Post Office

I found out today another way we were spoiled in Germany. Our post office. We sent lots of packages while we were overseas, from Christmas presents to family to care packages to P. while he was in Iraq. They always had lots of packaging material available to us there. There were rules about what could and could not be on the boxes going through the Military Postal Service (MPS). The post office had a big roll of brown paper for us to use to wrap our boxes in. Customs Forms were always available, as were any other forms or envelopes we needed. The only things we had to get from the counter were boxes or anything else we had to pay for.

I went to the post office today to mail a couple of things. I had one thing in a package that I'm going to need to wrap before I mail it. So I walk in and start looking around for the roll of brown paper. Hmmm...there isn't one. After being confused for a minute, it hits me that this must have been one of those privileges we had because we were overseas. OK...I'll have to take it back another day after I get it wrapped. I finally find the Express Mail envelopes and get my other item ready to send. As I'm waiting in the very long line, several different people come in with packages going to deployed soldiers and are looking for Customs Forms because there are none with the rest of the forms. They were OUT of them! I guess folks were grabbing stacks of them and taking them home. Honestly, when my husband was deployed I tried to make sure I had a few at home at all times so that I could have them filled out and ready to go before I ever got to the post office. Makes it easier to itemize what's in the box that way, too. I think they had maybe about a half dozen forms left behind the counter. When one lady asked for a couple, she was asked by the postal employees if she had her packages with her. She did, and showed them. So I guess my post office is going to keep the Customs Forms behind the desk from now on and only give them to people who have their packages with them. I can see this causing frustration. First the customers are going to get frustrated because they have to ask for them every time instead of being able to grab one when they come in. I can also see the employees getting frustrated with being asked for them. The folks in this post office were rather snippy today anyway. Fortunately the man who helped me was pretty friendly. But if they're going to be making these folks ask for them instead of allowing them access to them, I sure hope they don't get all frustrated and impatient at how many times they're going to have to stop what they're doing long enough to get them one.