THE SUBPOSTMASTER - JUNE ISSUE

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Retail Post Office in focus COMMUNITY FOCUSED Gary Walters BEM this year celebrates 40 years as the postmaster of Menheniot Post Office. He tells Simon King about his career, which saw him start, aged 18, as the youngest postmaster in the country ary Walters, like his father G before him, was born in the village of Menheniot, which is located around two miles south-east of Liskeard in Cornwall. His father, a builder, bought the shop when Gary was five years old and his mother worked in the shop, with Gary helping out on weekends and after school, before taking on the business at 18. Importance of the Post Office “It’s very important to the community to have a post office and shop, as it’s the focal point of the village,” Gary said. “Everyone comes to meet and chat, and I know most people. “It’s the place where you come to book the village hall, and where you buy tickets for the pantomime. I ran Scouts in the village for 10 years and I’ve been the treasurer of the hall since the late 1980s.” Gary said being a subpostmaster is a rewarding role. “Everybody seems to like me, and everybody knows me,” he said. “If somebody wants something, they only have to ask, and I’ll do it. Postmasters are seen as a pillar of the community, and I’ve been here all my life.” Outreach, Home Service and Partner Sites When the Network Transformation programme started in 2012, Gary was selected as an Outreach provider. “I started off with three Outreach services and over the next six months, I ended up with a dozen or so – it didn’t take very long to get to a dozen,” Gary said. “The most I’ve ever had is 21, but now it’s coming down.” Gary currently runs 13 Outreach services in Darite, Downderry, East Taphouse, Kingsand, Lostwithiel, Millbrook, Pensilva, Rilla Mill, St Neot, Tregadillett, Tetcott, Tideford and Trewidland. “I’ve got three Outreach kits which we go out with to village halls,” Gary said. “Three of the kits are out three days a week; and two of the kits are out on the other two days in the week.” Gary is currently in negotiations with Post Office Ltd (PO), and he believes that some of the Outreach services will be cut. In addition to the Outreach services he provides, Gary also offers a Home Service to a number of customers. “I still have customers using the home service,” he said. “Through the DDA procedure that PO has, I can cash cheques for customers in their home.” Gary originally had six Partner Sites, and he now runs two Partner Sites in Polruan and Lerryn. “I fund them, I look after them, I pay them, and PO pays me,” Gary said. “In theory, they’re my employees, but they’ve got their own shop.” Changing retail industry Gary is a Spar customer, and he gets his goods from Appleby Westward. He said that during his time in business, the retail sector has changed dramatically. “Postmasters are seen as a pillar of the community. I’ve been here my whole life” “John Irish CBE pioneered the ‘8 to Late’ concept in Spar, which brought trading in the evening,” Gary said. “Before that it was always 9am-5.30pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays; Wednesdays and Saturdays were both half days and on Sundays we wouldn’t open at all. “We closed at 10pm for a while, then we moved to 9pm. Through Covid we closed at 8pm and now we’ve settled on 7pm.” Gary pointed out that 40 years ago, the Walters family used to have two shops in the village – the post office and grocery store, while the other store was non-food, selling gifts, toys, ladies underwear, gardening items, paint brushes, pans, and plastic bowls. “It was the place everybody came to in this community, they didn’t go anywhere else,” Gary said. “Retailing has changed massively. Years ago, there were no out-of-town supermarkets, and now some of these include post offices.” Gary said that chilled is the most popular category in his store and milk is the biggest seller. “Retail is very important,” he said. “The village shop sells many things and the post office is part of that mix – if you want a meal, you can get a meal here.” Banking takes off Banking has become popular in Gary’s C M Y CM MY CY CMY K 26 The SubPostmaster June 2024
are on it, and instead of paying 100% for a building and the cost of the whole thing, they pay 20% because they share it. “Postmasters are happy because they’re getting paid, and the banks cut their costs by 80% and still have visibility in the towns.” branch over the last few years. “In Liskeard, we lost NatWest about three or four years ago, Barclays and HSBC both left last year before Christmas, and Lloyds is going soon, leaving just one bank left: Santander. “Banking Hubs are coming in, and I can see in the future that PO is going to have a Banking Hub in every town in the country.” Gary said that he applied for a 2 Half Page Retail Support Ad June SPM.pdf 13 22/05/2024 20:06 Menheniot Post Office postmaster Gary Walters, Sarah Walters (left) and Sarah Harris (right) Banking Hub in Looe, which is 10 miles away, but was turned down. He said: “Saltash is getting a Banking Hub now, and I think there’s one going to be in Bodmin – if Santander pulls out of Liskeard, and then Liskeard gets a Banking Hub, that will mean every town around me has a Banking Hub. “These Post Office Banking Hubs are quite cheap to run for the banks, because they share the costs. All banks The British Empire Medal In the New Year’s Honours 2022, Gary was awarded the British Empire Medal for services to the community of Menheniot. Gary said: “I did not expect it. At the end of November 2021, I got a letter from the Government, informing me that I’d been nominated for a BEM; I wasn’t able to tell anyone, but I confided in my wife – I was so proud.” Back in the village, Gary received many cards and good wishes from customers, however, on New Year’s Day 2022 – the day the announcement was made – Gary had Covid, so was unable to share the good news with his customers. “The community was overjoyed that I’d been honoured,” Gary said. He received the BEM in May 2022 Retail Support Programme To grow your business “ Sales have increased by around 50% at least so definitely happy with that. The retail advice and support was amazing, it definitely gave me a place to start and some really good ideas to think about, I would recommend all postmasters use the service! “ Amelia Elson – Tower Hill Post Office BOOK A VISIT FREE personalised Retail Health Checks via store visits or video calls for NFSP members. with Amanda Pedley, NFSP Senior Retail Advisor. Scan the QR code or call 01273 452324. February 2024 The SubPostmaster 23
Page 1 and 2: THE THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE NAT
Page 3 and 4: Contents THE THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL O
Page 5 and 6: It was therefore important to resta
Page 7 and 8: Wide-ranging meeting with PO The NF
Page 9 and 10: OUTREACH PROVISION Post Office Ltd
Page 11 and 12: specialist helplines such as cash m
Page 14 and 15: The NET update JUNE UPDATE FROM THE
Page 16 and 17: Conference 2024 Monday morning of C
Page 18 and 19: Conference 2024 THE FUTURE IN FOCUS
Page 20 and 21: Conference 2024 WORKING TOGETHER FO
Page 22 and 23: Conference 2024 Postmasters spoke p
Page 24 and 25: NFSP mails support GETTING MAILS SE
Page 28 and 29: Retail Post Office in focus system
Page 30 and 31: Your letters “More needs to be do
Page 32 and 33: Ben Fund quarter page horizontal ad
Page 34 and 35: Planning ahead HERE COMES THE SUN
Page 36: New range launch! TOYS IPS Retail a

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