STAMPING OUT THE STAMP MACHINE
When Babbler's sister went to the Dripping post office recently, standing in line for a good bit like ya do, when the woman in front of her reached the postperson she said she just needed to buy one stamp and asked what had happened to the stamp vending machine? The postperson replied that it had been removed.
The woman bought her one stamp and left.
But Babbler's sister needed more answers. Why had they removed the stamp machine? Was it just the Dripping Springs stamp machine? All stamp machines? When her turn with the postperson arrived she asked, but answers were limited. As far as they knew all stamp machines had been removed in Austin as well.
Just Austin? All of Texas? How far did this thing go? And, where did all the stamp machines go?
In October 2006, the US Postal Service began an initiative to remove retail vending machines from all post offices and other retail locations around the country. In a nutshell, the USPS says that customers have been buying their stamps via other avenues and that fewer people every year have been using stamp vending machines. Per the USPS website, "some machines have as few as two customers a month". Further, they say, some of the machines are 20 years old and mechanical breakdowns are becoming more frequent. Replacement parts are scarce because they are no longer manufactured. In short, the vending machines are often more expensive to maintain than the value they provide.
So, there's the reason the stamp machine has vanished, but where did the Dripping stamp machine go? Where have all the stamp machines gone? A Babble friend asked today at the post office and was told "stamp machine heaven".
We made an initial attempt at calling the USPS today for answers, but our investigatory initiative was sidetracked by the lure of Flores chicken tacos with cheese and pico (the original Flores in the green and yellow shack). But, we'll be back on the case tomorrow. Do you know where the stamp machines have gone?
The woman bought her one stamp and left.
But Babbler's sister needed more answers. Why had they removed the stamp machine? Was it just the Dripping Springs stamp machine? All stamp machines? When her turn with the postperson arrived she asked, but answers were limited. As far as they knew all stamp machines had been removed in Austin as well.
Just Austin? All of Texas? How far did this thing go? And, where did all the stamp machines go?
In October 2006, the US Postal Service began an initiative to remove retail vending machines from all post offices and other retail locations around the country. In a nutshell, the USPS says that customers have been buying their stamps via other avenues and that fewer people every year have been using stamp vending machines. Per the USPS website, "some machines have as few as two customers a month". Further, they say, some of the machines are 20 years old and mechanical breakdowns are becoming more frequent. Replacement parts are scarce because they are no longer manufactured. In short, the vending machines are often more expensive to maintain than the value they provide.
So, there's the reason the stamp machine has vanished, but where did the Dripping stamp machine go? Where have all the stamp machines gone? A Babble friend asked today at the post office and was told "stamp machine heaven".
We made an initial attempt at calling the USPS today for answers, but our investigatory initiative was sidetracked by the lure of Flores chicken tacos with cheese and pico (the original Flores in the green and yellow shack). But, we'll be back on the case tomorrow. Do you know where the stamp machines have gone?
Posted by DSBabble.com at Monday, June 01, 2009 6:35 PM 
Categories: uncategorized
Tags: dripping springs stamp vending machine post office stamp machine
Categories: uncategorized
Tags: dripping springs stamp vending machine post office stamp machine
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