We typically hear the worst when it comes to post offices and those employed therein, so we thought it worthwhile to share a bit of the other side of the coin. Steve wrote in with his great experience at the Wallingford Post Office on Wednesday:
I stopped off at the Wallingford Post Office last night at 6:35pm to use the self-service kiosk to buy stamps for my Christmas cards and to mail a small package. Even though it was a half hour past closing time, there was a postal employee straightening things up in the outer lobby. As he was going back inside the split door into the back, he stopped and asked if I’d like my cards and package to go out that night. I told him it wasn’t critical, but he said he’d wait for me to finish. It took me a good five minutes to put stamps on my envelopes and to buy the postage for my package, but he stood there in the doorway and chatted while I got things together. He then took all my envelopes and my package to the back where he said they would go out with the last run of the day. And then he wished me a very merry Christmas!
It made my day. Who says the Post Office has to be an ordeal!?
My partner went by the Wallingford PO around 3pm Tuesday afternoon & even though there were 8 or so people in front of her, she got quick friendly service. I was 2nd in line at UPS this week & waited half an hour… 😉
By the way, if anyone’s a post office junkie or likes Southern stories, I highly recommend Eudora Welty’s “Why I Live at the PO” — about a woman who chooses to live at the post office where she works.
chris
I dropped a large priority mail box in the box drop in their lobby late last Saturday afternoon (4ish.) I figured it wouldn’t get processed until Monday. I was shocked that not only did it get sent Saturday, but it made it to it’s destination in New England by Monday morning!
I went to mail packages around 1 on Tuesday. I expected it would take a long time but it only took about 10 minutes, even though there was a long line. My son mailed a package on Wednesday around noon and I didn’t even have time to park the car before he was done! Hats off to the PO crew, after complaining about them for years!
Next time somebody’s going by the PO & has the time/inclination, maybe you could print this article & comments and give it to the fine folks over there? It just might make their day in these busy busy weeks.
We used to live “next door” to the Wallingford PO (on 47th); they are uniformly a very nice group of people. (Including the guys who deliver the mail to our doorstep.)
I’ve always felt that USPS gets a bad rap, at least at the local level; they are doing a lot with diminishing resources.