<$BlogRSDURL$>
Musings from the Merse
Monday, February 16, 2009
 
Dun Postin. Sic Transit Gloria Monday


Black Monday in Hutton. After goodness knows how many years, in many diferent houses, the Hutton Post Office expires at 1230pm. A sad morning marked by coffee and biscuits served to some of the faithful long time customers. I was the only former Post Master to turn up by mid morning. One lives in the village, another in Chirnside, a third in Ayton and our former lodger, in charge of the kitchen table facility in the Old Manse for three years has long since left for the Big Smoke. Now we have the customer outreach van. Mondays and Fridays. An hour over lunch time. Parked outside the hall and unlikely to turn up in inclement weather whilst the pensioners shiver in the Hutton winter. And all at extra cost to the Post Office.

After the farce of the 'consultation exercise' one can only assume the policy is to make the remaining 'customer base' so fed up that they vote with their feet (actually by car) and go to a bigger more 'viable' office in eg Berwick or Duns. And oblige the remaining pensioners to do what the Post Office has been urging them to do for years-'get your bloody pittance paid into your bleeding bank account, for goodness sake. Cash in hand is so 20th century'

'Service to the community?'

'You must be joking!'

Labels:

 
Comments:
Say what you like about cash-in-hand but I bet the 32 bus requires cash and doesn't take IOUs or cards of any description....

When I used to get the bus to work it was £2.71 return (which moron made it that I don't know - £2.70 would be far more sensible and miserable specimen driving didn't need to do mental gymnastics to give change from £3 or saints preserve us £5) and if I handed over a fiver I got the "it's not a bank you know" lecture from the MSD.
 
Will all these former PO premises be brought back into service when the Government realise that they have enough money invested to warrant a "People's Bank" - Oh sorry! wasn't that the Post Office?

I live in a city southwards and we no longer have our own sorting office. Our post now goes some 40 miles to Wolverhampton to be franked and brought back again. It also means that we no longer have a evening or weekend postal collections. How ever did the Victorians manage to deliver post several times a a day often on the day of posting?
 
In the case of Hutton the purpose built little office will presumably be used for something else. Make a nice ticket office for any, say, pole dancing event
 
I had the fortune to be in Duns the other day and wanting to post a package to Ireland... including buying 2 padded bags. Padded bags @ 55p each - two are £1.16. Money was taken *then* my "claim" of being over charged was investigated in a sniffy manner before my 6p being returned.

Then the most frosty service (including being sold postage for the wrong size of package so the recipient would be stung for the underpayment and "revenue protection" fee of £1) at the PO window I've ever had.

I shall not be hurrying back to Duns PO.
 
Oh Dear you must have caught them on a bad day. I have found them generally helpful if a bit overwhelmed at busy times. Its doing so well that it is almost certainly for the chop
 
Post a Comment
Happenings in A small Scottish Community

Links

Comments to Huttonian

Disgruntled Commuter

Town Mouse

Oz Blog

Zoe Blog

Xenophobia

Mike Bishop

British Bloggers Directory

Digital Moon

Havering On

Country Strife

Coldstream Pipe Band

Flyte-Tipping and Other Pastimes

'Top Scottish Websites' - www.our-scotland.org

ARCHIVES
04/01/2004 - 05/01/2004 / 05/01/2004 - 06/01/2004 / 06/01/2004 - 07/01/2004 / 07/01/2004 - 08/01/2004 / 08/01/2004 - 09/01/2004 / 09/01/2004 - 10/01/2004 / 10/01/2004 - 11/01/2004 / 11/01/2004 - 12/01/2004 / 12/01/2004 - 01/01/2005 / 01/01/2005 - 02/01/2005 / 02/01/2005 - 03/01/2005 / 03/01/2005 - 04/01/2005 / 04/01/2005 - 05/01/2005 / 05/01/2005 - 06/01/2005 / 06/01/2005 - 07/01/2005 / 07/01/2005 - 08/01/2005 / 08/01/2005 - 09/01/2005 / 09/01/2005 - 10/01/2005 / 10/01/2005 - 11/01/2005 / 11/01/2005 - 12/01/2005 / 12/01/2005 - 01/01/2006 / 01/01/2006 - 02/01/2006 / 02/01/2006 - 03/01/2006 / 03/01/2006 - 04/01/2006 / 04/01/2006 - 05/01/2006 / 05/01/2006 - 06/01/2006 / 06/01/2006 - 07/01/2006 / 07/01/2006 - 08/01/2006 / 08/01/2006 - 09/01/2006 / 09/01/2006 - 10/01/2006 / 10/01/2006 - 11/01/2006 / 11/01/2006 - 12/01/2006 / 12/01/2006 - 01/01/2007 / 01/01/2007 - 02/01/2007 / 02/01/2007 - 03/01/2007 / 03/01/2007 - 04/01/2007 / 04/01/2007 - 05/01/2007 / 05/01/2007 - 06/01/2007 / 06/01/2007 - 07/01/2007 / 07/01/2007 - 08/01/2007 / 08/01/2007 - 09/01/2007 / 09/01/2007 - 10/01/2007 / 10/01/2007 - 11/01/2007 / 11/01/2007 - 12/01/2007 / 12/01/2007 - 01/01/2008 / 01/01/2008 - 02/01/2008 / 02/01/2008 - 03/01/2008 / 03/01/2008 - 04/01/2008 / 04/01/2008 - 05/01/2008 / 05/01/2008 - 06/01/2008 / 06/01/2008 - 07/01/2008 / 07/01/2008 - 08/01/2008 / 08/01/2008 - 09/01/2008 / 09/01/2008 - 10/01/2008 / 10/01/2008 - 11/01/2008 / 11/01/2008 - 12/01/2008 / 12/01/2008 - 01/01/2009 / 01/01/2009 - 02/01/2009 / 02/01/2009 - 03/01/2009 / 03/01/2009 - 04/01/2009 / 04/01/2009 - 05/01/2009 / 05/01/2009 - 06/01/2009 / 06/01/2009 - 07/01/2009 / 07/01/2009 - 08/01/2009 / 08/01/2009 - 09/01/2009 / 09/01/2009 - 10/01/2009 / 10/01/2009 - 11/01/2009 / 12/01/2009 - 01/01/2010 / 02/01/2010 - 03/01/2010 / 03/01/2010 - 04/01/2010 / 05/01/2010 - 06/01/2010 / 06/01/2010 - 07/01/2010 / 07/01/2010 - 08/01/2010 / 08/01/2010 - 09/01/2010 / 12/01/2010 - 01/01/2011 / 11/01/2011 - 12/01/2011 / 12/01/2011 - 01/01/2012 /


Powered by Blogger