chiefs were blasted for making customers wait longer and travel further to access vital services after branch closures.

And customers of Wood Green Post Office are among the worst hit, Haringey Council was told this week.

Post Office bosses attended a meeting of the council's overview and scrutiny committee at which Labour councillor John Bevan told them: "Those queues are absolutely horrendous and you should be feeling disgraced you have to come here and defend that type of situation. You've got a huge problem. It's the biggest office in Haringey."

Councillor Bevan quoted a customer feedback report which described queues at the branch as "unbelievable" and "seemingly endless", with people complaining of waiting up to 45 minutes to be served.

Liberal Democrat councillor David Winskill demanded action and said: "Often the queues do not just come out of Wood Green Post Office but go back on themselves. It's not just at lunchtime, it's in the morning when they open as well."

The number of post offices in Haringey was cut from 25 to 19 in 2008, with counters lost in Wood Green and South Tottenham, as well as Muswell Hill, Hornsey and Highgate.

The national network had been losing £1million a year before the closures, but is now moving back into profit with remaining branches benefiting from more business, the committee was told.

Sally Hopkins, Post Office senior external relations manager, said service targets were being met. She said: "Wood Green has undergone a refurbishment last year that did smarten the branch up. There are also due to be some self-service kiosks for people that just want to pop in to post an item, so that I think will also increase people's options." But she agreed to set up a meeting to discuss the issues.

Councillor Gideon Bull, chairman of the committee, insisted the Post Office should be service and not profit driven.

He said: "If you go on the Northern line and you go past London Bridge and there's fewer and fewer people using the station, does that mean we should get rid of those stations because people are not using them? No.

"The stations that are being heavily used prop up the ones that are not being so well used. So I think the Post Office network should be treated in the same vein."

Complaints were also made about a postbox being removed from Tottenham's Broadwater Farm Estate when the post office there shut down.

[POSTMAN]

Complaints were also made about a postbox being removed from Tottenham's Broadwater Farm Estate when the post office there shut down.

I'm suprised they had one.

[Lounge Lizard]

Complaints were also made about a postbox being removed from Tottenham's Broadwater Farm Estate when the post office there shut down.

I'm suprised they had one.

Yes, and very busy it was too cashing giros.

[barbario]

Didn't anyone notice that this is part of Royal Mail's improvements.