Charity ‘reluctantly’ closes Cairndow village post office

‘Successive staff members ... have found the way of working in the post office too stressful and thankless.’

The village group responsible for running the Cairndow Post Office has ‘reluctantly’ announced the closure of the branch.

Community charity Here We Are, which has run the branch for the past seven years, wrote to the Post Office (PO) announcing the closure last Friday, citing high staff turnover.

In a letter to Angela Smith, area manager for the Post Office’s retail network, Here We Are wrote: ‘When we took it on in 2015, we did so with the idea that it would be run as a service to the community.

‘Increasingly it has been run as a bank, within an inadequate system from Post Office HQ. There have been recent weeks when we have taken in £5,000 or £6,000.

‘This represents considerable responsibility and time with minimum remuneration. The banks, having closed their retail outlets, have done a deal with the PO, but the PO is not handing on to us adequate remuneration nor creating a functioning system.

‘In July we appointed a new staff member to run the PO, as four of the existing staff members did not want to continue.

‘After tedious months of training and trying months working at the PO here, they have handed in their notice.

‘This is fifth Here We Are staff member that has found working with the PO too stressful and thankless.

‘Day after day, half the morning has to be spent talking on the “helpline” rather than attending to customers. Here We Are is a community charity – this is not a good way for us to use our resources.’

Christina Noble, of Here We Are, told the Advertiser: ‘Here We Are took over the running of the post office here because we believed it was an important asset for a small community.

‘Unfortunately, successive staff members, all highly skilled and competent and holding valued roles within the community charity, have found the way of working in the post office too stressful and thankless.

‘The Post Office has not purposely made things difficult, but the system staff are being asked to use is just so cumbersome, more suited to a branch in Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow than to Cairndow.

‘There is too much time spent on the phone that could be spent helping customers do day-to-day business.

‘We do not feel either that enough support was given to carry out banking services effectively. It now means that the nearest bank for villagers is in Dunoon or Lochgilphead.

‘The closure of the post office has a knock-on effect for businesses in the community, making it harder for them.'

‘We want the community to know that we really have done our best to keep this service going.’

A Post Office spokesperson said: ‘We have provided additional training and support to this branch to assist as there has been a high turnover of staff. We apologise for any inconvenience caused by this unplanned closure.

‘We are in discussion with the postmaster for Tarbet to try to temporarily add Cairndow to the existing route. In the interim, alternative branches include Lochgoilhead and Strachur.

‘There is also a mobile post office service that visits Inveraray. For opening times please visit www.postoffice.co.uk/branch-finder.’