What Planet are We On???

[PO1]

In reply to counter man my thoughts are I'm afraid it's too late. The damage was done at the turn of the millenium when the decision was made to drop the idea of a universal bank account.

I can remember staying behind on Saturday afternoon with the local area manager for a 2 hour meeting with the rest of the staff on how the set up of the Post Office card account was going to be done. Now this was a golden opportunity to protect our jobs but we were all shocked by what was said.

The process was anyone asking about the phasing out of pension books to tell them (and in this order only)

1 You could open a bank account with one of our partner banks
2 You could open a basic bank acoount
3 You could open a PO Card Account

Our option was only to be grudgingly given and the process for opening it (obtaining a PID and filling out the form etc, which for most of our customers you'd think we were asking them to go to the moon) was not the easiest for them or us. There was no mention of still being able to insist on a green giro payment (if this was their choice) or no provision for those who could handle a PIN etc at 50 but struggle at 70 and over.

I remarked several times during this meeting that "you do realise what will happen if we follow that route- you'll drive all our customers away" "Don't worry we know what we are doing, we're going to be able to attract new customers in" was the reply

Take a look around you in any office in the country at various times during the day. The only reason a queue appears is usually due to lack of staff or time wasted with products they don't want. Life insurance or that old chestnut lifestyle protection for someone on Job Seekers Allowance.

The decision to try and change us from a service to a sales orientated business was doomed from the start.

[billyhayes]

Well...

We are STILL a service business. We know it. Our customers know it. Every man and his dog knows it.

It's only because we have been TOLD countless times by the clueless in Old Street that we are NOW a sales orientated business, that we MUST make a profit.

As one of our colleagues on the postal side has as their signature, (I forget who it is)
"Repetition does not transform a lie into truth"

The Post Office by its very nature is non-profitable. The Government is SUPPOSED to prop it up. That is the 'name of the game'.

If the people in charge of Toni & Guy one day just up and said, "You know what, fast food is the future, only do that from now on, but make it profitable", just how successful would a hairdresser be at making me the perfect two-all-beef-patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, in a sesame seed bun?

Our customers walk through our doors to get what THEY want or need, not what we TELL them they want or need.

[counter man]

Didnt have you down as a Toni and Guy person Billy....!!!
God I hope its not too late.....my dad worked for royal mail all his life....so far I have...... and I want it to be there for my kids....should they choose that route! Probably not!!!!

[The BFO]

Perhaps the time is approaching when the ‘great sales experiment’ will be abandoned. The original aim to try to sustain the organisation through increased sales was highly commendable, but unfortunately has been very badly handled. To me the most obvious example has been the Financial Service Specialist role, the initial plan being to recruit over 700 from existing staff. I’m not sure how many we currently have, but it is nowhere near that, and in this part of the country at least turnover has been heavy. Furthermore, this resource has been taken from counter serving resulting in the terrible waiting times we now see. I am sure that in the coming months Mr Barker will appear on television to proclaim great success for the ‘queue buster’ initiative. It will, of course, be complete nonsense. The reduction in waiting times will be as a result of lost customers, probably to surrounding sub offices, tired of waiting in our queues. Senior people in the business know this, but I doubt they will have the courage to admit it. How much extra business has the Financial Specialist concept actually generated, and at what cost? Of course we have seen huge sales of Instant Saver, and Growth Bonds at times, but these peaks were due to attractive interest rates - we did not need these people to sell them. I am old enough to remember when we sold huge amounts of Retirement Issue National Savings Certificates. We did so because it was an excellent product at the time - we did not have targets, coaching, sales boards, conference calls et al.

We have also had a large influx at all levels of managers from outside the industry. Of course they will have brought with them experience and knowledge, but I am afraid in many cases their lack of understanding of the industry in which they now work is painful to watch and experience. How many of them feel betrayed by the promises, and rosy picture they were painted when they were recruited? And before anybody on this forum who falls into this category responds, a lot of our existing managers were, and are, not up to the job either.

I don’t actually feel that the situation is lost, technology and changes in society generally make us a dying industry, but as several people have intimated, if we get back to concentrating on doing what customers actually want us to do, then we may all have a future, albeit in a reduced form.

[PO1]

[bigjames]

I have been on the counter in a crown office this week and it struck me just how quiet it has been considering it is the end of the month. I think we have driven our customers away trying to sell them products they do not want or need.

Indeed, the 'Month End' used to cover at least a week and a half, now we are lucky to have it last 2-3 days. However, I don't think it is because we are trying to sell customers things they don't want. That might be the case for some people, but I think that the reduction in customers (or footfall! what a brilliant description) has many causes. Availability of services elsewhere - such as tax discs on-line, mobile top-ups in ATM's etc has an effect. Poor staffing leading to big queues colours customer's view of their 'experience', so nearly all of our customers expect to wait ages, and how often do you hear - "This must be some sort of record" or similar when they get served without queueing. Removal of benefit books etc lost us shedloads of customers, who are unlikely to come back. Even some of our own initiatives like allowing card account customers to use the ATM have lost us customers, and in my office has had a massive impact on E-top ups particularly, as they don't have to set foot in the office to get anything.

[Running Man]

Some excellent observations around the FSS role by The BFO and in our area too (presuming we are not in the same one) the turnover in Financial Specialists has been massive.

I too remember the days of selling the old savings certificates and they were indeed good sellers because they were good products- not because somebody like me had introduced them to a customer. The investment account was a great seller too simply because it offered a fantastic rate of interest at the time.

I do however fear that all IS lost for POL. I fear the funding announced last week together with all the grand talk of a 'mutualised post office' is too little too late for us. It seems that for the last three years at least we have driven customers away for one reason or another, most of which bigjames alludes to.

One simple reason for this I believe is that senior management have not listened to the people who work in our crown offices. Just ask any counter clerk or branch manager why customer numbers have dwindled and he or she will list any number of reasons for this, most of which are the result of senior management ploughing ahead with their masterplan; a masterplan that is plainly NOT working.

Let's take the wonderful Queue Busters initiative. Our managers are patting themselves on the back for reducing waiting times over the last few months whilst remaining totally oblivious to the fact that it is their 'wisdom' that has created problems with waiting times in the first place.

Sorry folks but we are all doomed!!!

(I keep meaning to change my quote below but it seems to become more appropriate every time I read it!)

[billyhayes]

Sad but true.

Actually, do you think that's why we only keep tuppence in the main safe now. Not too many months ago tens of thousands of pounds was the norm.

Probably to put off the till ticklers, before the 'big announcement'.