Going Postal

I work in a US Postal Service "Contract Unit". What is a contract unit? It is an 'official' US Postal Service site, but operated under a private contract with non-federal employees. The USPS has basically outsourced an operation in an area that needs a post office, but without the capital investment of building one or hiring federal employees. Very cost effective, don't ya think? The CPU (Control Postal Unit) isn't our only business, but it definitely takes up most of our time!

We provide all postal services except we do not sell postal money orders, have PO boxes, issue passport applications or issue the 'sooper sekrit secure' registered mail. And, unlike private mail services, we do not charge more for your postage. You pay nothing extra for mailing a letter or package. And we smile and provide great customer service. Oh, and we also have a drive through window! What could be better?

I really do love the work. Almost all of our customers are great. And we have a decent amount of 'regular' customers, too.

I would just like to say one thing. Your mail is handled with extreme care at our facility. We go above and beyond the call of duty. What happens after it is picked up and shipped to the postal distribution center? I cannot vouch for that!

A couple of things that drive me nuts - people who bring in something and ask "Will this be there tomorrow? (or the next day)"
Not unless you send it Express mail, which is our most expensive option. "But it's only ten miles away!!" Well, if it's only ten miles away, maybe you should deliver it yourself, okay? Distance doesn't matter really, because it still gets put into the mailstream with thousands of other pieces of mail and is sorted for delivery. Yeah, it might get there tomorrow. Or it might not get there until next week. Sorrrrry.

Another thing that makes me crazy is that some people have not learned how to address an envelope/box. Return address? Upper left hand corner, please. Recipient address? Large and center (vertically and horizontally) on the package/envelope. Remember to leave room for the postage, please!! And if the to/from addresses are directly on top of each other, don't be surprised if your package comes back to you as the recipient instead of the sender!

And it's not our fault that the price of postage is going up! We're sorry!

There are a few nits, but lots of fun things about working in our CPU. More stories about that later!