Post office IN WHSmith

Report on the Post Office in the Basingstoke Town Centre.

• We attended the Post Office Customer Forum on 15th November 2018 long before the move and offered our help.  We made suggestions on the proposals in a report we sent on 11th December 2018.  
• We attended the arranged visit on 3rd April 2019, the day before the Post Office opened in the W H Smith store.  As well as making suggestions at the time we followed this up with a report to enable ideas to be considered and, hopefully, acted upon. 
• We have tried to be constructive, commented on the improved lighting, and tried to obtain further improvements but we find that, largely, we are being ignored.
• We have received many comments and complaints from people in the area who visit the Post Office, both from those with and without different disabilities. 
• The general thrust of these comments has been critical of the layout and some of the facilities and ask us to help.
• So, unfortunately, this report is generally critical.

 

We visited again on 13th May, 13th September and again on 4th November and 11th November 2019

 

Summary Report in January 2020.

 

Photographs taken in the period between September and November 2019 to illustrate some of the comments are included at the end.

 

We went to visit the Post Office in WH Smith on 13th September 2019 and have made several visits since. The following issues still remain the same at subsequent visits in the following 2 months: 

• This franchise is still causing obstruction as you enter the main entrance/walkways making it difficult for wheelchair users and those with buggies to have easy access.  Before the store opened we were assured that this obstruction would be removed.  The display causes you to go left or right into narrow corridors which greatly compromises access to the Post Office section.
• On one occasion the Manager of the W H Smiths store was moving things out of the way because otherwise the wheelchair user would not have been able to get to the Post Office at the back of the store!

 

• The queueing barriers are still not placed allowing sufficient floor space for wheelchairs/mobility scooters and double buggies to manoeuvre in order to be able to easily use the post office counters.
• The lightweight barrier in front of, and parallel to, the automatic service machines was still there 7 months later.  We were told in April that it would either be made firm enough for people to lean on it or that it would be removed altogether. 
• One lady reported that her wheelchair ran over a waste paper basket by the self-service machine area.  It was situated between a removable barrier and the wall and was in the middle of the floor!
• The writing counters remain too high hence wheelchair/scooter users are unable to easily use them.
• The ATM machines on the counters would be easier to manage if not in such a fixed position. An ideal scenario would be that they operate on a Wi-Fi system so machines can be placed on individual wheelchair users’ laps.
• We thoroughly recommend the return of the ATM machine outside this particular store as it was in London St.  This proposal will also help alleviate excessive queueing/delays toost office customers inside the store.
• There is a Post Office ATM outside the store in Winklebury so it should be possible to have one outside the Town Centre store.
• The self service area needs constantly to be manned as using such machines, for the majority of disabled customers, is extremely difficult if not impossible.  This is especially so for those with physical disabilities. i.e. weak upper body strength.
• The hours of opening at this post office on Sundays is now seemingly until 2 pm and not 4 pm as was agreed with us before it opened.
• We were told in April that if a blind person arrived at the entrance foyer they would be offered assistance by shop staff.  On several occasions we tested this out.  No help was given at all.
• We were told in April 2019 that staff at the Business Tills would assist queuing customers for general services.  We have not seen this happen yet.  This has meant that on some occasions there have been long queues.  People have been waiting for upwards of 20 minutes and the people at the Business Counter / Bureau De Change,  who were not serving people, made no effort to help.