HEIDELBERG, Germany - It may very well be one of the best-kept secrets in the community, and it's one that's guaranteed to save you time and money the next time you pull up to the post office.
Clip-N-Ship is a program created by the United States Postal Service that allows customers to print out pre-paid shipping labels and prepare their own packages for shipping right at home.
Afterward, customers can drop their packages off at their local community mail room. By doing it themselves, users can save 3.5 percent in shipping costs and track their packages with free delivery confirmation.
"They don't have to wait in line, they can do it at home and come in and just speed through the process," said Ronald Joseph director of Human Resources, U.S. Army Garrison Baden-WAfA1/4rttemberg. "It also limits or minimizes the monetary transactions that the clerks have to do, which actually increases the accuracy of the cash count because there are less transactions."
Jennifer Coleman, U.S. Army Garrison Mannheim postmaster, said the benefits extend to both sides.
"When we are short of staff and customers do Click-N-Ship at home, the line is not so long, and we are able to accommodate our customers in a timely manner," she said.
However, Coleman did admit the response to the program in her community has been low.
"Well we haven't had any responses so far in the CMRs, and the CMRs are where we really want to target the customers, because when they're checking their mail, they can also mail their packages," Coleman said.
Undeterred, she said she and her staff are trying to spread the word about the Click-N-Ship program and educate their customers on the benefits.
Elsewhere, Heidelberg Postmaster James Williams said some of his customers are indeed using the program and the response has been positive.
"We've been using it quite a while here," he said, "and the majority of the customers like it. It's a time-saving system."
Williams said he and his staff have set up a Click-N-Ship station in their main post office in the shopping center, where customers can come in and use a designated computer if they don't have access to one at home.
He also admitted usage would probably increase if more people knew about the program. Williams said he and his postal staff are also trying to promote the program to the public, using flyers and word of mouth.
While the Click-N-Ship program itself is not new, the push to promote it in the USAG Baden-WAfA1/4rttemberg footprint is, according to Joseph.
"Well some people do use it, but the main thing is education," he said. "No one really knows or understands what it's about, and it's been out quite awhile. The average person just does not know ... I just really hope that people take the time to learn about it because they will save money, and they will save time."
Although the Click-N-Ship program is available to all Baden-WAfA1/4rttemberg communities, customers can only drop off their Click-N-Ship packages in Mannheim and Heidelberg CMRs, Joseph said.
Before any of their items can be shipped, all customers must take their Click-N-Ship packages to a postal clerk to be weighed a second time and to ensure all shipping paperwork, including customs forms, are complete and correct.
For more information on the Click-N-Ship program visit http://sss-web.usps.com/cns/landing.do or contact your local postal officials.
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