Two post office shops. Prepped and weighed the packages at home, on a new scale. One was 1 lb, 2 oz, the other close to 2 pounds.
Get to the first post office. The clerk offered me first class only. "But it's too heavy, isn't it?" No, it's only 12 oz.
Good grief. "Oh, I'm sorry, that's not the package I was supposed to mail. I hope the other one is in my car." Dash out to car, retrieve 2nd package. Mail it, successfully, using Priority Mail.
Go back to the car, open a small slit in box #1, and stuff everything into the box I can find in my car -- business cards, roll of lifesavers, my keys (all duplicates, of course), a roll of tums -- everything in my car except actual trash. Go back in and ask the very nice clerk if she would be kind enough to weigh the package and tell me how much it will cost to mail.
OMG! 15.6 ounces.
Well, have 45 miles to drive to the second post office, and I know I'm driving right by a Dollar General. Go in and
grab stuff, anything that's a dollar and weighs an ounce.
These rural post office close at 4:30, so I'm running out of time. Stuff two ounces of stuff into the box, off to post office number 2.
Frazzled, I asked the clerk if I had to buy more tape, or if she was allowed to tape up the box for me (I made the slit to stuff things in, remember? ) She was SO NICE! She happily retaped the box for me.
She asks the Hazmat question. Anything liquid? Well, yeah -- what the dollar store had that was 1 ounce and $1 was a personal size hand sanitizer.
Damn my big mouth! I told the clerk about the sanitizer. Nope,can't go priority, only retail ground.
If I was frazzled when I entered the post office, my vocabulary doesn't extend to describe how stunned I was.
Good grief, Holy Cow, honest to goodness! "I'm so sorry, I just won't mail this," and I grabbed the box back and left.
E-mailed the scheduler. And to all who have "been there, done that", yes, I drove back the next day (200 mile round trip, after working all morning!) and mailed the package -- after removing the hand sanitizer.
On the way into the post office the 2nd day, I noticed a large banner prominently posted in the lobby. I've shopped this post office for at least 10 years, and never noticed it before. It proclaimed this post office had won the Customer Service award, the number one store in a 7-state area. I did ask the clerk about it. She said, "Yes, back when we were mystery shopped, we won that. But I guess they ran out of money for that program, or just don't care any more."
Guess I wasn't outed.
And I left the post office chuckling, and still chuckle when I think of it. So the 200 mile drive wasn't a total loss!
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/19/2022 06:33AM by ceasesmith.