Closing for lunch. Am I a moan?

Archeron

I'd like to hear your opinions on something.

Today, I went to my local Post office to do a bit of business. When I got there, I discovered that the post office still shuts for lunch!! In this day and age, I find that amazing, and even more so that they actually shut from 1 til 2.15pm.

The area I work in is surrounded by offices and industrial estates, and I would wager many people only have their lunch hour to do a lot of their business. If shops, restaurants and goodness knows who else can work rota for staff taking lunch breaks, why cant post offices?

I suppose what really irks me is the fact that I arrived at 12.50 (thinking I'd beat the lunch time rush :rolleyes: ) and the place was sealed up tight. So thats nearly an hour and a half lunch break for what is probably one of the most in demand services in the area, at the most in demand time.

Does anyone else think that in this day and age, that is just dreadfully inefficient service? Or perhaps I'm just feeling all moany because they shut early.

Any thoughts?

Kinetic^

Yeah it p1sses me off as well!!! :mad: Get with the times you pack of bums!!

MrPudding

It really irriates me as well. But I suppose if they have only a small number of staff it can be difficult to man the place all day.

MrP

MarkR

If it's a small post office where only one person works, they have to eat. Slowly I'd admit, but there you go. If they are closing early consistantly then maybe you should make a complaint.

Same thing with most (all?) banks. I've never fathomed why they can't be open lunch time / late in the evening / saturdays etc.

Saying that I'm one to talk. Mon-Fri 9-5 for me with an hours nosh time. I still get calls on my mobile during lunch, and sometimes only get a 10 minute lunch but better then most.

Kolodny

Fair enough if it's a small PO in the back end of nowhere but with the larger ones in densely populated areas, it's bloody ridiculous that they close for so long at lunch time. My local PO is so far from where I work and live that I have no chance of making it there before or after work so I either have to rely on other people to buy my stamps/send my registered mail or just not bother. Maybe we supposed to assume that every PO in the country is too understaffed to cope with the lunchtime rush but banks seem to manage by splitting the lunch breaks so I really don't see why An Post can't do the same.

dudara

Can't understand this at all. I tried to go the Post Office on the Grand Parade in Cork one lunchtime, and they were shut up tight. Ridiculous.

MOH

The one in Blackrock started this too about 2 years ago. Think it's a countrywide 'official post office lunch break' thing.

It's daft, there's always at least three staff on the counters, they could easily go one at a time and stagger their lunches.

kippy

It was something that was brought up on the Matt Cooper show a few days/weeks ago. I think there are a lot of post offices under pressure of closing at the moment and the usual "rural life being killed off" argument arose. The fact of the matter was people were not using them and they were loss making-even though a lot of elderly people used them in rural areas they were still not efficient. Someone came up with the point that is they opened at more convenient times (over lunch, later in the evening, saturdays etc) they could more effectively compete with Banks.
I for one am delighted with my local Credit Union which opens on Saturday-very handy alltogether for something without an online presence.
If they want to survive they have to change the way in which they operate.
My .2 cents.

Saruman

Its a pain all right... I mean if there is only one person then they should close for lunch at 12 and open again at 1 for the lunchtime rush.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

well if I worked in a post office, I know I'd need an hour or so to roll and smoke a few joints to make the afternoon shift bearable

LFCFan

An Post needs a complete overhaul. They are living in the past. Postcodes need to be introduced for a start and Post Offices need to be a hell of a lot more efficient. Our estate is constantly suffering from a bad postal service with whole areas of the estate missing post because the regular guy is off sick. If my company gave the excuse to it's clients that work won't be done because the regualar guy is off sick, we'd soon be out of business.

Mr E

I've always thought it bizarre that Bank of Ireland in the Parkway shopping center in Limerick closes from 1 to 2 every day. So if you need to go to the bank, you have to go in the morning/afternoon, or take an early lunchbreak.

A bit nuts in this day and age.

JosephMartin

Archeron

I think you may have emailed An Post about your experience. If you did you should know your email address came back as undeliverable.

Regards
Joe

Archeron

Hi JospehMartin,
No, twasnt me I'm afraid, but thanks for posting anyway.

Tom Dunne

JosephMartin wrote:

I think you may have emailed An Post about your experience. If you did you should know your email address came back as undeliverable.

That doesn't make any sense??


Anyway, a while back I decided to go to Maynooth post office early, like Archeron, to beat the lunchtime rush. Not only were they closed at 12:40, buy they had what can only be described as a neanderthal employee at the door preventing people from entering. AT 12:40!!!!!! He was none too polite about telling me where to shove my post (and it wasn't a post box either).

MarkR

I guess Jospeph works in An Post and received a similar complaint by email.

Saint_Mel

If you think thats bad, I used to live near a
cafe in Dublin that closed for lunch :eek: