Wheatley Post Office is the 7000th modernised retail branch in the Post Office’s Network Transformation programme . Together, the 7000 modernised retail outlets now offer over one million extra opening hours a month.
Neil MacCormack has been postmaster of Wheatley Post Office for 30 years, recently moving the branch into new larger premises in a more central location in the village. The move has allowed him to significantly extend the opening hours for customers visiting both the post office and shop, as well as the items on sale there.
“We’ve had great feedback to the new branch from the local community. As well as a dedicated Post Office counter area we have a much larger retail space which has allowed us to significantly extend our retail offer. The nearest bank is over four miles away and the community relies on us for access to day to day banking services. Our wide range of mail services meet the needs of local businesses sending products and samples, as well as online shoppers wanting a convenient place to collect and return online shopping.”
Neil MacCormack, Wheatley Post Office Postmaster
Since it commenced over four years ago the Post Office’s Network Transformation programme has continued at pace, at its peak modernising 10 branches a day. Over 1700 new retailers have joined the thousands of other small businesses which operate a Post Office branch alongside their retail business.
Through working closely with retailers in villages, towns and cities across the UK Post Office branches are now open for an additional one million hours a month. Waiting times for customers in these new branches are on average one minute and ten seconds, customer satisfaction stands at 94 per cent and retailers are recording an average 11 per cent increase in retail sales.
“The Post Office network is made up of thousands of small businesses that are vital to the health of their local economy. High street retail is a challenging sector, and our partnerships don’t just help to secure Post Office services to communities everywhere, they support these businesses and others around them to become more sustainable and to thrive”.
Paula Vennells, Post Office Group Chief Executive
