High Street chain collapse sweepstake

Pete · Sun 11 Sep, 2016 10.36

I only just realised recently how vast Tesco's magazine range now is. Also I suspect they have WHSmith do their books on a contact, the price stickers on the books are in the WHSmith design. You wonder whether its all these side projects that keeps the place going.

Martin Phillp · Sun 11 Sep, 2016 15.14

Conversions have already started after the last round of Post Office Ltd closures. WHSmith in Beckenham is a tiny store, which is replacing the large Post Office.

WillPS · Mon 12 Sep, 2016 13.02

The Post Office in Rugeley has become a "WHSmith Local" (effectively just a paper shop with a Post Office).

Martin Phillp · Mon 12 Sep, 2016 14.06

Luckily my local post office was saved after a proposal to change to the franchise model. The level of service you receive from a PO Ltd post office and the WHSmith franchise is so different.

The only positive about the WHSmith PO's is that I can pop in on a Saturday afternoon, where the public owned one closes at 12.30pm.

WillPS · Mon 12 Sep, 2016 19.19

Martin Phillp wrote:Luckily my local post office was saved after a proposal to change to the franchise model. The level of service you receive from a PO Ltd post office and the WHSmith franchise is so different.

The only positive about the WHSmith PO's is that I can pop in on a Saturday afternoon, where the public owned one closes at 12.30pm.

I find the PO-owned ones to be far worse than than the franchised locations - constantly trying to upsell their rubbish broadband or credit cards when literally all I want is a stamp. Does my head in.

Once I witnessed them try to sell life insurance to a poor woman "for the little one" (she had a pram with a very young baby).

bilky asko · Mon 12 Sep, 2016 19.33

WillPS wrote:
Martin Phillp wrote:Luckily my local post office was saved after a proposal to change to the franchise model. The level of service you receive from a PO Ltd post office and the WHSmith franchise is so different.

The only positive about the WHSmith PO's is that I can pop in on a Saturday afternoon, where the public owned one closes at 12.30pm.
I find the PO-owned ones to be far worse than than the franchised locations - constantly trying to upsell their rubbish broadband or credit cards when literally all I want is a stamp. Does my head in.

Once I witnessed them try to sell life insurance to a poor woman "for the little one" (she had a pram with a very young baby).

My local Post Office upsells car stickers about catching crabs.

Martin Phillp · Mon 12 Sep, 2016 23.19

WillPS wrote:
Martin Phillp wrote:Luckily my local post office was saved after a proposal to change to the franchise model. The level of service you receive from a PO Ltd post office and the WHSmith franchise is so different.

The only positive about the WHSmith PO's is that I can pop in on a Saturday afternoon, where the public owned one closes at 12.30pm.
I find the PO-owned ones to be far worse than than the franchised locations - constantly trying to upsell their rubbish broadband or credit cards when literally all I want is a stamp. Does my head in.

Once I witnessed them try to sell life insurance to a poor woman "for the little one" (she had a pram with a very young baby).

Been the complete opposite, WHSmith franchised PO's locally appear to have the same mantra as the retail/travel colleagues of upselling everything, while the local branch will just get on with it.

thegeek · Tue 13 Sep, 2016 19.24

do we need a Post Office thread?

My local Crown Office is pretty decent - there's no space for much upselling. The nearest sub-office is inside a newsagent and is full of signs in bold Times New Roman "politely" requesting customers don't do things.

The one up in Walthamstow really annoys me, for having Post & Go machines but not having any staff who know anything about them. I keep having arguments with them about whether or not they should be able to dispense pictorial stamps (they should), though the last couple of times I've been the machines have been off. And there's been a massive queue.

Martin Phillp · Tue 13 Sep, 2016 20.05

My local Crown had a refurb after it was confirmed it'd be staying in public hands. They have monitors by the counters which display PO products such as the PO credit card and broadband.

I was hoping we'd get the sofas and ticket system to go up to the counter, but they kept the queueing system instead.

cwathen · Tue 13 Sep, 2016 22.43

WillPS wrote:
Martin Phillp wrote:Luckily my local post office was saved after a proposal to change to the franchise model. The level of service you receive from a PO Ltd post office and the WHSmith franchise is so different.

The only positive about the WHSmith PO's is that I can pop in on a Saturday afternoon, where the public owned one closes at 12.30pm.
I find the PO-owned ones to be far worse than than the franchised locations - constantly trying to upsell their rubbish broadband or credit cards when literally all I want is a stamp. Does my head in.

Once I witnessed them try to sell life insurance to a poor woman "for the little one" (she had a pram with a very young baby).

Seconded, you can't walk into a crown PO where I live (not that many are left, most have been replaced with franchises and the original building becoming yet another coffee shop) without them offering to sell you mobile phone top ups like it's 2002 (which ironically they didn't do in 2002 when such a service would have been very useful).

Then, the Smiths ones also don't seem to want to let you leave without buying travel money or travel insurance when all you wanted is a stamp.

About the best round here are the ones in the back of Co Op stores.

WillPS · Thu 15 Sep, 2016 13.53

Mobile top-ups I can deal with, mortgages and credit cards are not something I even want to be asked about frankly.