What Does This Sticker Mean?

Imagine my surprise when I came home and found this sticker attached to my mailbox!


All kinds of thoughts were going through my head! I was thinking of some kind of big disaster or something like that! (I also noticed that the sticker was on a few other houses as well)

So what I did was that I decided to look it up on the Internet and this is what I found out about it!

It seems that the postal service is implementing some kind of tracking system to improve the quality of their postal service.

The sticker says "managed service point" and it seems that it's relatively harmless - so far!

I Found A Mailbox (sort of) Close By!

Well I miss the mailbox that was at the corner of Willow Ave. and Cedar Lane. That was one of my "exercise" routes - to help me feel better by taking a walk and calling it one of my exercise routines.

However I found another mailbox that is relatively close and it is at the corner of 19th and Cheltenham Ave. right outside the Dollar Store that is on the corner.

While the mailbox that used to be at Cedar Lane was more closer to me, at least the one at 19th and Cheltenham is within walking distance for me (and it can still be considered a good exercise walk!)

I have also noticed that there are a couple of mailboxes in the Lynnewood Gardens complex for those that live in that area.

So at least not ALL of the mailboxes in our area are gone - thank goodness!

I Found Out What Happened To The Mailboxes!

Imagine my surprise when I found out that the mailbox at Willow and Sycamore was gone! Not only that but it seems that the mailbox at the corner of 19th and Cheltenham is gone too as well as the one above the LaMott Firehouse #1 on Penrose Avanue! So what's up with that!


I have since come to find out that the post has gotten rid of these mailboxes because it seems that these mailboxes were not being used enough.

So now what are our options supposed to be? Well I was told that you could leave your mail at your home's mailbox so that the mailperson can pick it up when they deliver your mail, you can go online and request a pickup (I asked them if you could call the post office by phone and request a pickup but I was told that you would have to do it online so that it could be in the computer records) or you could mail your mail at the post office itself.

This whole thing seems quite ludicrous to me! Why would they get rid of the mailboxes?

And its not just happening here in our own little area! I have come to find out that the post office is getting rid of many, many mailboxes all over the United States! Now I can understand some of the reasons cited such as people putting other objects in the mailboxes and the "waste" of manpower going to mailboxes that only have a few (if any) pieces of mail. I can understand that kind of reasoning but I do not agree with it.

I am a big fan of computers myself but I don't think that the increased use of emailing and paying bills online is going to determine that there is no need for the actual mailboxes. I still mail things by hand and quite frankly I kind of enjoyed the walk to the mailbox!

Just in case you are curious there are some people who have fought for their mailboxes and managed to have them put back. You can read an article about it by clicking here.

Want to see what others' opinions are about this issue? Just click here.

Oh, and for the record I don't agree with this decision at all!

Our Local Post Office

Here is another picture of our local post office that I took with my cameraphone. Depending upon where you are located this post office is located at the top of a hill which makes it quite an effort to get there if you are going by foot! (And I have had the pleasure of doing that too!) However it is a good walk if you are into the "exercise" thing! If I were driving I might feel a little bit different about it.

Everytime I go there it seems to be quite busy! Lots of cars in the parking lot and there is always somebody who is parked right at the front because - I figure - that they don't expect to be there that long.

But all in all the post office is quite good with lots of postal supplies on hand and the people that work there are very helpful.

About the only complaint that I have heard about the post office is that there are times when the line is long and there is only one or two postal clerks - but I have found that to be true of almost any post office that I have been to - except for the one in Center City.

So plan to make good use of our local post office 'cause that's where our tax dollars are!

A View TO A Post Office!

Of course you have to know that I took this picture as I was walking up the hill and to be quite honest with you I probably took this picture just so I could stand still and rest!

For those of you that don't know this is a view of our newest post office as it is being viewed from Penrose Avenue. As you can see if you are going to this post office from Penrose Avenue then you are going to be walking up the hill!

Some people consider the walk good exercise and it just reminds me of the people that I see walking around our neighborhood who are out just walking - some are getting their exercise and some are just out walking!

So if you don't have a car but need to get to the post office - don't worry because you're not alone. At least our local post office is within walking distance if you live in the LaMott/Cheltenham area - although its much closer to the LaMott area.

The post office has all the services of a regular post office. Of the times that I have been there there are usually 2 people manning the customer service. The lines can get quite long sometimes and there have been times that I have been to the post office and while standing in line I have heard other people "grumbling" about how long it is taking to get waited on - but oddly enough it is usually coming from the people who have driven there and not those who have walked there (including me).

The people that work there are very nice - especially one lady in particular - I hope she is the one that waits on you because she is very pleasant and very personable. (I have even seen her handle herself in situations where a good amount of calm is needed). There is also a guy that works there that has long brown hair - he's a "character" - and I mean that in the most nice possible way!

Of course you can get your postal needs done, there is also a stamp machine there that is working - oh I say about 80% of the time, they have post office boxes available (*A side note here - I noticed at the post office at Broad and Stenton in Philadelphia that the rates for the post office boxes have gone up!) and the usual array of post office stationary, etc that you can purchase!

A View From A Post Office

Actually what you are really seeing is a view from our local post office. That street that you see below is Penrose Avenue and if you are familiar with this view then you know that it is an uphill walk from there!

Actually it is quite a nice view except if you are afraid of heights!

A Job Opening For A Mailman

I was at our local post office yesterday and the was a notice on the front door announcing a job opening for a mailman. If you're interested here is the contact information for our local post office:

800 Ashbourne Rd,

Cheltenham, PA 19012

(215) 887-4551

You should also remember that the price of stamps go up on May 14th. The stamps will go up 2 cents from 39 cents to 41 cents. So while I was there I stocked up on some 2 cent stamps. As a matter of fact I advise you to get your stamps as soon as possible because I'm remembering the last time the price of stamps went up and I was at the post office (not our local post office but another one) and the place was packed! And to make matters worse they were out of the 2 cent stamps. ( wasn't going to waste my trip so I bought 3 cent stamps.)

But back to the job opening for a mailman......If you are interested in the job you can contact the post office at the number above.

I do remember one time when our regular mailman was on vacation and the replacement one had said how much he liked the route and how he would like to have it. I wonder where he is?

The Day After Christmas At Our Local Post Office...

There was no way around this. I had to go. I thought that if I went during the early afternoon that it wouldn't be crowded but it was. But you know what? As much as the people in line were grumbling the 2 postal workers that were there were trying to be as pleasant as possible.

This is a relatively new post office. The closest one before it was the post office that was located in the Cheltenham Mall near the movie theater. With this new post office it is within walking distance for me and I should be grateful that its here.

There may be times when you might be able to "quickly run in and do what you have to do" but don't count on it. And if you do manage to get there when there is no line, consider it a blessing!