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Postal math: Lower demand, shorter hours: Fredericksburg Post Office changes opening time; Stafford post office to close half-hour earlier starting...
(Free Lance-Star, The (Fredericksburg, VA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Feb. 18--The downtown Fredericksburg post office on Princess Anne Street is now opening an hour later Mondays through Fridays.
Surprised patrons peered into the locked counter service area yesterday morning at 8:30, the office's usual opening time.
The opening time changed last Wednesday, said Fran Sansone, a U.S. Postal Service spokeswoman. The post office hung signs alerting customers 30 days in advance, she said.
Fredericksburg's post office counter service will now open at 9:30 a.m. Mondays through Fridays. The closing time is the same: 5 p.m. Saturday hours will also stay in place: 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Individual post offices are reviewing customer demand and counter service hours to save money, Sansone said.
Americans are sending less mail.
The U.S. Postal Service had a 4.5 percent drop in mail volume during fiscal year 2008, Sansone said, and had a $2.8 billion operating loss.
The picture for the first quarter of fiscal 2009, October through December, was no better. The postal service had a net loss of $384 million, and mail volume was down 9.3 percent compared to the same three months in the previous year.
Customers can use a self-service kiosk in the Fredericksburg post office lobby whenever the service counter is not open.
Called an Automated Postal Center, it can be used to mail letters, send certified mail, and mail packages that fit within the dimensions of the drop slot, Sansone said.
More services are available online at usps.com. Customers can buy stamps, pay for mailing and arrange for free carrier pickup for priority mail, Sansone said.
"You don't have to get out of your 'jammies," she said.
A North Stafford post office at 2650 Jefferson Davis Highway will also change its hours starting Monday, March 2. That post office will start closing at 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays instead of 5:30 p.m.
All other hours remain the same in the Fredericksburg area, Sansone said.
The U.S. Postal Service also runs a contract postal center at a Chevron gas station, located at 1280 Jefferson Davis Highway in Stafford.
It offers the same services as any post office, but is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, as well as 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays, Sansone said.
To see more of The Free Lance-Star or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://fredericksburg.com/flshome.
Copyright (c) 2009, The Free Lance-Star, Fredericksburg, Va.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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