The Hollywood Dairy has been part of Balmoral's culture for as long as I can remember. A family-run…read morebusiness, this is a really well-stocked and organised convenience store that is guaranteed to have the latest new ice block/chocolate bar the kids want to try. You can also get your usual stuff - bread, milk, even butter and sour cream, and the freezer is well stocked with a range of gourmet frozen foods. Down the back of the shop is a fully functional post shop that also sells a good range of stationery and office supplies. The best thing about the Hollywood dairy is its community feel - you are guaranteed a friendly face and warm greeting every time you visit.

It's a hard road smoking cigarettes these days. You can't even see what your buying , let alone…read morechoose between a range of different prices. Hollywood Dairy used to have an impressive behind counter display of tobacco and cigars, but now it is all covered up with a blank wall of metal. I'm sure the lack of the tempting display possibly does stop kids wanting to try smoking, but it really is annoying not being able to browse. However, Hollywood Dairy understand. The owner knows what a kick to the pocket buying them is, and always updates me on which one is the cheapest. They also sell ... pretty much everything. It used to be a post office, so they have all that kind of stuff under wraps, as well as the usual dairy supplies.

I always come to this post shop, (my trade me sales go through here) maybe it is because this post…read moreshop is small and in the village but it is so much friendlier than any of the other post shops in central Auckland. The four staff that man this post shop are so helpful too. There is a bit of stationary and greeting cards, that sort of thing and an impressive magazine selection so I usually pick my Vogue and Harpers Bazaar (including the international air shipped titles from here). Best post shop ever.

When I first walked into the Mount Eden Post Shop looking for a birthday card, the first thing I…read moresaw was all the overpriced commercial Hallmark cards opposite the magazines. I thought to myself, "why is it so hard to find a card that is different to all of these soppy as cards 'for her' that are always covered in flowers and birds", but then I fortunately made the good move of going around the corner to the other side of the shop - I found much more tasteful cards that weren't pink or purple and covered in sickly sentimental messages. The Mt Eden Post Shop continued to go up in the ranks when I realised how large the range of magazines they had was; definitely much bigger than your average selection at a lot of other post shops and stationary stores. The guy at the counter was super nice and helpful, which I find is definitely a pleasant surprise at a post shop. Definitely would be a regular if I lived in the area.

Located on Three Lamps, Ponsonby is the only Kiwibank & Post office on Ponsonby Road. They have 2…read morequeues: one for NZ Post and the other for bank transactions. They have a selection of greeting cards, prepaid gift cards and a couple of computers available for customers in the branch. The staff are efficient, however there are normally long wait times! This is my local so I usually tolerate the delays ha! It makes a difference though when they apologise and smile.

This particular branch of the PostShop / Kiwibank deserves a special mention for it's extra…read morefriendly staff. They always take extra time to ensure that you're completely satisfied with the service, rather than rushing your transaction through when there's a queue behind you or it's just before closing time. There are two separate queues, for the Post Office and for Kiwibank, which is great if you just want to deposit some money or make a withdrawal and you can bypass the people posting big parcels. It's conveniently located at the Three Lamps end of Ponsonby Road, with an ATM machine outside. There'll often be a busker located conveniently beside said ATM... so withdrawal with caution or you may be guilt-tripped into parting with your cash sooner than expected!

There is good parking close by, there are handy tables to sort out your items and the staff at the…read morepost Office are so lovely and helpful. The biggest problem I found was when I wanted to mail my Christmas cards, I went back three times and every time they did not have stamps. Supplying them with enough stamps around this time of the year looks like a good idea, after all, they do sell cards and postcards. Now it's a bit like the pub with no beer.

Greenwood's Paper Power is an agglomeration of stationary store, post office, book store and toy…read morestore. Basically it's a local, more expensive version of your Whitcoulls or Paper Plus, except they sell Lotto. The same jigsaw puzzles have faded in the windows for years; the same sale books wheeled out each morning. It is placed in a very handy location for local residents put the service is quite unhelpful. The staff very begrudgingly gave piecemeal information about sending money overseas to an older gentleman while I struggled through a form on their counter the last time I was there. Good for a last minute card or to pick up that envelope you needed because you didn't take one from work because nobody stocks envelopes at home anymore.

This is a great Stationers, with many facilities like NZ Post, Lotto, Stationery, Toys and Gifts,…read moreWestern Union, Passport Photos etc. Staff are always super friendly and helpful and the prices are very reasonable. Very often their prices are cheaper than Paper Plus and Whitcoulls. It's in a great location with loads of parking. I've been a customer for years and that won't change any time soon.

As far as combining unrelated services goes, a pharmacy-slash-post-shop is a pretty good mix. The…read moredownside here is only that, this being a less than massive shop, you don't get a huge range of either service, or at least not as much as you would in a larger place - or one that didn't have its attention divided. But this is probably not really an issue. Certainly the few times I've been here they were able to sort me out with whatever I needed, so they have at least the more obvious range of both a pharmacy and a post shop (I've never gone in asking for anything obscure or weird, so I can't say how they'd deal with less common requests). The service here has always been polite and professional, and although I have had to wait in line, it's never been for very long.

I would much rather preffer going to this pharmacy than the larger ones. Much more private and…read morebeats waiting in the other local post shops where the lines are always almost out the door .

A combined post office and bank, great idea New Zealand! I appreciate this particular bank/post…read moreoffice not just because of its usefulness but also because of the great staff - these guys are very friendly, professional and patient. I have seen them handle the difficult customers trying to pick a fight really well. Several members of the team had to get involved once and they were all kind, but firm. They also really know their stuff! - I have gone in with various questions related to financial legalities, packaging quotes and various other things and each team member has been able to help me out. They is also a regular busker with his dog out the front, I like buskers...

I bet every other bank chain is gutted they can't have a post shop as well as a bank in the same…read moreplace. This is Kiwibank's biggest drawcard, in my honest opinion. Now, I'm not a Kiwibank customer, but I come to the post office a lot as I do a lot of mailing, and to register the car etc. The New Lynn branch of the Post Office is great. The staff are pleasant and always helpful when figuring out what packaging to get with what item and how to make it as cheap as possible. The only thing is it can get pretty busy because of its location, so I've found my self waiting in line for quite a while on more than one occasion, but I guess some people have lots of stuff they have sort out.

Starway Stationers is a good old fashioned stationery shop: it sells anything and everything you…read morecould possibly want in the stationery line, from single envelopes through to embossed papers. It's definitely not a fancy place, but its somehow quite comforting to know that buried under the children's scrapbooks you can find paper suitable for the fanciest occasions, along with the pens appropriate for each. They also sell mags here, including some that you probably wouldn't find in other newsagents, like all those ones pertaining to specific hobbies that you can collect up and put in custom designed folders. I might get into needlework just so I can buy these. Finally, they also have a post office service here, although be warned it's not a full one, so you can't pay bills or get car regos here, but can send parcels and the like.

I found this company through facebook. I'd been declined at a car dealers for finance in Manukau…read moreand needed a car for work. I don't have a great credit history so I thought I would get declined again but I got a message asking for my bank statements and licence and got approved the next day. Really friendly and helpful guy on the phone too. Got my car sorted, the guy even got me a few hundred of the price when he called the dealer.