The Post Office. Everyone has been there, seen it, and passed by the friendly workers on their way to the Administration Building or while robbing the ATM for cash. So what really goes on behind that window?
The obvious scenario is the typical postal worker slipping envelopes in the slots behind the wall. In addition to delivering envelopes, the window where one buys stamps is also the “pick-up” window for packages. You know, the boxes grandma sends you full of cookies and goodies.
Many of us have been to that window for one thing or another. If you haven’t been there to buy a stamp, you’ve been there to pick up a package. There is a process of package delivery.
By Tiffany Gilbert,
Staff Writer
The Post Office. Everyone has been there, seen it, and passed by the friendly workers on their way to the Administration Building or while robbing the ATM for cash. So what really goes on behind that window?
The obvious scenario is the typical postal worker slipping envelopes in the slots behind the wall. In addition to delivering envelopes, the window where one buys stamps is also the “pick-up” window for packages. You know, the boxes grandma sends you full of cookies and goodies.
Many of us have been to that window for one thing or another. If you haven’t been there to buy a stamp, you’ve been there to pick up a package. There is a process of package delivery.
Rich Fundy, Seton Hill University’s (SHU), postal worker explained the process of delivery.
“First, the shipments from whatever company, (UPS, Fed Ex, etc.) are delivered to Seton Hill. We then sign for the packages and scan them into the computer system. That then generates a sticker on the box and another is sent to the individual’s postal box.”
Once the student receives the slip, they come to claim their package at the Post Office. It all seems plain and simple; however in every process there can be flaws. Sometimes, mail and packages get lost or sent elsewhere.
As if being a freshman and finding their way around, in addition to retrieving the correct books the first semester isn’t a hassle, try not receiving their books at all. Such an inconvenience occurred to Bethany Merryman, a freshman.
“During the first week of the semester, I ordered books from Amazon.com. My order was already delayed due to fault in the company’s delivery. So I was more annoyed when my books were delayed for another additional two weeks,” said Merryman.
Meanwhile, a mystery girl kept receiving a slip in her mailbox claiming she had a package.
“The package was listed under my name so the workers continuously told her there was nothing delivered for her. The slips hadn’t reached my box for another two weeks,” said Merryman.
Not only do packages get lost in the mail, letters do also. A freshman, Kali Sarver experienced getting mystery letters in the mail.
“I received two letters and a notice to claim a package, for a girl whose last name wasn’t even close to mine. So I continued taking her mail back,” Sarver said.
Workers sort through thousands of letters and packages a week in the Post Office. It’s not always a simple task to pinpoint a letter to a box number. Some people write sloppy addresses, and some addresses aren’t legible, leaving only a guess to lead the letter to it’s resting place in an anonymous box.
Some problems arise in mailing situations, and in Merryman’s case, it exposed a hiatus in her academics. At times, packages are too vital to get lost or misplaced, but if they are grandma’s pecan, raisin, coconut cookies, it may be okay if they are a few weeks late.
If you are expecting a package or letter in the mail and the sender claims they sent it, it may be lost or misplaced. If a student is unaware they are to receive mail, it is hard to track it for one doesn’t know about it. It’s all in the surprise of mail delivery.
“It’s best to just help others’ out. If you receive their mail, return it quickly; it may be important to them,” said Sarver.
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