Popular Penrhewl postmistress, Sarah Jones has reached two big milestones this month – 30 years’ service and her retirement (27/2) from her branch in St Asaph.
Sarah joined the family business running Heol Esgob Shop. in February 1995 Sarah and her parents took on Penrhewl Post Office. Sarah has been the postmistress since the start.
Around 20 years ago Sarah decided to modernise her shop. Instead of keeping a separate full-screened Post Office at the back of the shop she decided to incorporate an open-plan counter in the main part of the convenience store. This allowed Penrhewl Post Office to open much longer hours throughout the store’s long hours of 7am – 8pm.
This new-style Post Office layout was pioneering as she had one of the first open-plan Post Office counters in the UK. This approach has since been adopted by many Post Offices across the UK since 2012 as it allows a Post Office to offer longer, more convenient hours for customers and the flexibility for staff to serve both Post Office and retail customers.
Penrhewl postmistress, Sarah Jones, said: “I have loved being a postmistress. The best thing about the role is meeting the people and really getting to know the community. I’m in the large residential area of St Asaph at the bottom of the hill and there is another branch in the city centre at the top of the large hill. We are the local bank.
“I have really enjoyed being a postmistress in this city for 30 years as I like helping people. My business stayed fully open throughout the pandemic and it was really busy as the community wanted to stay local.
“It is now time to retire from this full-time role. The new owners for the shop and Post Office have asked if I can work part-time. I’m happy to do as I can help them to settle in, and I can have more time for other things including helping with children at the singing and acting school that my daughter runs.”
Post Office Area Manager, Renee Salisbury, said: “What a month it has been for Sarah reaching her 30 years milestone as postmistress and retiring from her role. Sarah has been a first class postmistress for Penrhewl and I want to really thank her for being at the heart of this community for three decades and for helping the new owners to take over. I hope that Sarah enjoys the well-deserved extra time to do other things too.”
Sarah was presented with a Post Office 30 Years’ Long Service Award for her loyal service.