SINGAPORE: After decades of near-ubiquity across Singapore, SingPost’s self-service automated machines (SAM) are becoming a thing of the past – leaving some long-time users frustrated and confused, while others have found workarounds.
At its peak in 2018, there were about 300 SAM kiosks across the island, allowing users to weigh postal items, buy stamps and pay bills. But now, these familiar blue machines are disappearing from post offices, MRT stations and shopping centres.
“We’re so used to the availability of the service, and suddenly, it’s not there,” said Ms Helen L, a 66-year-old administrative employee who recently searched in vain for a SAM kiosk near her office to purchase stamps. Unable to find one, she queued at the Toa Payoh branch office to send a letter.
CNA visited six former SAM locations last week and found none in operation.
In response to queries, SingPost said the SAM kiosks, first launched in the 1990s, had “reached the end of their service life” and were being phased out in favour of “more advanced and flexible solutions tailored to today’s consumers”.
The POPDrop, introduced in 2023, is the “next evolution” in its self-service network, SingPost said. Currently in 36 locations, these kiosks offer functions such as postage label printing, bill payments, parcel drop-offs and real-time tracking.
SingPost added that it expects to roll out more of these kiosks in the coming months.
A POPDrop machine now stands where a SAM kiosk used to be at Tiong Bahru Plaza. (Photo: CNA/Koh Wan Ting)
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.
Some customers have taken the change in stride. Mr Ryan Lok, a 31-year-old artist, said he used to rely on SAM kiosks to pay postage before mailing his artwork overseas. Now, he simply queues when needed.
"I notice the queues are not very long at Tanjong Pagar ... (but) if you come at lunch it's long cause of the work crowd," said Mr Lok, who was at SingPost's branch in Tanjong Pagar Plaza when CNA spoke to him.
Retiree Paul Lee, 65, has shifted his bill payments to AXS machines, though he noted the queues can sometimes be long.
Asked if she was aware of alternatives to the SAM kiosk, Ms Helen L said she did not know.
When asked what improvements she'd like to see, Ms Helen L said she wasn’t sure yet. “At the moment, I’m still at the state where I am angry,” she said with a laugh.
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At its peak in 2018, there were about 300 SAM kiosks across the island, allowing users to weigh postal items, buy stamps and pay bills. But now, these familiar blue machines are disappearing from post offices, MRT stations and shopping centres.
“We’re so used to the availability of the service, and suddenly, it’s not there,” said Ms Helen L, a 66-year-old administrative employee who recently searched in vain for a SAM kiosk near her office to purchase stamps. Unable to find one, she queued at the Toa Payoh branch office to send a letter.
CNA visited six former SAM locations last week and found none in operation.
In response to queries, SingPost said the SAM kiosks, first launched in the 1990s, had “reached the end of their service life” and were being phased out in favour of “more advanced and flexible solutions tailored to today’s consumers”.
The POPDrop, introduced in 2023, is the “next evolution” in its self-service network, SingPost said. Currently in 36 locations, these kiosks offer functions such as postage label printing, bill payments, parcel drop-offs and real-time tracking.
SingPost added that it expects to roll out more of these kiosks in the coming months.
A POPDrop machine now stands where a SAM kiosk used to be at Tiong Bahru Plaza. (Photo: CNA/Koh Wan Ting)
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.
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NOT ALL ARE BOTHERED
Some customers have taken the change in stride. Mr Ryan Lok, a 31-year-old artist, said he used to rely on SAM kiosks to pay postage before mailing his artwork overseas. Now, he simply queues when needed.
"I notice the queues are not very long at Tanjong Pagar ... (but) if you come at lunch it's long cause of the work crowd," said Mr Lok, who was at SingPost's branch in Tanjong Pagar Plaza when CNA spoke to him.
Retiree Paul Lee, 65, has shifted his bill payments to AXS machines, though he noted the queues can sometimes be long.
Asked if she was aware of alternatives to the SAM kiosk, Ms Helen L said she did not know.
When asked what improvements she'd like to see, Ms Helen L said she wasn’t sure yet. “At the moment, I’m still at the state where I am angry,” she said with a laugh.
Continue reading...