I am about as regular posting a letter or a parcel nowadays as I am to receive them (unless its…read morecome from ebay). So you can imagine my surprise when I went into Australia Post the other day and felt like I was being transported into some space shuttle of the future. Clean lines, no isles full of cheap gifts you will never send to relatives overseas, limited product in store, fluro red lighting, someone on a Hoverboard could have zoomed past and it wouldn't have been out of place! Aus Post are now giving you a "self check out" option, which even I as a Gen Y'er was too scared to try. Apparently you can weigh your parcel, pay a bill or post a letter withi this machine. I'm sure that's the way of the future but for now, putting a good old stamp on the front of an envelope and knowing its going to be delivered to someone by a guy on a motorbike is the greatest reward about sending a letter! Even during "peak hour" (1pm) I was served quickly and with a smile!

Flash new Australia Post with a shiny fit out that includes a self-serve drop off point for parcels…read moreand letters. But avoid during weekday lunchtimes unless you want to spend your precious free time in a huge line. The best bit? The Travelex staff in their special little booth. They are always friendly and happy to have a laugh, I always leave their counter with a smile!

Maybe new owners at The Avenues, Stepney but yeah, do not bring baby in for passport photo! When I…read moreenquired, they were already refusing to take 1.5yo baby, said parent cannot hold so baby has to be able to sit by themselves on the stool they provide (even though we did this for our other son who was younger then, but at a different store). I told them he can, so we will be back towards end of the day. When I returned with my child, the lady just looked at him and said "no, we cannot do it". I expressed how annoyed I was, as their condition was as long as he could sit by himself, which he could.. and they didn't even bother trying. The manager came out and also told me he thinks it's not possible, so I asked "Can you just try?" Although my child was complaining a bit, he managed to look into the camera 3 times within less than a minute. Not one single click of the camera and "Yeah, it's not possible". As I was leaving upset and furious, the lady said "You need to look for a professional photography place". I managed to find the nearest Officeworks at Trinity Gardens (which opens until late on weekdays!). They were so understanding and friendly. I was asked to hold my baby.. and within seconds and 3 shots later we managed a perfect usable passport photo!

Passport Photos - If you want a quality passport photo do…read morenot go to this store! If you want a good customer service experience then also please avoid this store at all costs! Positives: - Quick Negatives: - Poor quality over exposed photos - Rude Manager who has trouble operating the camera I bought my child into Stepney Post Office to get a passport photo. They were quick and efficient. The staff member who served me checked the printed photo with her Manager, obviously concerned about the quality. The Manager said it was fine. I questioned her because I wasn't happy with the over exposed appearance of the photo. She assured me it was fine. I left the store with my two children and looked again at the photos and compared it to another photo in my wallet. The quality of the passport photo was appalling. My child looked sick! This photo had to last her for years! I went back into the store to ask politely for another photo. What happened then was absolutely appalling. The Manager was bullying, rude and obnoxious. He argued that the photo was fine and it was just that my child is pale. Finally he took a second photo which was only marginally better indicating poor quality equipment and then he tried to charge me for the second photo at which point I refused and left the store. What I should have done was demanded a full refund as I will now have to go to a different store to get another photo. What a dreadful customer service experience!

Standing proudly on the corner of King William and Franklin Streets sits the Adelaide GPO Building…read moreand this is another of Adelaide's significant buildings designed by Edmund Wright along with Edward John Woods. Of course today it's the Adelaide head office for Australia Post and inside you can do all the normal post office things like post your letters and parcels, pay bills or organise a passport. Where the GPO now stands has actually been the site of the Adelaide post office since 1851 even though the current building wasn't actually built until the years between 1867 and 1872. It took over 20 years before the clock and bells were installed. There were four bells installed to chime and one to strike on the hour. These are the bells you still hear today when they chime every quarter hour. In 1892 the building was extended to accommodate the recently added telephone exchange and by 1894 a new switchboard was installed. It's incredible to think how technology has changed since the days of the first post office and I have to admit, in this age of electronic and social media I enjoy going into the post office to post some old fashioned snail mail. There's something quaint about it in this day and age and I'd really like to think that a building like this hasn't lost its significance or relevance.

What a curious place is Adelaide with all its history carved in stone. It is a beautiful place in…read moreso many ways, and a savage place in others. A dreadful heat pounding on the land so much of the time, and in the cold weather it is truly a cold place. Much of the stone used to build Adelaide buildings was quarried from the local region. The masonry work done on buildings such as Adelaide's rather large General Post Office is quite fine when you get up close, and the historic interiors are very beautiful with a lot of amazing wood work along with the grand design. Sometimes the actual service can seem just as brutal as the weather when you hear the way non mainstream people are handled, but if you turn a blind eye you can get way with believing this whole city is a beautiful place filled with beautiful people. I say this after hearing an Australia Post worker be so incredibly rude to an Indian customer I thought for a moment I was on Candid Camera; I'm not even going to repeat what she said to the woman it is so rude, but I will say this - these people are so complacent and secure in their job positions they think they rule the world. At the Adelaide GPO I have stood and requested to speak with the manager on duty because I've been mocked by a service provider at the counter. I was handed seventy cents worth of five cent coins once in change, and I requested I be given my change with less coin; the woman behind the counter rolled her eyes at me and huffed and puffed because this meant she had to get some other change for her change drawer. Given her display of ridicule towards me I asked if I may speak to the supervisor or manager on duty; which solicited more eye rolling and puffing and huffing, "Oh you'll have to wait," says she. "That's okay," says I, "I will wait." After about nine minutes a woman came out from the back asking, "What's your problem?" Her attitude was clear - I was the bad guy - there was no doubt she had me pegged as some kind of trouble maker. "I'm not happy with the counter service," I said. "What do you expect me to do about it?" says she. "I'm only coming back here if you guarantee I'll be treated with civility and respect; otherwise I'll be writing a long letter to my local MP," I said. "Right," she says, "that's fair enough," I smiled, "Good, we'll leave it at that then" and I left. Don't let them get away with it say I. If they are rude be quite clear that you want to speak to someone about their rudeness. It is such a beautiful building, it would be a great tragedy if people stopped coming in to it because the staff were so incredibly rude.

For some reason this is my local post office I need to go to when I miss my packages in the mail…read more And on account of the fact that I get a lot of packages (not of the herbal remedy kind) I am here almost every second week. Service has continued to decline and staff aren't keen on staying open more than a minute past 5pm so tough luck if you walk in 5 minutes before close to make a transaction! It isn't too busy in the middle of the day though so at least you are able to avoid a long wait and once served are quickly dealt with. There is a particular female staff member who works most days and still refuses to show an interest in her job or providing a warm welcome into the store but I guess I wouldn't be too happy if I worked for the postal service either to be honest...

I post things a lot ... I run my own online business, and I study by correspondence. Out of all…read morethe Australia Post outlets I have visited, this one is one of the best for customer service. This Post Shop is pretty small, but has all the packaging you could need, as well as a range of books, DVDs and stationery that you would expect at an Aus Post outlet. For some reason, it's hardly ever busy, which is great when you're in a hurry during a lunch break. I've always found the staff helpful, and they have often given me suggestions for decreasing my postage costs.

I know what you're thinking. "Did he fire six shots or only five?"…read more Play customer service roulette at this Australia Post. Service is either pleasant and bestowing of a neighbourhood branch, or bad. Where bad can be really bad--rude--when everything (even the simplest job) is too hard. Don't be surprised to hear the words "can't," "no," and "...that's not your id." If you're unlucky you'll be going home 'mission unaccomplished.' It's fairly common knowledge round the 'hood how miserable and unhelpful the 'service' can be. However, most of this resistance comes from only one bad apple, so if you're planning a trip to the North Adelaide Post Office... You've got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?

If you think it is impossible to screw up getting a parcel off a shelf and bringing it to someone a…read morefew metres away, you need to try North Adelaide Post Office. As well as being unable to find a parcel on a shelf the staff will greet you with a smile that is normally reserved for passport photos. The parcel hatch isn't attended between 8:30 and 9:00 which makes picking up a parcel on the way to work painful. Delivery contractors often make no effort to deliver parcels because it is simply quicker to drop a slip in the letterbox. The only hope for improved service is parcel lockers. It is impossible to convey how bad this Post Office is, even by normal Post Office standards.