Post Office customer service assistant
Post Office customer service assistants help customers in post offices and at counters in shops.
What you'll do
Day-to-day tasks
In this role you could:
- meet and greet customers and give a good impression of the Post Office
- sell financial and retail products and services to meet targets
- sell stamps and deal with letters and parcels
- pay out pensions and benefits
- accept bill payments
- deal with vehicle registrations and car tax
- check passport and driving licence applications
- sell travel insurance and foreign currency
- complete admin tasks and follow security rules
Working environment
You could work at a store.
Your working environment may be physically demanding.
Career path and progression
With experience you could progress to a position in a larger branch, or become an assistant branch manager or branch manager.
You could open up your own Post Office franchise.
What it takes
Skills and knowledge
You'll need:
- customer service skills
- excellent verbal communication skills
- the ability to work well with others
- persuading and negotiating skills
- to be thorough and pay attention to detail
- the ability to sell products and services
- good maths skills
- active listening skills
- to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently
Restrictions and Requirements
You'll need to:
- pass background checks
How to become
You can get into this job through:
- a college course
- an apprenticeship
- applying directly
You could do a college course, which would teach you some of the skills and knowledge you need in this job. Relevant subjects include:
- Level 1 Certificate in Customer Service
- Level 2 Diploma in Customer Service
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- 2 or fewer GCSEs at grades 3 to 1 (D to G), or equivalent, for a level 1 course
- 2 or more GCSEs at grades 9 to 3 (A* to D), or equivalent, for a level 2 course
More Information
You may be able to get into this job through a customer services practitioner intermediate apprenticeship.
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship
More Information
You'll need a good standard of education with numeracy and literacy skills and good customer service skills to apply for jobs.
You will generally be given Post Office counter training on the job, by your employer.
Many post offices are run as a franchise and are part of shops selling other goods and services. Each franchise will have its own recruitment and selection methods.
You can search for vacancies in Post Office branches on the Post Office recruitment website.
Career tips
Previous customer service experience in banks, offices or shops would be very helpful.
Further information
You can find out more about working as a counter assistant from the Post Office.
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External links
This page contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.