This store's a funny one to start off with, despite having a giant sign outside saying Manchester…read moreSouvenirs & News and Post Office, it appears to be a small Post Office from the Manchester Souvenirs & News branding, from this store you can expect everything you'd regularly expect from a Post Office which is located inside a newsagents with it being one of the many Manchester Souvenirs & News locations (and even more Post Offices) around the city.
Located in Exchange Square, it is located in the former basement of WHSmith, with the lifts removed and upper levels now being home to JD Sport, this means that the only way to enter the store, despite being classed as "Manchester Arndale", is the one and only entrance, just outside the mall in Exchange Square, located next to Caffe Nero.
The store is much larger than other locations such as Deansgate and nicer and more modern than the Shudehill branch, which opened around about the same time as this one. I really like the decor around the top of the store, showing Corrination Street and just typical, modern and cool Manchester decor, as that is the theme of the store after all.
The newsagents part of the business had a good selection of drinks, albeit at inflated prices costing around £1.49 for an iced tea which are often available to buy for around £1 each (or at least 2 for £2) at other retailers nearby including the Co-op and Superdrug to name just a few.
The service here was a little slow and confusing, with two different parts of the till, they were obviously understaffed and struggling to serve two tills, with one man working and moving between the two, and even then it appeared that he had a young child standing behind him (family run business), I personally dislike being served in stores by young children and find it to be messy and complicated.
They had one post office counter which was typical of a store this size, of course it isn't a regular Post Office, who have a large branch in Spring Gardens just a few minutes away, or a smaller main branch (yet still bigger than this one) at the Town Hall, as well as many stores similar to this around the city.
Understaffed store with slightly poor service and inflated prices are the big negatives, but overall being in the city centre, the location is good and they do offer basic/good services for drinks (despite the inflated prices), souvenirs and Post Office, in a really nice decorated store so I do feel it deserves a three-star rating, and it is in quite a handy location being the only store of its' kind in Exchange Square.