Ratcliffe Drive post office reopened after refit
Posted on Monday 15th August 2016 at 6:03 pm by SH (Editor)Stoke Gifford’s newly-refurbished ‘main style’ post office in the former Jhoots Pharmacy store in Ratcliffe Drive is proving a hit with local residents and businesses.
Following its reopening at the end of June, the post office now offers three serving positions: one screened, one open plan and a third at a retail counter at the front of the store.
Services available at the branch include: Drop & Go, Parcelforce Express, vehicle tax, foreign currency, travel insurance, National Express ticket sales and Post Office banking, in addition to all the usual branch post office functions.
The new layout incorporates a consultation area where post office staff can give advice on financial products, but Jhoots say they are looking at the possibility of using this space for a self-service scanner/photocopier or photo printing kiosk.
The post office operation has now been taken under the direct control of the Jhoots pharmacy group, which operates 50 pharmacies across the UK, including seven in the Bristol area and two in Bath. It had previously been operated by an independent postmaster and then, following the transfer of the pharmacy to the nearby Stoke Gifford Medical Centre in January 2015, by an organisation acting as a temporary postmaster.
Richard Sugden, operations director at Jhoots, described the Stoke Gifford site as a new venture for the company, being its first standalone business that is not a pharmacy.
Jhoots have taken on the two staff who worked at the previous post office and are in the process of recruiting two more.
Aside from the post office function, the shop also stocks stationery, household products and a small selection of gifts. The range of products offered will be regularly reviewed and the business will respond to the needs of the community.
More: Business will be developed to meet needs of the community »
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