For years, I would avoid the main post office, especially at peak times, and go to a small local…read moreone. That's before they bought in self service machines and it's probably not overstating that it has changed my life somewhat. It may not be any quicker at the self-service machine, seeing as I'm not a trained PO professional but I pretty quickly learnt the order the questions are going to come up on the big touch-screen in front of me to select what sort of postal service I need. You will be very unlucky if you have to wait in line here as there are plenty of machines that mostly work. If there is anywhere you may have to wait in line is if you need a 'proof of postage' receipt or are sending by any traceable service (recorded deliver, special delivery etc.) but otherwise your stamps are printed along with your receipt in seconds and you pop your post in the box and go. Even better, the post office is now open until 6.30 each week night. It is almost empty for the last hour as no-one knows about late opening. Until now that is.

As Post Offices go... This one is pretty good actually. Ideally situated just off Victoria Square,…read moreI believe it's the largest Post Office in the City Centre. It offers all the services you would need, including a travel money service, a selection of collectable coins/small gifts, insurance/banking and a cash machine. There are a number of counters (and normally plenty of staff), so you WILL have a wait (inevitable these days), but now there is a ticket system in place so you at least have some idea of how long that's going to be. Plus, no more queuing! This branch has installed plenty of seats so you can sit and wait to be called. I popped in to post a parcel to America this week. Obviously, being the festive season... It was packed. I took a ticket and was informed there were 15 people in front of me. When you get your ticket from the automatic machine, you select the service you require (meaning that people waiting for passport/financial services aren't in the same queue as people who just want to post something). Posting things abroad is expensive these days, but the friendly and helpful member of staff I encountered made the pain a little more bearable. Once I was called, I scooted up to the desk to be greeted with a big friendly smile and was asked what I required. I explained I wanted to post a parcel and the guy gave me a sympathetic look and asked me to place my item on the scale. Yes... It was pricey. After going through the American import protocol (filling in the little sticker that pretty much renders any surprise gone for the recipient as you detail EXACTLY what is in the parcel), we had a chat about who I was sending it to and what I was sending. Not in a creepy way, just an interested one. Whilst the exchange was going on, we got to the subject of upcoming travel plans. With two trips abroad planned (so far) for 2014/2015, we got on to the subject of their various financial services for people going on holidays. Now, I am pretty clued up on currency etc - but he had some pretty good information about services I didn't know the Post Office offered (and assured me he wasn't on commission). I left lighter in the wallet, but not too bothered about it. I did everything I needed fairly swiftly and without and hassle. The service I received was pretty fantastic and I left armed with information about things I very well may use in the future. I would definitely use this Post Office again rather than my usual JQ branch if I was headed into town.

Naila in the local post office really helped today with delivering a book I needed to send to the…read moreother part of the country. Great service, and provided plenty of different options to get it there quickly, and as cheap as possible.

Very friendly staff , excellent location offering an essential service so highly reccommend .read more

I never really had the need to use the Post Offices in Kingstanding until about 12 months ago when…read moreI had a big splurge on Ebay and posted around 100 packages over a period of about two months. I tried the main Post Office on Kingstanding Circle but the queues were always ridiculously long, so I decided to take my next batch of parcels to a nearby Sub-Post Office on College Road. It's quite a small Post Office with the counter at the back and a small shopping area, although it's small in size it still stocks everything I'd expect to find in a Post Office of this kind. There are a rack of different sized envelopes as well as postal boxes and other items for sending your mail, I was pleased to see a selection of brown wrapping paper because this is what I was using to wrap my parcels and it was costing me a fortune to buy it from the nearby papershop. The rolls in here are 99p which was fine for me as a roll of this length would easily wrap four or five of my parcels. You can also buy a nice selection of stationery and colouring books, I usually buy my artistic nine year old a new book whenever I visit this Post Office because the selection changes regularly and there was always a new one that I knew she'd like. The top shelf is filled with £4.99 handbags of different sizes and styles, to be honest since I've been coming here it looks like the same bags are here so I don't know why they don't give them up as a bad job and use this shelf for something better. There's nothing wrong with the bags, don't get me wrong, it's just that THESE particular bags can be bought nearby for just £2.99 which somewhat says something about the quality of them! Last time I was using this Post Office I noticed they'd started to sell a range of second hand chick-lit books, presumably the owners daughters, which were unfortunately overpriced otherwise I'd have bought a couple. I like that I can also buy cold drinks and my fags from here as most Sub-Post Offices do not sell tobacco products, I know it's bad for me but give us smokers a break and at least let me buy them in whatever shop I choose! A few bags of crisps and chocolate bars make up the remainder of the shop, as well as one of those annoying cheap toy racks where everything is £1. It's a load of plastic tat that will probably break before you even get home, but aren't these shopkeepers crafty - they know full well that mum will give in once her child starts mithering for a toy simply because it is only one pound! I hate being manipulated like this! The husband and wife (I think) team who run College Road Post Office are lovely, they are family people and often have their little girl with them behind the counter colouring or doing her homework. They are both very helpful, it's the lady who runs the Post Office while her husband is in charge of the shop. The man is really polite and will hold open the door for you and help carry heavy parcels to the counter, this I think is unusual in Sub Post Offices as usually they will watch you struggling with a look of glee on their faces - well, this is the case in Birmingham anyway!

I've used this Post Office, on a regular basis, for many years and whilst I tend to shy away from…read morethe internet felt I had to make a comment about the service I receive generally, as well as a specific example of good service. The Post Office staff are welcoming, friendly and helpful. They offer a professional, knowledgeable service and have a good rapport with their customers. Longstanding customers are known by name and there is the feel of a community hub, within the Post Office. Whilst posting letters yesterday,I purchased a snow shovel and was advised it was the last one. Rather than transport it between my home and my mother's I decided it would be wise to acquire another one. Today,I rang to enquire if they could source another for me and within 10 minutes I received a call back to say they had reordered some more some more snow shovels and would put one aside for me. Can't ask for better customer service than that. Wonder if I can get a home delivery ? I'm only joking, however, knowing them I"m sure if I was elderly they would go out of their way on a personal level to help.

Emma S's fantastic Post Office review made me think I should probably post about one of my most…read moreused local services in the Jewellery Quarter. Firstly, it should be noted that it's moving soon. It will be a real shame as it's current location in the Big Peg is very handy to get to as it's slap bang in the middle of the Quarter. I could turn this into a rant about the increase in the prices to actually post things, but that's not this particular branches fault; so I will steer clear! It's opening hours are OK, but no matter what time of day you go in here - it's ALWAYS busy. As it's the main postal hub for the JQ, many of the businesses use it for their post (as well as the local residents). Expect queues of up to 25 minutes at particularly busy periods. The staff here are definitely at two ends of the spectrum. Some are happy, cheerful and helpful and some... aren't (to keep it diplomatic). Mind you, I wonder if I were very cheerful if I was serving someone like me (with up to 22 packages for eBay or some-such at any one time). As a plus point, it covers nearly every service. Currency exchange, parcel services, Check and Send Passport, Passport photos, Cash Machine and... well... everything a big post office would do. It doesn't sell any cards or novelties in this branch, but you have Tesco over the road and plenty of stores nearby should you need to grab and post in a hurry (forgotten birthday anyone?). I genuinely hope that they'll stay a similar size when they move to cater for the residential and business trade, but I guess that remains to be seen.

I often use this post office when I can't be bothered to get dressed properly and trudge up to town…read morewith an Ikea bag full of eBay packages. For some reason I feel like I fit in better looking like a crazy in Hockley than in the bustling crowds of the Birmingham metropolis. Unfortunately for me though, and everyone else who has to use this place out of logistical convenience, the service is really, really slow. I must spend an average of 20 mins queueing in this place each time I come. There is no shop in this post office which is a real pain. Especially when you've queued for half hour then realise you need some extra box tape or something. I'm also pretty put off by the shoddy booth they've erected in front of one of the cashiers desks to take passport photos. It feels pretty weird stepping into the realms of Narnia just to send a package and buy a few stamps.

Stepping into Wylde Green Post Office is like entering a portal to a parallel universe where time,…read moredignity, and customer service no longer exist. The air is thick--not just with dust, but with the palpable stench of despair and barely concealed contempt. The staff, a collection of joyless husks, shuffle about with the enthusiasm of sedated sloths. Every interaction is a battle. Ask for help, and you're met with a glare that suggests you've just insulted their ancestors. Smiles are outlawed here. Efficiency? An ancient legend passed down in whispers. The queue moves at glacial speed, as though each transaction is being chiselled into stone tablets. By the time you reach the counter, you'll have aged visibly and possibly started questioning your will to live. It's not just bad service--it's anti-service. A place where kindness goes to die and civility is buried under layers of passive aggression. If you're looking for a reason to lose faith in humanity, Wylde Green Post Office is offering full-time memberships. Avoid like the plague--though the plague would probably be handled with more courtesy.

There's been a lot of talk lately over the death of the local post office. Whilst the one at the…read moreQueen's Head in (or at least near) Londonderry can't lay any claim to single-handedly reviving the local post office, it certainly bucks the trend. Having lived in Wolverhampton for three years and used their cavernous, pretty grim post office, it was nice to go to a smaller much more community based one where the three staff know the local people and regular customers. It's nice to feel a part of that kind of environment; one which is increasingly difficult to find in cities. It also maintains the Post Office trend of selling random items (handbag anyone?) alongside envelopes, paper and sellotape whilst you wait behind people posting stuff they've sold on eBay (the only reason I go in there) or folk sorting their car tax out. Yet perhaps the most useful thing about this Post Office is that it has a free cash machine outside, one of the only ones in walking distance around the area (the other is on Langley Green High Street).