Billy K. Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 These have been interesting---and frustrating--days at the post offices in Seattle.The trend in most industries is to go with automatic check-out at stores, and less "traditional" service....well, guess what?The post office is doing the opposite.In the three closest post offices to me, they have taken out the stamp machines. Not only the small ones, which dispenses small amounts of the basic stamps, but also the big machines that sells books.As a result, the lines at these particular post offices are just as long as Christmas and tax time.....and they have added no extra help, either. Not to mention no parking space.Many of the people in line just want to buy a couple of stamps(like myself), and not do things like ship packages or international or priority.So, about 2/3 of the people in line are there only to buy three or five stamps.Is it just Seattle, or all post offices starting to do this? Anyone experience the same? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris hess Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 things are the same here,but we also have local places we can go to purchase 3 or 4 stamps,or stamp books,etc.....some grocery stores,drug stores offer that..i have heard that some post offices are gonna do that though,another sign of the times we're in..check around for options,maybe they're there and u dont know about it!! lol,chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny S. Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 Same here...no stamp machines...1 clerk, and 47 other employees staring at you in line.GOD FORBID one would say "who's next" or "May I help you"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canadianchick Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 WHERE I LIVE, YOU CAN STILL DO EITHER...GET ONE OR TWO STAMPS AT THE GROCERY STORE OR GO LINE UP AT THE POST OFFICE...DOESN'T CHANGE A THING THO...NO ONE IN "CUSTOMER SERVICE" REALLY LOOKING LIKE THEY WANNA BE THERE OR HELP YOU OUT.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy K. Posted May 30, 2008 Author Share Posted May 30, 2008 We can get stamps at the grocery store, but we have to buy a full book. There is also the options of getting them at the ATM, but the bank charges premium prices for them. It is strange that they ditched all the machines-anyone know the rationale behind this. It certainly doesn't cut any costs by removing them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 30, 2008 Share Posted May 30, 2008 We have the same thing happening up here.Now, there's a ten-pack, but no price on the stamps. They're calling them "permanent stamps" so that every time the rate goes up, they don't have to do re-orings and new designs. The price went up twice last year alone!One canalso buy them in a big fat roll, too.No wonder hardly anyone writes home, pays their bills by anything except direct debit and we steer clear of the post office if we can!Ah, for the days when we could just pass by the post office, insert the amount into that machine and get a couple of stamps. (Six cents apiece then, and we were on par with the American dollar!)Aren't you glad you can email a friend now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reid C. Posted May 30, 2008 Share Posted May 30, 2008 I am lucky to have a postal store just down the street from my house. Hardly ever a line, helpful employees, and they offer printing and various other services with a smile. Avoiding the U.S. Postal service and the Department of Motor Vehicles (thank you AAA) has gone a long way towards eliminating that pulsing vein in my forehead! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy K. Posted February 23, 2009 Author Share Posted February 23, 2009 Well, I found out what the problem was at the Post Office.....at long last, from a postal worker.They are no longer able to get replacement parts for the old stamp machines. But at the same time, the group making the decisions at USPS have not agreed on what kind of machine to get to replace the old machines. Hence, all these blank spots at the Post Offices, where the machines used to be.Kind of sad, as it made it a convenient place to use my coins. I would much rather get full value on stamps(which I'm going to buy anyway), than to have some coin machine at the supermarket take eight cents on the dollar, just to count them.Granted, those supermarket coin machines could give you a merchandise card for a retailer, without a surcharge. I wanted to get a video camera.....and the supermarket could give you a Circuit City card.Thankfully, I didn't one of those as they are all but out of business, and I would have nothing to show for it.So, FYI! No parts, and no replacement machines at the post office. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulie Mississippi Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 Around here they have indeed replaced the stamp machines... with smaller machines that print stamps on demand, much like what you can do on your own computer at home... and to make things even worse, they only accept plastic. No cash. No coin. So the only upkeep they have to do is change out the paper roll and make sure they have ink... and routine maintenance obviously... but no longer do they have to send a guy around each day to empty the money and restock the product... another job lost to automation, and of course another example of the computer being "our friend"... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darlene Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 Isn't it always the way. While they're deciding what to do, everyone is really inconvenienced. I enter sweepstakes so I buy quite a few stamps at a time, but if I needed stamp machines I would be really annoyed if I couldn't find one.I hope they decide what they're doing soon. --Darlene Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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