THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, September 11, 1996 TAG: 9609110058
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: LAWRENCE MADDRY
LENGTH: 74 lines
ABOUT 20 YEARS ago, my friend Jim Boren rode a horse carrying saddlebags of mail from Philadelphia to Washington.
Before leaving Philadelphia, he deposited duplicate mail in a post office drop box bearing stamps and Washington addresses.
He beat the regular delivery by several days. Jim spurred his horse to the steps of the U.S. Capitol with his saddlebag mail and declared:
``Give me that old time delivery. It's good enough for me!''
I was glad Jim didn't accompany me to the open house at the Postal Store Jolliff Station in Chesapeake last week.
He'd have fainted flat out, because the U.S. Postal Service seems to be paying more attention to its customers these days.
The Postal Store at 4300 Portsmouth Boulevard is exhibit A. Located in Chesapeake Center shopping mall, it's the first one in Hampton Roads. The Postal Stores are the result of a number of surveys conducted for the U..S. Postal Service.
The surveys showed that the public didn't like to wait in long lines to get things like a single postage stamp while folks ahead of them were mailing six or eight packages to Pakistan.
Surprise . . . surprise!
And customers saw no reason why they were always given stamps they didn't like. That happened because customers had no idea what stamps were in stock, because postal employees had stuffed them into their drawers (I'm talking about sliding drawers here - not underwear - although I don't discount the Fruit of the Looms in some instances.)
The surveys also showed that shopping at Sears was like a visit to Disney World compared to a trip to the neighborhood post office. Patrons found most post offices so dull that most said they'd have fallen asleep in line if it hadn't been for the exciting FBI ``wanted'' posters on the wall.
So what we have at the Jolliff Postal Store is something very different, a place with a pleasing, streamlined appearance that's well lighted (the ceiling looks like it was borrowed from a trendy disco parlor.)
And it is a real store in the sense that YOU CAN ACTUALLY WALK IN AND FIND WHAT YOU WANT ON DISPLAY AND TAKE IT TO A CLERK AND GET OUT OF THERE IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS! AMAZING! WHAT WILL THEY THINK OF NEXT!!
All types and sizes of envelopes, mailers, sheets of stamps, boxes, bubble wrap - almost anything you need is neatly displayed on the wall. Everything is bar coded so that if someone tries to slip a sheet of stamps with famous newspaper columnists on them out the door without paying, an alarm goes off and they are arrested. For poor taste, I imagine.
There's a full-service counter in the rear of the store that handles packages, bulk mailing, stuff like that. So whatever you want they've got you covered.
And they do have interesting stamps on display. I bought a sheet of 15 bright and beautiful Georgia O'Keefe stamps that are reproductions of her vivid ``Red Poppy,'' painted in 1927. They are the perfect stamp for people who love flowers or art or, perhaps, stumble and weave around the waterfront while smoking opium from a pipe.
James Dean is on a new stamp, part of the Postal Service's Legends of Hollywood series. The store has collectible items not normally seen in post offices. For instance, you can buy a Stampfolio in the store that has a poster of the defiant actor with four stamps affixed. Near the lobby door, a life-size likeness of Dean greeted customers.
The patrons were so overwhelmed by the modern appearance of the place that each wore a puzzled expression upon entering.
``It's so different that most of our customers take a few minutes to get used to it,'' said Vernice Pettaway, the store manager.
Hervey Trimyer, the U.S. Postal Service coordinator for customer relations in Norfolk and Chesapeake, said there are about 200 postal stores nationwide. One is planned for Princess Anne Station in Virginia Beach, he said. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
V.W. VAUGHAN
Hervey Trimyear heads the Postal Store's customer relations. by CNB