NO WEIGHING FUNCTION
However, the POPDrop lacks one key feature many users relied on: a weighing scale.
Ms Kan C H, a 63-year-old property agent and regular SAM user, encountered the new machine at Toa Payoh but was unsure how to proceed.
“I don’t know what to do with it … now there’s no weighing machine,” she said, unable to figure out how much to pay for postage on her mail. “It’s not that I prefer the SAM, but I must know what to do with the machine.”
Other users, like Dr Lewis Winkler, a lecturer who frequently sends international mail, also noticed the missing SAM kiosks.
“Usually I am able to print (the number of stamps I need) … I find it very easy and I didn’t have to wait in line,” he said. “I came here to do that today but there is no machine.”
The 60-year-old ended up queuing at SingPost Centre in Paya Lebar to buy his stamps. He had been waiting for 10 minutes, with six others ahead of him, when CNA spoke to him.
A staff member later showed him how to use the POPDrop kiosk at the branch.
“I did not use the POPDrop machine to send my letters this time but will be able to use it for them in the future, for which I am glad,” Dr Winkler said, adding that a weighing function would be helpful.
SingPost said it is monitoring feedback during this transition, though it noted that responses have been “occasional” so far.
It added that customers can also use the SingPost mobile app or the SAM website to access services such as bill payment and stamp purchases.
However, not all users have found these alternatives easy to use.
Ms Helen L said she looked at the website but found it “not very user-friendly”. “Because all the information is from the point-of-view of SingPost to the customer. They don’t see the other way around,” she said.
