Postmaster receives royal recognition for going above and beyond for the communities he serves near
First-class Epworth postmaster, Richard Haley, has been recognised by the King for services to his village near Doncaster.
Richard and his team are 100 per cent dedicated to their customer service and maintaining high standards.
Since 2012 Richard has run Epworth Post Office. Prior to that, Richard was a Postmaster from 1993-2008 at Beckett Road Post Office in Doncaster until it was closed down during a restructure.
Richard then he worked as a manager at Epworth Post Office from 2008 and in 2012 than an opportunity came up for Richard to purchase the branch himself.
Richard, aged 59, is the heart of Epworth village. He has received outstanding reviews by customers including 330 Facebook thank you messages alone as he is really appreciated by his village.
He goes above and beyond for his North Lincolnshire village, which is right on the border with South Yorkshire. He also provides hosted outreach services to four communities at West Butterwick, Wroot, Corringham and Blyton.
Richard has been known to travel to the sorting office, which is over 25 miles away from Epworth, to collect a customer’s special delivery item that has been delayed, especially when it has contained their currency for their holiday the next day.
Epworth postmaster, Richard Haley, said: “I have always said that being a postmaster is not a job, it is a vocation. I can’t imagine doing any other role as I enjoy doing it so much.
“My wife, Stephanie, knows how important my role is to me and she accepts that I want to do the job well and work longer hours than other people do in other jobs. I also have the support of a hard-working, close-knit team.
“When I received the letter from the Cabinet Office at work, I opened the letter after the branch had closed. I cried when I read that I was to receive an honour – they were tears of joy. It was unexpected news. I just do what I do for my customers as it is so important to have good customer service.
“Epworth Post Office has become even more important to this area since the last bank closed in Epworth 14 months ago, but people can do their personal and business banking here.
“We managed to stay open throughout the pandemic, apart from one day due to people contracting Covid, but I pulled people in to help to maintain vital Post Office services and the shop and people wanted to see friendly familiar faces. Every day was really busy, like Christmas every day, as people wanted to stay local and many people were working from home instead of commuting.”
Post Office Area Manager, Joanne Fryatt, said: “I am delighted that Richard has received this New Years’ Honour for all that he does for his village and his outreach communities. This kind and caring postmaster is always chatting to customers, learning customers by name, which makes them feel special. Richard gives them that extra care during the customer service. He emphasises to his team about the importance of being customer focussed.”