Quiet response to new P.O.

Press, 2 April 1987, Page 3

Quiet response to new P.O.

Canterbury people no longer visit the Post Office ... they now use New Zealand Post, Telecom New Zealand, or the Post Office Bank.

Yesterday marked the reorganisation of Government departments into nine new State corporations. But for most members of the public, it appeared to be business as usual.

The Deputy Chief Postmaster in Christchurch, Mr Pat Nicholas, reported a subdued response to the new postal and telephone services.

The new organisation had received a trial run at the smaller suburban post offices “to iron out any bumps.” But over-all public reaction on the first day of operation was quiet.

“I have received no bad comments. In fact, the public reaction has been very good. There was a lot of sentiment attached

to the old New Zealand Post Office and we had people coming in to post the last letters from the old system.

“But we now have to make the new system work.

“Of course, we don’t always hear about the good reactions. We often

hear about the bad,” Mr Nicholas said.

Suburban post offices reported an uneventful day, in spite of some confusion over the transferral of telephone communication services to Telecom New Zealand. "We had only one complaint that we didn’t carry telephone forms,” one postmaster said. Until midnight last night it was also possible to post handwritten inland mail anywhere in New Zealand for Ic.

In spite of the attempts of a small number of commercial firms to use the temporary system, the public response had been favourable, Mr Nicholas said.

The Addington Post Office had its own nomination for the postal optimist of the year — the person who attempted to send an overseas airmail letter for Ic. His letter was politely declined.