Guest 654- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 169
#1
Well it appears things are moving on.
the person who speaks up for the sub post offices has now admitted they lose £3million a day
the customer base in those down for closure isn't there, to many other ways other than usage of sub post offices.
This person has now said he feels closing those on the closure list is the best way forward to safeguard the remaining 11,000 sub post offices.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
#2
ok,so what do you think as an ex councillor, the answer?
Guest 645- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 4,463
#3
The sub post offices provide a local well used and essential service I therefore feel that they should be subsidised..and £3 million a day is about a billion a year which is small change when you compare it to the £20 odd billion the govt poured into the Northern Rock in one week to keep that useless money grabbing disorganised bank afloat.
Marek
I think therefore I am (not a Tory supporter)
Guest 654- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 169
#4
marek
Interesting comments, but the leader of the sub post offices doesn't share your view, and would prefer to see the remaining 11,000 odd sub post offices survival.
its a debate thats needs to be had
Guest 640- Registered: 21 Apr 2007
- Posts: 7,819
#5
Ah Marek its not realistic to prop up a business losing £3million pounds a day. No government could do it or should do it, and neither would private enterprise. The difference between the PO and Northern Rock is that Northern Rock is a once off and no doubt like all banks will return to making vast amounts of money when the current global economic crises is over. Therefore there will be a return on the investment.
The Post Office on the other hand will contiue to lose this level of money day after day forever and ever and ever and ever....with no hope of a return on any investment.
It is easy to feel emotional about post offices, indeed we all do to an extent, but the economics dont work. Some post offices make as few as 16 transactions a week the PM said yesterday.
Guest 654- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 169
#6
Paul
thats the very point I was making, sadly some are trying to make political point scoring over this emotive issue.
Nobody can sustain such large loss making,
It would take a lot to change that around.
Times have changed, as have peoples habits, sadly people have voted with there feet by not making use of the facility.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
#7
the whole idea of the sub post office has to be rethought.
i remember years ago, going into the post office in a village just outside of Cork in ireland, for breakfast!!
other people were having a pint of the black stuff, others were buying stamps.
it was sad to see the one in bench street close, as the people provided a public service, maybe the one in the town centre should have closed, thus releasing business to bench street.
in our villages, the problem is different.
people sleep in these villages, some only at weekends.
they buy from outside then bring back.
then complain about the closure of the village shop/post office.
#8
I am with you there - especially as the one in the Town Centre is so dreadful!! Slow sloppy service, queues around the block, barely a smile, nothing like the service usually experienced in rural or smaller offices.
Guest 653- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,540
#9
Part of the reason the post-offices were/are losing so much money, is because people aren't using them so much and they aren't using then much because most of the services they provided were taken away and given to others.
I agree there needs to be a cerain amount of competition, but instead of taking away the services and giving it to others, let them offer them too, so people can still use them.
The more services they offer, the less they need to be subsidised.
They didn't need to offer the services out to so many other businesses either - look at the envelopes that come through your letter-box, I bet almost everyone is different service provider and they're all delivered by the same postman.
Roger