# General > General >  Wick without a post office

## ScottishWalrus

Wick is the capital of Caithness, yet it seems we don't deserve a post office.  The post office counter at PPP is closing and it seems that the post office counter at Best Wishes is to close. The nearest post office will be Watten?

I heard this as a rumour that was conrirmed by the post office in Thurso.

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## Shaggy

The post office in Pulteney closed a few weeks ago. It was often closed on odd days and in the last months it was closed on a Saturday too. It was a complete waste of time going there as you never knew if it was open or closed.

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## orkneycadian

The old "use it or lose it".  How many of tax your car at the post office?  Or do you do it online?  How many of you send a cheque off to pay your electricity bill?  Or do you do that online too?  Do you send your parcels away at the post office?  Or fill in a form online and a courier collects them?

Reap what you sow and all that.

P.S.  I was at the post office the other week taxing a vehicle, last week posting the cheque for the phone bill, and today sending off 2 parcels.

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## Gronnuck

*orkneycadian* I agree with the adage 'use it or lose it' but since the 1990s, Post Office Counters started to withdrew many 'over the counter' services.  The sub-post offices were franchises and covered a myriad of transactions; the franchisees dependent upon these to earn their living.  The Road Fund Licence was initially withdrawn from sub-post offices years before they started to be withdrawn from main post offices.  Orkney might be an exception.  I remember the great Pension debacle when our parents were told their pension books would no longer be issued and they would have to open a bank account so their pension would be paid directly into their account.  They were upset because 'pension day' was the day they met all their friends for a blether and a cup of tea.  On investigation at the time we found that the pension book could be retained, but pensioners were not informed of this choice, instead they were bullied into using the banks.
We are losing the post offices in Wick because Post Office Counters are unwilling to pay enough to their franchisees to make it worth their while.
There's an interesting article in the Guardian at  https://www.theguardian.com/business...r-survey-finds

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## Shaggy

> P.S.  I was at the post office the other week taxing a vehicle, last week posting the cheque for the phone bill, and today sending off 2 parcels.


Well i often posted parcels as i depend on it for my small business but no point in supporting the Post Office anymore if they aren't going to pay enough to those running the independent stores. You wouldn't work for less than minimum wage now would you? That's the reason the Pulteney one closed, they couldn't afford to pay the staff. That's just the way it is i'm afraid. Menzies will get my important parcels and hermes will get the rest. I did hear a few months back that RM were going to trial picking up parcels from doors as they do their daily delivery. Wonder if anything has been done with that idea?

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## celtchicky

There is nothing stating this on their very active Facebook page

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## Shaggy

Well i can honestly say that when i was in the other day with my parcel and moaning about Pulteney shutting, the lass in there said she might be going the same way.....read into that what you will.

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## Gronnuck

> Well i often posted parcels as i depend on it for my small business but no point in supporting the Post Office anymore if they aren't going to pay enough to those running the independent stores. You wouldn't work for less than minimum wage now would you? That's the reason the Pulteney one closed, they couldn't afford to pay the staff. That's just the way it is i'm afraid. Menzies will get my important parcels and hermes will get the rest. I did hear a few months back that RM were going to trial picking up parcels from doors as they do their daily delivery. Wonder if anything has been done with that idea?


*Shaggy.*  Its been a long time since I had to post a couple of large parcels and I did it through Parcelforce online.  I paid the postage and printed out the labels and stuck them on the parcels.  When our postie arrived to deliver our mail he said, "You've got a couple of parcels for me?"  He scanned them and took them away.  I imagine Parcelforce still operate that 'pick up' scheme; I've not used it again because everything I send out is a more manageable size and I prefer to support my local post office.

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## Shaggy

yes Gronnuck i know they do this but they are too expensive. The largest parcel i post is under 2 kilos and to do that through PF is nearly £12! even with my discount card it is just under a tenner so not worthwhile using them and why i use RM to post my stuff. The only time i use hermes is ehwn its over the small parcel size of RM by a couple of centimetres, it doesn't matter with herems as they class it by weight. Or if i need to send a heavy parcel i will use Menzies but i usually get the customer to organise it from their side. it works out cheaper for them so i just take the cost off their goods.

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## aqua

I use a post office about once a year. The last time was to send a parcel. It must have been about a year ago. 

I’ve been in a bank once in the last three years, and that was only to swap an old paper tenner for a new plastic one.

You can blame me for all the closures!

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## orkneycadian

> The largest parcel i post is under 2 kilos and to do that through PF is nearly £12! even with my discount card


Who's pulling your leg? From the post office price finding webpage, a 2kg or less "small parcel" is 3 quid, whilst a 2 kg "medium parcel" is 5.10

I posted 2 x sub  2 kg small parcels last week and the price was indeed 3 quid each

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## Shaggy

> Who's pulling your leg? From the post office price finding webpage, a 2kg or less "small parcel" is 3 quid, whilst a 2 kg "medium parcel" is 5.10
> 
> I posted 2 x sub  2 kg small parcels last week and the price was indeed 3 quid each


Nobody is pulling my leg, i know fine well that it is £3 to post a 2kg parcel through Royal Mail but if you had cared to actually read my statement, i was talking about Parcelforce (PF), who charge £12 for the same parcel. If the post office closes the cheapest option will be to use MyHermes.

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## Shaggy

Just to let evereyone know that the Wick post office is now on short time. Closes at 2pm every day from the start of february and closed on a saturday too. It's the only way they can survive and even that is doubtful.

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## orkneycadian

Looks like you didn't use it so you are losing it.

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## Gronnuck

> Looks like you didn't use it so you are losing it.


The issue is a bit more complicated than your response suggests.  There was a time when the post office was the place to go for a myriad of services including road fund licences, passports and a variety of payment services.  Over the years these have all but gone and so the earning potential of the Sub-postmaster has reduced the smaller post office's viability.  Some diversified in an effort to continue serving their community; but the Horizon IT scandal caused a great deal of damage.  Supermarkets stepped in to help but they did so in the hope of drawing in more shoppers.  IMHO Post Office Counters is on its last legs.

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## Shaggy

> Looks like you didn't use it so you are losing it.


You apparently always seem to know better but this time, as per usual, you are wrong again!

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## ScottishWalrus

I am constantly amazed at the very inventive ways that are found to evade paying the minimum wage.  The Post Office has evaded this legal obligation very neatly by making it a franchise.  Those who have a post office counter as part of their "other" business are not directly employed by the post office, likewise post offices proper are a franchise and again not directly employed by the post office.  

In a technically insolvent company (pension liabilities) they seem to be squeezing manned post office services to the point where they are forced out of business at the same time as they deploy unmanned "kiosks"!

https://www.postoffice.co.uk/mail/post-go-self-service

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## The Horseman

Just saw that there will be No Post Office in Wick!  
Seems a bit strange....A Toon, yes a sma’ one, but no PO.........
Whatz the reason...any thoughts?
TY....

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## orkneycadian

Usual story - Not enough folk supporting it then moaning when its gone.

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## Alrock

> Usual story - No such thing as public services any more, if it don't make a profit then it is gone.


Fixed your post for you.

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## orkneycadian

Thanks for that, but I'll stick with the original.  If folk sit at home and tax their cars, renew their passports and pay their phone bill online, rather than posting a cheque, then they are not supporting their post office.  In turn, it will cease to be viable, and closes.  Then they complain there is no post office any more.

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## mi16

> Thanks for that, but I'll stick with the original.  If folk sit at home and tax their cars, renew their passports and pay their phone bill online, rather than posting a cheque, then they are not supporting their post office.  In turn, it will cease to be viable, and closes.  Then they complain there is no post office any more.


Fear not, you will still have your numerous pharmaceutical distributors

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## Kevin Milkins

> Usual story - Not enough folk supporting it then moaning when its gone.


I would guess it has little to do with the lack of use because the punters are lined up down Bridge Street most days, but more a lack of margin to make it viable. It doesn't really matter how many folk come through the door if the margin is too small to make a living at it.

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