MADAM – What a miserable place our Russell Street Post Office has become.

Only a few years ago we had a bustling, friendly atmosphere with lots of things on display.

Now it’s like entering an abandoned cold storage facility, all hard surfaces and stripped away human scale.

This desertification process has not stopped with the fittings however; we are now confronted with a row of horrid machines, installed no doubt on the pretext of greater efficiency for the customers, while in reality they are probably yet another cost-cutting exercise, soon to be the justification for stripping back the friendly staff.

For this reason alone, I urge your readers to ignore the mindless mechanics on the left and go for the excellent people on the right, even if it means queuing for a few moments more. As a recipe for turning the public away from using Post Offices, this latest ‘refurbishment’ is beyond compare – and belief.

I certainly think twice now about going there.

Max Comfort

Stroud