Portaferry Post Office voted best in the UK

Portaferry Post Office voted best in the UK

5 October 2016

A PORTAFERRY postmistress has been officially recognised as first class.

Meabh Curran has beaten almost 12,000 entrants in a competition to name the UK’s best Post Office during a ceremony in London last week.

Meabh, who took over at the helm of the village Post Office over 20 years ago, said she was shocked to be named overall winner after being entered into the competition by a retail supplier.

She said she was delighted with the award, which she believes recognises the work of her loyal team of staff, who she said were local people who enjoyed “the craic” with customers.

Meabh, whose mum was a postmistress before her, said she happened upon the job shortly after returning home from England where she completed a university degree in Food Science.

Deciding the food industry was not for her before graduation, she said she took a temporary post as emergency post mistress at Portaferry Post Office before making an application to run the office.

She has developed the shop over the years to include 12 members of staff working in 1,500 square feet of shop floor with a few extras, like hardware, candles and Hallmark cards to increase the appeal for customers.

Despite the increasing difficulties for the industry as more products become available for sale online, Meabh, who lives in Ardglass, says she has worked hard to make sure her shop is retail driven.

“It is becoming more and more difficult as a lot of what we would have sold is now available online or through Pay Point,” she said.

“Because we are retail driven we are constantly looking at products we can sell and we also offer secure personal and commercial banking facilities which have been very well used since the closure of many local branches.

“Customers come in because it is a pleasant experience. 

My staff have been with me for years and we all work very well.

“They are local girls and boys and they really enjoy the craic with the local people who call in.

“It is a huge shock to be named winner but I think it shows you do not have to in a massive store and have a huge populations of customers to be the best.

“You just have to be good at your job, serve your customers well and know what you are doing.”

Meabh said she hoped to see new customers as a result of the award and expressed her thanks to her existing loyal clientele.