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Use it or lost it - post office warning
6:04am Wednesday 7th May 2008
Comments (8)MALDON Post Office could be under threat for the second time in as many months.
"Use it or lose it" is the simple for choice for customers who have stopped using the service.
Earlier this year there was a public outcry when Budgens supermarket closed, taking the district's only main post office with it.
A huge campaign followed, resulting in a temporary post office being opened in the High Street.
But just a month later the businessman who took on the project has warned that if people do not start using the facility it may never move into a permanent home.
Jake Singh opened the temporary Maldon Post Office on the site of a former gift shop on April 10.
The move was an emergency measure but, at the time, Post Office Ltd vowed to continue searching for a permanent home in the town centre.
Mr Singh said: "A lot of business was lost because of the break in service from the closure of the post office in Budgens until the opening of the temporary unit.
"People started using other post offices in the meantime - we were hoping they would return to the High Street when we reopened but many of them haven't."
Mr Singh said he is still fighting to turn the site's fortunes around, saying: "I have spoken to Maldon District Council officers to find out what they can do to help.
"The main issue is getting more custom - in particular we need business people to start using the post office to make their deposits again - they make up a large percentage of our business."
He added: "I am still actively looking for an alternative location for the post office but it would need to be much bigger in order to offer the full range of services.
"However, with the amount of customers we are currently getting it would simply not be a viable business.
"With things as they are the only way it would survive would be if another business opens a post office counter within the store.
"The simple fact is that we need to be getting the level of business it was before it closed in order for anybody to want to take it on permanently."
Your Say YourMaldon and Burnham Standard
anon, maldon says...
11:55am Wed 7 May 08
Tired, Of Maldon says...
1:10pm Wed 7 May 08
anon wrote:I love modern technology, I especially love eBay, it allows me to sell my old stuff that I no longer need(which being a good Daily Mail reader I know saves the planets precious resources) and then I take it to the post office and erm, oh... erm... I erm, no, the post office is erm, closed so this modern technology has erm, well....
with modern technology, why do we need post offices? and i am not prepare to paid more taxes, to support a dying business that is being stripped of its services
Not to mention Amazon, I like Amazon, and if something needas to be returned you can erm.. oh hang on, the Post Office again.
Never mind, I'm sure teleportation devices with a USB adaptor are just around the corner....
lil, maldon says...
2:23pm Wed 7 May 08
Lee, Maldon says...
11:37am Thu 8 May 08
El Presendente, Stokes Hall / Althorne says...
4:19pm Fri 9 May 08
Tired wrote:Tired, maybe try using many of the on-line courier services(all the leading companys). Their all cheaper than the Royal Mail, doorstep collection OR pick-up, 48hr delivery + a tracking system without paying for a premium service. I'm a great fan of the local post office (wonderfull places to catch-up on all the local gossip) but there are times when I don't want to stand in a queue and wait for ages, that time could be better spent chilling-out wotching the world go by....
anon wrote: with modern technology, why do we need post offices? and i am not prepare to paid more taxes, to support a dying business that is being stripped of its servicesI love modern technology, I especially love eBay, it allows me to sell my old stuff that I no longer need(which being a good Daily Mail reader I know saves the planets precious resources) and then I take it to the post office and erm, oh... erm... I erm, no, the post office is erm, closed so this modern technology has erm, well.... Not to mention Amazon, I like Amazon, and if something needas to be returned you can erm.. oh hang on, the Post Office again. Never mind, I\\\'m sure teleportation devices with a USB adaptor are just around the corner....
Tired, Of Maldon says...
6:40pm Fri 9 May 08
Also I find that the £6 odd flat rate for the online parcel people to be a bit steep when posting a hardback , dictionaries, clothes or shoes.
Must be a real drag "wotching" all those parcel vans go by all day too!!
Jack, Maldon says...
9:57pm Wed 14 May 08
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Jack, Maldon says...
11:13am Wed 7 May 08