Where To Put A Post Office?

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

Post offices come in many shapes and styles, from free standing main post offices to spaces in corner shops, big retailers etc.

I don't know why, but I have been thinking about different ways for the traditional PO to evolve, be it placing them in different locations e.g. business hubs , to what other, non competing, businesses they could sit next to.

Does anyone have any novel or off the wall ideas?

 

[NickGrogan]

Starbucks, a van, library

 

[Deleted member 59730]

A pub

 

[Mr D]

Does it have to be non competing?

Ultimately the post office counter is dealing with mail, payments etc.

 

[johndon68]

My post office is in the local petrol station.

 

[Ashley_Price]

You do realise the people that are wanting to have a PO in their premises has to pay a licence, which I think is around £40,000 - plus the cost of having their premises converted so a PO could be put in.

(I know this from when my town lost the main PO, and there were lots of discussions as to who was going to have a PO in their premises, or else, despite us being a county town there wouldn't be a PO here.)

 

[Onthebrightside]

Libraries are fast becoming multi-purpose. They are now the places where you can take forms to go to the local council and where you now have to register the death of your loved one (as we did with my father in-law recently). At first I was a bit put off about it, having registered my own fathers death at the town hall (now disused). However, it turned out to be quite a lovely quite place to get the job done in a nice side room... but I digress.

Clearly in order for libraries to stay open they are having to multi-purpose (including letting our rooms etc. and handling government business), not all of them would be suitable, but some of the ones I have been in would have promises and and an area I think they could lend over to post office counters in small communities.

Small cafe's etc., most local communities now have the post office in the village shop which also has a tea room.

Or what about a mobile version, where you go on a route, providing a postal service for (say) two hours in each location before dropping off at a main post office?

 

[Paul Norman]

The main post office in Consett was, until about a year ago, fairly busy. There would normally be a queue in there, despite there being up to 4 staff on duty.

It was moved, recently, and put in the main shopping street, in a mobile phone store.

It lasted 6 months. There is now no post office in Consett.

I reckon the reason was straight forward. The shop was too pokey to handle a queue, and it was in a pedestrianised part of town. That means that 100% of the local businesses started to use a different office where they could park.

I think being somewhere that customers can just pop in might just be crucial.

Of course, that is because of the business model surrounding having a post office. If you decide to put one in your petrol station (a pretty good idea), or local shop, and it gets a modest number of customers, that doesn't make any business sense. But the model could be changed. In theory.

 

[Financial-Modeller]

In a betting shop!

I guess that quite a lot of the revenue for a betting shop is paid to customers in a Post Office!

 

[Onthebrightside]

Most town centres have parking problems and I am not sure that petrol stations will want their forecourts packed out with the postal element, but if it is the case that it is down to parking we are back to supermarkets, who will take any element into the store in the hope that it will given them opportunistic purchases and, of course, they have all the parking.

So it is back to the mobile version, they have mobile banking vans so I guess mobile post offices could work.

 

[ExoPaul]

Stick it in the pub. No other reason than when a customer realises how expensive a stamp now costs, they can drown their sorrows!

 

[ExoPaul]

In all seriousness, Post Offices are a dying business. Parcel companies are taking away from Royal Mail and they offer house collection or drop off points in supermarkets. The banking side of the Post Office was beneficial when Banks were not easily accessible or closing branches but since many have gone online it has removed the need for a Post Office.
There is very little that a Post Office can offer now that cannot be done online, often easier too, or via a delivery company with drop off/collection points. All of which can be handled by Supermarkets.

 

[Mr D]

In all seriousness, Post Offices are a dying business. Parcel companies are taking away from Royal Mail and they offer house collection or drop off points in supermarkets. The banking side of the Post Office was beneficial when Banks were not easily accessible or closing branches but since many have gone online it has removed the need for a Post Office.
There is very little that a Post Office can offer now that cannot be done online, often easier too, or via a delivery company with drop off/collection points. All of which can be handled by Supermarkets.

Except supermarkets tend to be concentrated where there are enough people.

My village has none. We do have a post office.
Next village along has a supermarket, it also has 2 post offices, one in centre of village one a mile or so further out. The local 9 villages between them have 7 post offices and one supermarket.

Oh and we do appreciate being able to drop post off at the post office in sacks - a trip to the supermarket and dropping off 3 or 4 trips from the car with sacks would be awkward. Post offices we can usually park right outside.