PETERSFIELD Post Office has been voted one of the best in the South-East for the way it's run. But in the same week, managers at the branch in The Square have received a letter of complaint about its "interminably" long queues. Customers voted the town's main Post Office in to the runners-up spot in the region's "Best Directly Managed Post Office" category. But one user is up in arms this week over the time it takes to reach the front of the queue and believes elderly people should not be made to wait so long - especially in the busy run-up to Christmas. In a letter to branch manager Heather Cooper, Sheet woman Lucy Pringle said: "If you ever joined the queue of people waiting, you would hear the comments and the general dissatisfaction with the service. "The queue frequently stretches right out of the post office and into The Square. "Many people simply give up and go away. There was a time when there was a notice saying regular waiting time was not more than five minutes – that notice has been taken down for the past year." The "Best Post Office Awards" aim to recognise the hard work and community spirit of people working in branches across the UK. There are also prizes awarded for the best rural, town and city branch. And although Mrs Pringle praised the customer service on offer in the town's main post office, she added that often only three customer windows were open, one of which was the bureau de change. And she said action was "urgently" needed to address the unsatisfactory state of affairs. "If it is bad now, what is it going to be like before Christmas? I really hate to think," she said. "Many of us are busy people and simply cannot afford to be kept waiting so long. "Also, there are many old people who simply should not be expected to wait interminably. Things have come to such a pass that whenever possible I go to a smaller post office." A Post Office spokesman said the organisation couldn't comment until Mrs Pringle's letter had been processed by the customer care department.
