Queues at Lordship Lane Post Office

[Sue]

I can understand a queue on Monday morning, or Saturday, or before Christmas - but a queue right out into the street at 4pm on a Wednesday afternoon?

I had to wait over twenty minutes to be served, and at one point the queue wasn't moving at all, just one customer at the counter and all the staff just sort of looking at each other.

Anybody know why? Have they got a staffing problem or do they just not care?

[Jeremy]

I don't 'get' post offices. We're always told that they're not viable and closing down... but whenever I use one, there's always a half hour queue.

[JohnL]

All post offices in south london are like this - all the time.

[andrewc]

I know a good time to miss the queue but Im not telling you!

[SimonM]

Hardly ever a real queue at the Forest Hill Road one, when I have been...

[Sue]

andrewc Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I know a good time to miss the queue but Im not

> telling you!

xxxxxxx

Oh, go on, you meanie :)

[paulino]

maybe there's always a half hour queue because all the others in the vicinity have closed down so everyone has to go to the same one!

Edited to add: The annoying thing is that the stamp machine never seems to work....i only ever need to buy stamps very infrequently, so never want to buy a whole book, just the individual stamp. of course, when the stamp machines dont work, this can mean queueing for ages and ages just for a bloomin 40p stamp.

[lenk]

paulino Wrote:

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> Edited to add: The annoying thing is that the

> stamp machine never seems to work....i only ever

> need to buy stamps very infrequently, so never

> want to buy a whole book, just the individual

> stamp. of course, when the stamp machines dont

> work, this can mean queueing for ages and ages

> just for a bloomin 40p stamp.

A book of stamps is around ?2.40 - you could keep them in a drawer until next time you needed one

-they are legal tender - you could go and have a swift half using the remaining 5

-make a collage

-sell them back to people outside the post office for a profit

-become a 'man of letters'

[Nero]

Just thinking this after a visit to the PO at Aldwych. It beggars belief on two levels - if POs are so out of touch, why are they always so busy, and if POs are so crap, why don't the managers put more staff on to make it better? Today, there was a man 'guiding' customers to the counters, for heaven's sake!

[sophiesofa]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8049808.stm

well making us queue obviously works

[Cassius]

You can buy stamps at the card shop and at some of the newsagents - they add a couple of pence on but if you are in a hurry it is another option.

[hislordship]

This is actually one of my pet hates - every visit to any post office causes me rage, and they are all the same. The problem, IMO, is that they offer way too many services - people go in there to pay bills, withdraw money, change money, buy TV license stamps, get application forms for almost anything, all in addition to normal post related services. There also appears to be an antiquated social element to most offices from times long gone - a whole generation grew up with post offices having a central function in the community.

I do understand that not everyone wants or can use the internet to download forms or make direct debits etc, but at the same time, I haven't seen the PO make any effort to adapt to modern times. I just wish the Government had had the vision + nads to privatize it a long time ago. I think it's probably beyond hope now.

[lenk]

How do you suggest the post office makes money then? Should they abandon all of the services you describe?

Yes, because privatising it would do wonders for us all.

For one thing, unprofitable personal mail would be downgraded - and probably take longer to deliver.

Private ownership will lead to thousands of redundancies, a reduction in services and higher prices.

[Ted Max]

Everyone else is queuing for minor matters that could be dealt with elsewhere, delaying me from getting about my important affairs.

The social element is an especial disgrace, of course. I'll tell my Gran that she's a hindrance to the productivity of someone else's working day, and if she really needs to chat to someone she should register with her local internet forum and wobble her bosom on there instead.

[lenk]

Ted Max Wrote:

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> Everyone else is queuing for minor matters that

> could be dealt with elsewhere, delaying me from

> getting about my important affairs.

>

?Important affairs? = I sell a lot of Star Wars men on eBay

[hislordship]

lenk Wrote:

> Private ownership will lead to thousands of

> redundancies, a reduction in services and higher

> prices.

Umm yes, precisely. That's the best and most awesome bit. A rotten business would get put out of its misery, and anything useful would emerge from the ashes via the magic of market forces. Great innit? There's a big market in Star Wars men delivery(6)

[Sue]

lenk Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> How do you suggest the post office makes money

> then? Should they abandon all of the services you

> describe?

>

> Yes, because privatising it would do wonders for

> us all.

>

> For one thing, unprofitable personal mail would be

> downgraded - and probably take longer to deliver.

>

> Private ownership will lead to thousands of

> redundancies, a reduction in services and higher

> prices.

xxxxxxxx

Royal Mail, who delivers the letters, is a separate business from Post Office Counters.

Edited to say: Several grammatical mistakes there, sorry, but can't be arsed to work out what it should all be :-$

[SeanMacGabhann]

I get why some people want post-offices to stay - maybe older people who are comfortable with the familiar

But I don't understand why most other people complain about them and the service they offer. Not that I'm defending the service, I'm just curious as to why so many people need to use them. In 40 years I think I've been in one maybe twice and both times as a favour to someone else. What is it they do that you can't do elsewhere?

[Jeremy]

Posting parcels, airmail, recorded/special delivery.

Things like renewal of driving licenses, road tax etc are supposed to work online but sometimes don't work properly, so you need to go into a post office to get it done. Also, passport renewal from the post office is quite convenient.

[SeanMacGabhann]

Yeah I know there are those things - but is there that much volume? Some people seem to be regular users.

If I had to send a lot of parcels for example would I not be better off setting up an account with UPS or whoever and having them come pick up? More expensive I'm sure - but then cheapness = less staff = more queues. So you makes your choice etc..

I dunno, I'm mostly curious.

[PeckhamRose]

The Lordship Lane Post office is my local, now, and I can never predict when there will be no queues. Monday morning at 11 it can be empty. An hour later queue out the door. But I am patient because it is not their fault, and they're very friendly and kind, and Nilesh the post master is the chair of the Police Ward Panel, so an important and contributing member of the local community.

[KidKruger]

queued 30 mins last week to posta little parcel.

needed a passport application form this week, so just went straight to counter said excuse me to person being served and requested one over the shoulder of person being served. took 30 secs.

gotta draw the line somewhere.

[pablopuncheur]

I do send alot of parcels and sending them by UPS/DHL etc is prohibitively expensive.

When the post office evaluates which branches to close, the only business they take into consideration is how much mail a post office takes. The amount of card business (pensions, giro), the amount of savings accounts opened, tax disc renewals, holiday insurance sold etc. means absolutely nothing in the decision.

The concern at Lordship Lane is that although you often queue out the door, only a small proportion is mail business so their regional big bosses actually think that its not a busy post office. On Monday I counted 14 people in front of me in the queue, 13 were card business, getting pensions and giros, and the other was renewing a passport. None of that means anything to Crozier.

[pablopuncheur]

By the way, as a regular Lordship Lane user, I find the best times to go are weekdays 9-30 until 10-30am, after the initial giro rush at 9, and first thing Saturday mornings. Other than that you can never tell when it will be busy or not.

[SteveT]

I long to hear "go to cashier number twelve please" rather than wait half an hour.