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Message
From: Paula Vennells [....
Sent: 06/06/2015 08:37:58
To: Jane Hill Kevin Gilliland [
cc: Mi Tom Wechsler
; Martin Edwards lisdair Cameron
Subject: Re: Baroness Neville-Rolfe visit
Jane, thanks for this. And for going on your day off - I hadn't realised, so it's even more appreciated. It seems
we managed to give BNR a useful and enjoyable time and that is most important - she needs to like the PO and
want to support us, so thank you both very much indeed.
Kevin and I had a debrief conversation last night.
Kevin when we spoke, as Jane's note says, there were very few obvious ‘angles’ that emerged from the visit - but
you managed to hear a couple. This is really what will be important in preparing. Could you put your ‘black hat'
on again and drop a note round by Monday am, of where there could have been negatives/challenges lurking
behind the questions asked.
Thanks also to Mike and Tom for the brief for Monday. See you then and have a good weekend.
Many thanks,
Paula
We should know exactly where BNR and the SoS' Post Offices are and find out as much as we can about them.
(London and country) Not sure if I understood properly from the note - but ideally we should have known this
before the visit yesterday.
Paula Vennells
Chief Executive
Post Office Ltd
Sent from my iPad
On 5 Jun 2015, at 20:16, Jane Hill <} GRO is wrote:
I thought it would be helpful to let you know how BNR’s visit to Penzance Road branch in Ipswich went this
afternoon.
It was an informal, non-official visit. She was in the area (speaking at a business lunch with local MP Ben
Gummer). She was accompanied by her husband Richard Packer. They stayed for about 40 minutes.
The branch is a successful Main, having converted in September 2014.
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Kevin and the postmaster, Shan, led the discussions. We also ensured that she spent time behind the counter
chatting to staff.
Her retail background was clear. She was interested in the relationship between PO turnover and retail
turnover. She was also keen to talk to Shan about his retail offer. She drew parallels between our crown,
main and local categories and Tesco's full offer - Tescos Local - One Stop divisons. (There was a One Stop
in the parade of shops which she noticed.)
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There was discussion about opening hours and how the models worked. This particular Main is an anomaly as
the opening hours are not significantly longer than core hours. But she seemed impressed that it was open on
a Saturday.
She understood the competitive threat and asked why we couldn't "consolidate" the area’s smaller, less
successful, PO branches into this one. We reminded her about convenience - earlier she had remarked how
great it was that customers could collect parcels from the branch “much better than DHL where you have to
drive for miles”.
She asked about the investment in the branch and who'd carried out the work. Kevin explained why we'd
invested more in this branc due to the potential for growth and the extent of the physical alterations required.
Shan said his biggest concern was declining government services income, and the fact he can’t offer Passport
Check and Send (Kevin explained the rationale for the latter).
Shan was very complementary about the sales training he and his team had received, and how it helped him
grow his business. This seemed to land well.
BNR asked Shan about Horizon, and made a point of asking other staff about their experience using it when
behind the counter. All emphasised ease of use and levels of security - there couldn’t have been better
advocates for the integrity of Horizon, or for the Post Office generally.
I would say that she’s using her Tesco experience as an intellectual benchmark against which she’s getting her
head around the PO, rather than as some kind of blueprint (she’s more switched on that that). When she was
behind the counter she noticed some of the older, more vulnerable customers and the excellent service they
received.
She is interested in visiting other branches to broaden the picture. Her husband told me their nearest branch in
London is Westminster Bridge Road. They also mentioned Tisbury PO in Wiltshire, where they must live
(Nevile-Rolfe’s full title is Baroness of Chilmark in the County of Wiltshire and he is on the Chilmark Parish
Council). So we could look at some branches in that area.
I hope this is a helpful steer as we prepare for next week.
Best wishes
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Jane
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