Somerset villager ‘furious’ after Post Office and Co-op gets ‘deranged’ new layout

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The revamp of a shop and post office in one of Somerset's largest villages is "deranged", according to an angry local resident.

Sierra Hutton-Wilson spoke for many in Evercreech, near Shepton Mallet, when she criticised changes at the Co-op at a parish council meeting earlier this month.

The revamp of a shop and post office in one of Somerset's largest villages is "deranged", according to an angry local resident.

Sierra Hutton-Wilson spoke for many in Evercreech, near Shepton Mallet, when she criticised changes at the Co-op at a parish council meeting earlier this month.

She said: "People really do think it's the most useless, deranged set up now. It was entirely perfect before.

"Everyone is furious because if you're in the queue you cannot help but look at the screen of the cash machine. You have to walk through three queues when you arrive. It's just ridiculous."

The recent refit has resulted in all post-office business – including collecting pensions and benefits – now being carried out on the normal shopping tills at the front of the store

Those with concerns feel this is not right, as it leads to private financial conversations taking place in the full view of all customers.

The post office had been located at the rear of the shop - away from the normal busy shopping aisles - where normal post office business, including collecting pensions and benefits, could be conducted discretely.

The cash machine had been situated around the corner too – again away from the main aisles.

Miss Hutton-Wilson put her frustration down in writing in a letter, which you can read in full below.

Her concerns include worries about privacy, security and a lack of space.

She said local people also missed former members of Post Office staff, Val and Chris, who always provided a good service.

Another concerned resident said he used to use the post office in Evercreech a lot but now catches the bus to Shepton Mallet as a result of the changes.

In response to the worries of local people, a spokesman for the Co-op said: "The Post Office at our store has undergone improvements to ensure a modernised service meets community needs, while securing the service in the village for the future.

"The Post Office is now open seven days a week, and is available during all store opening hours, extending the service to 112 hours a week.

"A comprehensive range of Post Office services continues, including; bill payment, banking, benefits and travel money, postage, home shopping returns and Local Collect."

The Post Office did not wish to add anything to the Co-op's statement.

A Post Office announcement back in September promised privacy would be maintained after the changes in Evercreech and said services would be more convenient for local people to use.

People were promised staff would be "fully aware of the need to respect customer privacy and confidentiality" and that customers waiting in line would be "asked to stand back from the counter when awaiting service".

At the time Adrian Skinner, Post Office Area Manager, said: "We are making it easier for customers to get their cash, send and collect their mail and do their banking because we know how important these services are to local residents.

"We are confident that this vibrant new-style Post Office at the heart of the local community will meet customer needs. This modernisation is part of a major investment programme, the largest in the history of the Post Office and will secure services for the future."

Miss Sierra Hutton-Wilson's letter in full:
"By now everyone must be aware that the new Post Office provision in the Co-op is far from satisfactory and is causing a lot of discontent to both customers and the unfortunate staff who are tasked with delivering it.

"Any village benefits from the facilities it offers its residents, and Evercreech is fortunate to have such a comprehensive range. This affects the desirability of the village, impacts on property prices and benefits the residents who would otherwise find it difficult to travel.

"Up till now, we have had an outstanding postal service, with a dedicated area at the back of the shop. Two excellent ladies, Chris and Val, who had been working there for many years and were fully conversant with the many requirements of the Post Office services, and were familiar with the local residents, provided a friendly, professional and trustworthy service. The only complaint that anyone heard was that it was sometimes too busy. It was in fact entirely satisfactory, both in the service it provided and in its location within the village and in the shop itself.

"This happy arrangement was well into the process of being dismantled before the proposed changes were made public, by which time it was a fait accompli, tied in with the refurbishment of the Co-op in which the Post Office is situated. It is not entirely clear to me why this was thought to be an improvement, or who the beneficiaries were supposed to be. All consultation was merely a paper exercise, as the decisions had been made from the start. Two valuable members of staff lost their jobs, and we are now confronted by what the powers that be deem to be acceptable in the name of modernisation. I would submit that it is not acceptable in any way, and it should not be allowed to remain in its present state.

"It is hard to imagine who could possibly have planned the current layout of the Co-op, with or without the Post Office, but the position of the latter is truly beyond comprehension. Here is what is wrong with it:

Somerset villager ‘furious’ after Post Office and Co-op gets ‘deranged’ new layout

By LiamTrim | Posted: December 15, 2016

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Getty/GoogleSomerset village resident ‘furious’ after Post Office and Co-op gets ‘deranged’ new layout
The Evercreech post office and Co-Op has new look - but residents feel it's 'deranged', despite improved opening hours.

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The revamp of a shop and post office in one of Somerset's largest villages is "deranged", according to an angry local resident.

Sierra Hutton-Wilson spoke for many in Evercreech, near Shepton Mallet, when she criticised changes at the Co-op at a parish council meeting earlier this month.

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She said: "People really do think it's the most useless, deranged set up now. It was entirely perfect before.

"Everyone is furious because if you're in the queue you cannot help but look at the screen of the cash machine. You have to walk through three queues when you arrive. It's just ridiculous."

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READ MORE: Have you seen this Evercreech's pub new look yet?

The recent refit has resulted in all post-office business – including collecting pensions and benefits – now being carried out on the normal shopping tills at the front of the store

Those with concerns feel this is not right, as it leads to private financial conversations taking place in the full view of all customers.

The post office had been located at the rear of the shop - away from the normal busy shopping aisles - where normal post office business, including collecting pensions and benefits, could be conducted discretely.

The cash machine had been situated around the corner too – again away from the main aisles.

Miss Hutton-Wilson put her frustration down in writing in a letter, which you can read in full below.

BELOW: The front of the Co-op in Evercreech as it used to look.

Google Maps

Her concerns include worries about privacy, security and a lack of space.

She said local people also missed former members of Post Office staff, Val and Chris, who always provided a good service.

Another concerned resident said he used to use the post office in Evercreech a lot but now catches the bus to Shepton Mallet as a result of the changes.

In response to the worries of local people, a spokesman for the Co-op said: "The Post Office at our store has undergone improvements to ensure a modernised service meets community needs, while securing the service in the village for the future.

"The Post Office is now open seven days a week, and is available during all store opening hours, extending the service to 112 hours a week.

"A comprehensive range of Post Office services continues, including; bill payment, banking, benefits and travel money, postage, home shopping returns and Local Collect."

The Post Office did not wish to add anything to the Co-op's statement.

A Post Office announcement back in September promised privacy would be maintained after the changes in Evercreech and said services would be more convenient for local people to use.

BELOW: The Post Office is trying to keep its business going across the UK by taking up residence in shops.


People were promised staff would be "fully aware of the need to respect customer privacy and confidentiality" and that customers waiting in line would be "asked to stand back from the counter when awaiting service".

At the time Adrian Skinner, Post Office Area Manager, said: "We are making it easier for customers to get their cash, send and collect their mail and do their banking because we know how important these services are to local residents.

"We are confident that this vibrant new-style Post Office at the heart of the local community will meet customer needs. This modernisation is part of a major investment programme, the largest in the history of the Post Office and will secure services for the future."

Miss Sierra Hutton-Wilson's letter in full:
"By now everyone must be aware that the new Post Office provision in the Co-op is far from satisfactory and is causing a lot of discontent to both customers and the unfortunate staff who are tasked with delivering it.

"Any village benefits from the facilities it offers its residents, and Evercreech is fortunate to have such a comprehensive range. This affects the desirability of the village, impacts on property prices and benefits the residents who would otherwise find it difficult to travel.

"Up till now, we have had an outstanding postal service, with a dedicated area at the back of the shop. Two excellent ladies, Chris and Val, who had been working there for many years and were fully conversant with the many requirements of the Post Office services, and were familiar with the local residents, provided a friendly, professional and trustworthy service. The only complaint that anyone heard was that it was sometimes too busy. It was in fact entirely satisfactory, both in the service it provided and in its location within the village and in the shop itself.

"This happy arrangement was well into the process of being dismantled before the proposed changes were made public, by which time it was a fait accompli, tied in with the refurbishment of the Co-op in which the Post Office is situated. It is not entirely clear to me why this was thought to be an improvement, or who the beneficiaries were supposed to be. All consultation was merely a paper exercise, as the decisions had been made from the start. Two valuable members of staff lost their jobs, and we are now confronted by what the powers that be deem to be acceptable in the name of modernisation. I would submit that it is not acceptable in any way, and it should not be allowed to remain in its present state.

"It is hard to imagine who could possibly have planned the current layout of the Co-op, with or without the Post Office, but the position of the latter is truly beyond comprehension. Here is what is wrong with it:

BELOW: The new look, retro inspired, Co-op logo.




"UNQUALIFIED STAFF

"It is now staffed by any one of the regular shop staff, who, with only minimal training, are struggling to provide even the basic services, let alone the many more complicated requirements of Post Office customers. They are all very unhappy about this.

"LACK OF PRIVACY

"Situated as it is, between three normal shop tills, there is absolutely no privacy. There is no counter at the front for a customer to write, to place a handbag, to sort parcels or cards, and most importantly, to count money. Nor is there any privacy for money being counted by the member of staff behind the counter - all the local shoppers getting their newspapers or sandwiches can see every transaction that takes place. It is easy to make mistakes under these circumstances, and I have heard customers voice concern that the system is not sufficiently reliable to be trusted with their money transactions.

"The card processor is right there on the counter, so it is difficult to conceal your pin number, with other members of the public so close behind or beside you. All this is going on while customers jostle past each other to get a newspaper, get into the correct queue or leave the shop, and the automatic door is constantly flapping, causing a freezing draught. This is where the many pensioners in the village are now obliged to collect their pension and carry out banking transactions - and risk pneumonia!

"LACK OF SPACE

"As I have stated, the Post Office queue can get very long, particularly as people in the village run small businesses involving large numbers of parcels. There is already terrible congestion around the shopping tills at busy times, and no dedicated space for Post Office customers, putting pressure on them and on the unfortunate staff trying to serve them.

"SECURITY

"Although the placing of the cash machine is separate from the Post Office, its location is completely deranged. Placed right inside the door, it is subject to the same complaints of lack of privacy, with everyone in the shopping queue able to look over your shoulder and observe transactions and, if so minded, look at your pin number and information on the screen. The location of the cash machine and the Post Office till so close to the front door must make both a target for any robbers thinking of a quick getaway, whereas the original placing of both at the back of the shop made it much more secure and offered a far higher degree of privacy. Also a lot warmer!

"The space at the back of the shop previously occupied by the Post Office and the cash machine now stocks cat food and is almost continually empty.

"I do not want these complaints to cause the Post Office to get in huff and remove the service altogether, but I do think that when a mistake has been made, it is incumbent on the service providers (PO & Co-op) who instigated the changes to come down in person to witness the consequences of their decisions, and if a mistake has been made, which it undoubtedly has, to remedy it. That would make their promise of consultation a bit more authentic, as it would be hard to deny the fiasco they have created."