Postal transformation comes to Stuttgart, brings convenience

By Brittany CarlsonJuly 1, 2010

Postal transformation comes to Stuttgart, brings convenience
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

STUTTGART, Germany -- Mail room patrons on Kelley Barracks can now check their mailbox and mail items at the same place: the Postal Service Center.

The Kelley PSC opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony June 14. Before the PSC opened, taking care of mail on Kelley used to require two stops: the post office, on the first floor of Building 3312, and community mail room on the second floor. Now the post office adjoins the CMR.

"Bringing all the services here makes it easier for families to take care of their postal needs expeditiously and get back to operations," said Col. Richard M. Pastore, U.S. Army Garrison Stuttgart commander, during the ceremony.

The Kelley PSC is the first of four scheduled to be opened in the garrison. The Patch Barracks PSC is set to open during 2012, and the Robinson Barracks and Panzer Kaserne PCSs are scheduled for 2014, according to Mark Karraker, USAG Stuttgart postmaster.

The PSCs will save customers time in several ways, Karraker said.

"A PSC is centrally located for customers, [and] hours are standardized," Karraker said. "A post office and a mail room - a lot of times they're in totally separate locations. That's a lot of travel for people. [A PSC] is more convenient."

Steven Carroll, a USAG Stuttgart postal employee for 21 years, likes the fact that customers will be able to return items more efficiently at the PSC.

"When you have something you want to return over at the CMR, [you] can come straight here to the post office and return it," he said.

The Kelley PSC has expanded the post office hours by one hour: it is now open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.

In addition, it features two customer windows instead of the former single window at the post office, with plans to open three windows during the Christmas season, Karraker added. He expects the future PSCs to have the same features.

"Customers will have to wait less in line," he said.

The Kelley Post Office normally handled about 30-40 customers during the lunchtime rush and around closing time, but they rarely had to wait longer than 10 minutes, and usually much less, Karraker said.

Now that the PSC is open, Karraker expects even less wait time for all.

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