Echo Comment on Darlington closure of TG Jones and the post office

The closure of TG Jones is perhaps no surprise.

It seems to have a lot of this and that in it, largely stationery, books and magazines, but then it surprisingly flirted with M&S high quality food.

Finally, it changed its name from WH Smith, a well known and understood brand, and completely confused its customers.

The post office was one of the frustrations of using the shop.

It has self-service machines that seem to baffle most people forcing them to join the long queue of customers trying to be served by a human – but the human assistants kept being distracted by people who were complaining that they had been baffled by the machines.

It was not a happy experience.

While we have great sympathy with so many town centre businesses which are being squeezed by online shopping, high historic rates and car parking charges, there are some businesses which have not helped themselves.

It is exactly seven years ago that the huge Crown Street central post office shut and its counters were shoehorned into the back of WH Smith.

Not having a post office is another reason not to come into the town centre – wouldn’t it be great if a corner for a counter could be found in the worryingly underused covered market?

Still, as one door closes another opens…

There are still six or seven satellite post offices dotted around the town, from Skerne Park to Haughton to Cockerton to Blackwell to Yarm Road to Mowden, based in community stores that try their best to serve their local people.

If we care about such things, we have to go out of our way to use them to ensure they survive rather than sitting at home and complaining while doing our shopping online.