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Post Office Farce
Poor service, unhelpful staff and an attitude that smacks of 'Sorry, Sir, I couldn't give a flying fuck'. Where are we? Yes, it's the wonderful institution that is the Post Office. But this isn't just any Post Office, it's one of the new and "improved" franchised efforts that are cropping up in branches of a well-known High Street retailer.
So what's the complaint?
Aside from the fact they are couped up like battery hens all day, doesn't mean to say that as a retaliation, they should dish out piss-poor service and be generally aggressive towards the customers, should they? Well in this particular branch, they are.
Names have been changed to protect the guilty.
The Complaint
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing with regard to the continued level of poor service I receive on a weekly basis at the new ********* Post Office. There was nothing wrong with the original Crown Post Office which the town had, and won countless awards for many years, so why fix something that isn’t broken?
I refer, of course, to one particular individual who really takes the biscuit for appalling customer service. I think his name is David, although I couldn’t be entirely sure as he doesn’t always wear a name badge.
The amount of times I have received service without a smile from this individual vastly outweighs the number of times he actually does smile, by quite a significant margin. The number of times I have attempted to post an item abroad, only to check the receipt later on and discover that David has put the postage down as being ‘UK First Class,’ despite the fact I said that it was going abroad when I dealt with him.
He has been there since this abysmal excuse for a Post Office opened and he has only deteriorated with time. Aside from the fact that there are four cashier positions available, and there are only two serving at peak times is bad enough. But there has been more than one occasion when I have went in during my lunch hour to post an important item, only to find that the entire Post Office is closed for lunch and there are several angry people waiting for them to open again.
The service at this excuse for a Post Office is shocking and something should be done about it. I’d like to suggest that James is removed from his post forthwith, at least that way you’ll be making a start on progressing to a faster, more efficient and all-round happier place.
I look forward to your immediate response to this matter.
Cogsy@ST
The Post Office Response
Thank you for letting me know about your experience at ********* Post Office® branch.
I am sorry that you feel that the Subpostmaster is rude and unhelpful whenever you visit the office. I also understand that you were not sold the service you requested whilst posting an item of mail and please accept my apologies for this. This is not the experience that we wish our customer to have when using one of our Post Office® outlets and I can understand how annoying this must have been for you.
I have spoken to the Subpostmaster who has advised me that the office do not have an official lunch hour. However, due to staff shortages the Subpostmaster discussed the situation with his Area Manager and they closed for lunch for 2 days only. The office is now open all day as usual.
All of the issues that you have raised have been passed to the Area Manager to ensure that your concerns are addressed with ********* Post Office® branch.
As this is a personnel matter I am unable to share with you details of the exact action that has been taken, however, I am confident that it will prevent further incidents of this nature occurring in the future.
We value your custom so as a gesture of goodwill please find enclosed a book of stamps to the value of £4.32 for any inconvenience this may have caused you.
Once again, please accept my apologies and I would like to assure you that your continued custom is valued.
Yours sincerely
Suzanne Cornish
Customer Care
We're not entirely convinced though. But the free stamps were appreciated.
The Sea Turkeys responds
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am in receipt of your letter dated
I have spoken to several friends and family members who all share the same complaint about the “Subpostmaster” at the ********* Post Office branch. The most common complaint is that he is a rude and unhelpful employee. It seems as though he hasn’t taken a particular dislike to me, but to anyone he serves.
I note that, in your response, you did not mention your reasons for closing the far superior Crown Post Office in the town. Was there a motive behind it? Were you sick of
Quite frankly I am not happy with your offer of compensation and I intend to take this matter further if I do not receive a satisfactory response. There is no excuse for the rude behaviour that I receive from your supposed “Subpostmaster.”
I await your immediate response to this matter.
Cogsy@ST
Post Office Response
Dear Sir
Thank you for your letter and I am sorry that you are unhappy with the response that you have received.
I can confirm that the details from your complaint were passed to the Area Manager as advised in the letter. The matter will be investigated and dealt with internally on their next visit to the office.
I trust that the Area Manager will take the appropriate action and you will have no further cause for concern. However, information of any action or training provided by the Area Manager will remain confidential and feedback cannot be provided to the customer.
We deal with complaints on an individual basis, if any other customers are experiencing problems with this office and the service that they have received they would need to report the matter to our helpline, they can be contacted on 08457 22 33 44.
With regards to the relocation of the ********* Post Office® into the WH Smith store. Post Office Ltd. were losing more than £70 million every year running 458 Crown, or Directly Managed Branches (the rest of our branches are run by independent Subpostmasters or franchise partners). We couls not sustain these losses indefinitely. The costs associated with a stand-alone high street retail site were in many cases simply too high.
This followed the successful trial of Post Offices in WHSmith stores in September 2007. Customer response was overwhelmingly positive, with the majority of customers welcoming the pleasant environment, excellent levels of customer service, convenient locations and extended opening hours.
I do hope the above information has helped with your situation and that you will have no further cause for concern.
Once again, please accept my apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused you.
Yours sincerely
Suzanne Cornish
Customer Care
Stay tuned, loyal reader. As we will shortly be sending off another complaint to the Post Office regarding the same outlet. It's bound to be a good one, mainly because of how stupid the cashiers are!
Keep watching!