The Post Office

Going to the post office here to mail a letter is nothing like the States. In the States, you go in, get your postage, have a nice chat with the mail person, pay & leave without much hassle. Here, it's not so much the same.

The Post Offices here handle much more than mail. You can purchase crappy souvenir cups, toys, mail items & purchase other tangible items. You can also pay for your car taxes there. I was told that the post offices in the UK are different than the US but I didn't expect this. While standing in line, I thought these were the only items that were sold. The line is horrible. The PO is small & hot. As I get closer to the register, I see there are 3 available check out clerks. All of them are behind thick glass with the pass through slots at the bottom on the counter (like the ticket booths). Each station has a scale on the outside to weigh the mail. There was an older gentleman in front of me in to mail a letter. I was watching what he does so when I got to the register, I would have some resemblance of I knew what I was doing because at that moment I felt lost. The man purchased a stamp & was getting ready to leave when the clerk asked him if he was going on holiday this year. The man said he was going to Egypt for 2 weeks. LET THE SALES PITCH BEGIN!! It was like being trapped at a time share presentation in Mexico when they say it will only take 2 hours...2 Mexico hours! The Clerk was trying to sell this man travel insurance. (Over here, you pretty much want insurance for everything so you can CYA whenever possible.) The man kept telling the clerk that he has insurance and doesn't need his. The clerk kept hammering him that the Post Office has the cheapest rates. When the man won the insurance battle, the clerk was then asking him about using credit cards abroad saying the Post Office gives you better rates than your credit card and we don't charge you fees. I wanted to step in to save this old man. He doesn't have time for this. None of us do. We just want to mail our crap and leave.

The old man finally got his way and got out of there without purchasing anything other than his postage. I was so lucky but to get the same clerk the old man had. Of course, I have my American accent so I knew I was screwed when stepping up to the window. I told the clerk I had no clue what I was doing and he helped me. He was actually nice. After I paid I thought to myself, I am actually getting out of here without a sales pitch. Why did I have to think that? The clerk then asks me if I call the States. I wanted to say no but I know he wouldn't of believed me. I said yes. He then went into some tangent about calling cards. I told him I had everything covered when calling home. He then went on to tell me that the Post Office offers home phone service and I could get unlimited free calls all weekend to the States. The first thought was the Post Office sells home phone service! I was taken aback by that. I told him I have it handled and just left at that point. I dread the next visit to the Post Office. I will have to go on a Saturday morning so Aaron can experience this debacle.