Permanent Post Office branch for Westgate officially open from today

The Westgate Post Office

Westgate on Sea Post Office now has a permanent branch at Station Superstore, 49 Station Road, which officially opened today (November 18).

A temporary branch had been operating from Station Superstore since July due to the resignation of the previous operator – Paydens in St Mildred’s Road.

Now, after a refit, a permanent Post Office has opened with two counters alongside the retail counter of the convenience store.

The Post Office is now available during shop opening hours: Monday to Sunday: 7am – 10pm; Sunday: 9am – 6pm.

This offers 105 hours of Post Office service a week. This is an extra 66 hours and 30 minutes of service a week than at the previous location, including all-day Sunday and Saturday afternoon. There is also earlier opening and later closing for the convenience of customers.

Jason Collins, Post Office Network Provision Manager, said: “We are delighted to have a permanent Westgate Post Office before Christmas as we know how important a Post Office is to a community. Customers will also benefit from significantly longer opening hours.”

17 Comments

    • And sadly, once a Post Office goes then remaining shops go with it. This happened in Garlinge and Minnis Bay, both of which previously had lots of proper shops.

  1. Is Jason Collins, Post Office Network Provision Manager going to teach the new staff how to be civil to customers. Rudeness will not be tolerated so say some customers.
    Obversely there are some concerns about security of post delivered to this business for collection by Royal Mail until Royal Mail decide if and when it will apply for permission to install a replacement for the one lost at Paydens. We were led to understand that we the general public could hand post in for postal collections. This appears now not to be the case.
    To be told bluntly “Go and find a post box” indicates more training is needed.

    • I agree , they have been very unfriendly when I’ve been twice. My colleague also mentioned it when returning from the shop last week. Unfortunately, It’s a terrible replacement.

  2. That’s amazing that it is open that long, well done to the people running it. I can’t imagine any of them being rude, I have always found the staff in the shop very polite.

    • I’ve only used the shop a handful of times (and now that I live in Birchington I’m unlikely to use it much in the future), but I too found the staff friendly and helpful. People still need a proper postbox though – not everyone wants to join a queue to post a letter!

  3. What happened to the polite staff at these post offices? They are all miserable and it’s as if they don’t want you to bother them. If it’s too much hard work to be civil to your customers than close up and let someone else take over. Rudeness seems to be too common these days.

  4. Understand about the one of the post office people had an attitude issue but being in there today he was not about, maybe he has moved on (hopefully), much better today, love the opening hours !!

  5. Yes there are nice helpful places but still some bad. I will not go inside westbay cafe its dirty and in need of a good sorting out.

    • I won’t go to Millies in St. Mildred’s Bay – it might be clean and serve good food, but the couple of times I’ve been in the past I’ve found the staff unfriendly.

      • Same with me for Brills in Birchington. The staff, in general, are so rude. I got shouted at for measuring out a length of chain, told to leave it alone, our staff do that. So abrupt and rude. I stopped going in there 5 years ago after telling them the length of Christmas lights i wanted for our roof, then the surly staff member miscalculated and sold me 4 boxes. When i took the spare box back, some comment was made about my low IQ. Yet it was the staff member who worked it out ! I was 56 at the time and was very tempted to show him my Mensa membership card !

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