Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 4, 1995                   TAG: 9501040091
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: KIMBERLY N. MARTIN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

THE 3-PENNY NIGHTMARE

"The lines are never long here," said Hudson, who picked the downtown Roanoke branch for its usually speedy service. But Tuesday she spent about 15 minutes waiting in a line that stretched out the cramped office's door.

"It's been like this across the city," said the U.S. Postal Service's Roanoke customer relations coordinator, Mary Rose Patton. "It's probably worse than the night before tax day,"

And the rush wasn't unique to Roanoke. On the first business day since the rate for first-class mail went up 3 cents, customers nationwide clogged offices to buy 3-cent makeup stamps and the new 32-cent "G series" stamp.

In Charleston, W.Va., the main distribution center sold 60,000 3-cent stamps in four hours Tuesday, and in Rochester, N.Y., customers spent hours in line to purchase stamps.

The traffic surge took the Postal Service by surprise.

"Normally when we have a rate increase, it doesn't create this much of a traffic jam, but because of the holiday, people probably put off [buying stamps]," Patton said.

The stamps have been on sale since Dec. 13.

Patton encourages customers to use vending machines.

But that method isn't always foolproof; "empty" signs flashed at vending machines across the nation.

Roanoke's Melrose station got caught in a lurch this afternoon, when it ran out of the 3-cent makeup stamps. But help wasn't far away.

Roanoke's postal headquarters, which has a supply of about 6million 32-cent stamps and 3.5million makeup stamps, quickly came to the rescue.

"We've got plenty at the main station, and all of the stations have been restocked," Patton said.

Some information for this story came from The Associated Press.