I feel compelled to relate my experience this week at Trafford Direct in Sale.

I arrived late morning to sort out a dilemma with my council tax.

I was immediately aware of jaded staff sitting in their pigeon holes with nothing to do and very few customers.

Most clients were waiting with council tax queries. Also I was conscious of the good folk of Sale sitting around with astonishingly fed-up expressions on their faces, in companionable silence.

One or two were sitting in apparent suspended animation chewing the cud while waiting.In times gone by, I reminisced, someone would have started a rousing chorus of, Why are we waiting ?', simply to relieve the tedium.

While I must admit to being a pensioner and, consequently, I have rather more time at my disposal, there is no good reason for it to take just short of two hours to see to the requirements of 12 people with just one pigeon hole manned for most of the time.

Surely Trafford Direct need to get their act together ! The situation was ludicrous.

Desmond Nockin