Branch relocation "extended" opening hours, or not?

[lyndhurst25]

My local Post Office has recently been relocated inside a Spar shop with the promise of offering extended opening hours. The Post Office website Branch Finder tells me that it is now open 7 days per week from 0530 to 2200, the same as opening times of the Spar shop. I thought that I'd take advantage of this and lugged two heavy parcels there on a Sunday afternoon, only to find that the Post Office counter was shut and the person serving on the Spar counter wasn't trained to accept parcels. I have emailed a complaint to the Post Office but their response leaves a lot to be desired:

"I can confirm that the current opening hours for the branch are correct as Post Office services are provided during these times. However there are transactions which can only be performed at the main counter during core hours. Currently we don't advertise opening hours for specific services on our website and just the opening hours for the Post Office itself."

How is a customer supposed to find out which transactions can only be done during "core hours" and when the "core hours" actually are???

[Lounge Lizard]

Yes, same everywhere, buy a dozen first class stamps from dawn till dusk but anything a tad more complicated, like withdrawing money or posting a parcel, and it's back to the old hours.

[lyndhurst25]

But the problem is that I don't even know what the old hours are! The listing on the Post Office website and the sign on the Post Office door say that it's supposed to be open 0530 to 2200 every day. In future I'll try to use one of the fast disappearing "normal" Post Offices, not a Post Office-corner-shop hybrid: at least they are open when they say they are open and can do all transactions when they are. "Can't do parcels at this hour, mate. You'll have to come back tomorrow" is just a waste of my time.

[Lounge Lizard]

But the problem is that I don't even know what the old hours are! The listing on the Post Office website and the sign on the Post Office door say that it's supposed to be open 0530 to 2200 every day. In future I'll try to use one of the fast disappearing "normal" Post Offices, not a Post Office-corner-shop hybrid: at least they are open when they say they are open and can do all transactions when they are. "Can't do parcels at this hour, mate. You'll have to come back tomorrow" is just a waste of my time.

As for fast disappearing "normal" Post Offices, yes, there are very few Crown Offices remaining now.
Normal hours elsewhere for full services are likely to be about 9am to 5.30pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 12.30pm Saturdays.
And of course no matter how long any post office is open there will still be the same collections, so post a parcel Saturday lunchtime and it won't be on its way till Monday morning.

[Snaggletooth]

Actually, I made an almost identical complaint about my local office earlier this year and got quite a good reply from customer services. They said that they had "reminded the sub postmaster of his responsibilities ".

Personally, I wouldn't let this lie, what's the point of a Post Office that doesn't do parcels?