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Axe to fall on city post offices

9:00am Friday 20th April 2007

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TWO major Hampshire post offices are to be axed, the Daily Echo can reveal.

Branches in High Street, Southampton, and Middle Brook Street, Winchester, are to close.

Their services will be transferred to nearby WH Smith stores in a national move by Royal Mail to create 70 so-called "Crown Post Offices" nationwide.

The controversial plans have been condemned by elderly people's charities and union leaders, who threatened to strike over job losses.

Royal Mail said the move made "perfect sense" for customers.

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Your Say YourThis is Hampshire

Curious Orange, Above Bar says...
9:21am Fri 20 Apr 07

I'm curious to know how WH Smith in Southampton could house the Post Office. It's not buy any means a big store, so unless there are plans to extend, I don't see how this will really work.

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Lou Archer, Soton says...
9:23am Fri 20 Apr 07

This does not make perfect sense to close a busy post office used by thousands every week.
I would understand if it was a little post office that wasn't getting much custom by the idea of moving it is not the wisest of moves

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matt, soton says...
9:27am Fri 20 Apr 07

Are they all a bunch of idiots that decide these things these days.
Mind you I would like the pay packet!!!

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Here we go again..., says...
10:02am Fri 20 Apr 07

WHSmith is coming out of selling DVD's, Music and Computer games as they can't compete with HMV, Virgin and online sales. So I expect to make room for the post office, they will rationalise their stock.

So, no jobs are really being lost (counter staff will be brought into WHSmith, who I believe pay better) and the post office is moving to a more central location.

Where's the bad news?

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caz, soton says...
10:16am Fri 20 Apr 07

Not great news for the local pensioners who will now have to board a bus to draw their pensions from town. Why can't things be left as they are?

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unhappy customer, says...
10:19am Fri 20 Apr 07

Hope they do get rid of post offices. They are an absolute joke. Any other customer serving establishment that was a poor as they are would go out of business but because everybody has no choice but to go there, they have no regard for us mere mortals...unless they are trying to sell us something of course.

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Stoker, Soton says...
10:43am Fri 20 Apr 07

This reduction in services - like the idiotic change to size-based postal services - is a deliberate move to get the general public to accept privatisation.

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hmm, says...
11:56am Fri 20 Apr 07

how many normal people really ever use post offices, i thought pensions went straight into a bank account now, i know people will moan and say the poor pensioners will have to travel, but dont that have to do that to go shopping anyway?

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hmm is a Knob, says...
12:13pm Fri 20 Apr 07

Has this fella ever made an original, educated comment on any news article published on this site? I have never read one attributed to him, generally his contribution consists of flaccid, pointless,sneering comments bereft of intelligence and humour - How irritating.

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Stoker, Soton says...
12:33pm Fri 20 Apr 07

Shhh - don't feed the troll.

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Mark, says...
1:24pm Fri 20 Apr 07

caz wrote:
Not great news for the local pensioners who will now have to board a bus to draw their pensions from town. Why can\'t things be left as they are?
The only thing that's happening is the post office is moving a few metres up the road into WH Smiths so if they used the Post Office originally they would still have had catch a bus to get there!

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caz, soton says...
1:48pm Fri 20 Apr 07

Mark wrote:
caz wrote: Not great news for the local pensioners who will now have to board a bus to draw their pensions from town. Why can\'t things be left as they are?
The only thing that's happening is the post office is moving a few metres up the road into WH Smiths so if they used the Post Office originally they would still have had catch a bus to get there!
Since when was there a WH Smith in Shirley?

I live in Shirley & I've never seen it, the closest one being City Centre

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caz, soton says...
1:55pm Fri 20 Apr 07

Sorry, my mistake, I misread the article, I thought they were talking about the Shirley Post Office

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Robert, says...
2:22pm Fri 20 Apr 07

That rules you out for political office, Caz!

Admitting you made a mistake?

You are MUCH too honest to go into politics.

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caz, soton says...
2:36pm Fri 20 Apr 07

Oh well never mind, I make a lot of them so I'd be no good anyway!

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a.eglington, Winchester says...
5:57pm Fri 20 Apr 07

The Winchester branch of W.H.Smith is struggling to cope with the current customers add the Post Office customers and voila instant gridlock.Iam amazed that the "brains" who make these decisions are allowed out without a straightjacket

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dark and grey, hairdressers says...
6:45pm Fri 20 Apr 07

caz wrote:
Sorry, my mistake, I misread the article, I thought they were talking about the Shirley Post Office
MUST BE BLONDE CAZ LOL

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hi, says...
6:49pm Fri 20 Apr 07

hmm is a Knob wrote:
Has this fella ever made an original, educated comment on any news article published on this site? I have never read one attributed to him, generally his contribution consists of flaccid, pointless,sneering comments bereft of intelligence and humour - How irritating.
Is that the usual reaction to someone with a different opinion to you?

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Mazza, says...
7:23pm Fri 20 Apr 07

Sorry to bring this up whilst we all enjoy this lovely weather, but anyone who has ever been into a WH Smith shop at Christmas will know already what **** that is. Imagine that senario combined with normal Post Office trade and .....(at this point my imagination went into meltdown at the thought of it!)

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caz, soton says...
7:38pm Fri 20 Apr 07

dark and grey wrote:
caz wrote: Sorry, my mistake, I misread the article, I thought they were talking about the Shirley Post Office
MUST BE BLONDE CAZ LOL
How insulting to all blondes! I'm not a dumb blonde, just a dumb brunette! Lol

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Rose postoffice counter worker., says...
9:08pm Fri 20 Apr 07

Our postoffice in williams garage otterbourne,Is very busy most days of the week with not just pensioners but ebayers posting their stuff as well.Lets hope that wh smiths can cope as well as we do!!!

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Robert, says...
12:47am Sat 21 Apr 07

The fur is going to fly now. All those little old men going to collect their pensions and blowing it on a fistful of top shelf mags! It will be war!

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Axeman, Southampton says...
1:55am Sat 21 Apr 07

Surely the Echo is over-reacting again, when something is Axed it is got rid of. This is a simple case of something being moved!

Although, "post office is moved" won't sell as many papers will it!

These days there is a lot of space wasted in post offices, like the SOUTHAMPTON high st one which is half filled with overpriced cards and bubble wrap! The counter positions and queue part is only a small part of the shop really!

At least the post offices are being AXED!

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Axeman, Southampton says...
1:56am Sat 21 Apr 07

Sorry, last line should have said..

"At least the post offices are NOT being AXED"

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Sue, southampton says...
7:53am Sat 21 Apr 07

W H Smiths will not be able to cope. They cannot cope with selling newspapers. They are always so slow. Yesterday one till open with a queue of 10 people. They are the worst shop for selling anything and their customer service is awful. Staff wander about doing nothing whilst long queues of people waiting to be served. At least post office staff were usually efficient.

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Elsa, says...
8:37am Sat 21 Apr 07

WH Smith in Winchester can't cope with their regular customers. Usually there are 2 tills open at the front of the shop, then when there is a long queue it's time for the assistants break!! An even longer queue. I can't see this working, as there is always at least a 10 minute queue for the counters when I go to the post office.

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richard elborough, southampton says...
10:46am Sat 21 Apr 07

Nice to see that the royal mail considered local businesses when deciding to close the only post office in the city centre!! I use the post office in the high street every day for special delivery items and recorded delivery services, along with 100's of other business and individual customers, judging by the hoards of people waiting in line and the fact that they only put about 2 cashiers on, this just demonstrates their complete disregard for customers.. why should i have to go further up the high street and battle my way through WH Smiths with cusomers buying magazines and DVD's and other items which quite frankly i dont want.

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Ron, Golden Grove, Southampton says...
8:06pm Sat 21 Apr 07

Profit from the existing post office goes back to us all, as it is a public service.

When Smith's take over, the profit from it's post office activities (plus any subsidy from the government) will go to Smith's shareholders.

This is the unpalatable fact about privatisation.

Thatcherism is alive and well with New Labour. Lets have some People Power, i.e. Socialism!

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