Post Office to cut queues, reduce waiting times

The SA Post Office announced this week that it has introduced several initiatives to shorten queues at its branches.

Separate queues, a mobile application for the renewal of motor vehicle licences and services in conjunction with spaza shops are some of the initiatives to reduce waiting time.

This would see improved service delivery being offered to customers doing their normal transactions such as money transfers, social grant payments, other bill payments and postal services.

The SA Post Office said in a statement more than three million owners of motor vehicles used their facilities to renew their vehicle licences in the past year.

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“The motor vehicle licensing (MVL) service is being streamlined alongside all service offerings at the SA Post Office.

“The focus is on cutting the queues to reasonable levels and serve the customer within an acceptable length of time.”

The Post Office said the scheduling of SRD payments based on the last three digits of recipient ID numbers had also been introduced.

“This means that there are separate lines for social grant payments and other Post Office transactions.”

It said the Post Office, had through the PostBank also managed to introduce a system for grant beneficiaries to collect their payments, without them having to stand in long queues at the Post Office branches.

“Effective immediately, most of these SRD grant beneficiaries can transact at Pick ‘n Pay and Boxer stores.”

Other channels were set to be introduced such as offering services in conjunction with spaza shops.

“The aim was for the local economies to benefit by encouraging the beneficiaries to transact within their own localities. This would allow beneficiaries to buy goods and services they need, closer to home.”

The Post Office said it was also developing a mobile app for the renewal of motor vehicle licences, so customers could renew from the comfort of their own homes or offices.

“The full renewal process, including payment, will be done on the app, leaving only the last step of accessing the actual disc. This will be done in one of two ways: the customer can either choose to collect from an SA Post Office outlet nearby, or the SA Post Office can deliver the disc to the customer, at an affordable delivery fee.”

SA Post Office CEO Nomkhita Mona said: “We are serious about serving our customers’ needs.”

She said the motor vehicle licence renewal app would serve bulk fleet clients and companies.

Mona said she believed the organisation played a crucial role in South Africans’ lives.

“Huge winds of change are blowing within the SA Post Office. Even in the face of massive financial challenges, there are equally massive opportunities for us to effect meaningful change and deliver an institution that all South Africans can once again be proud of,” Mona said.

She said not all SA Post Office branches were approved to provide the car licence renewal service and it was advisable to check the availability of the service at specific branches.

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