Post Office Looking to Reduce Hours

Bryan Ingraham works at the Crystal Spring Post Office.
Bryan Ingraham works at the Crystal Spring Post Office.

A South Roanoke community focal point is on the verge of decreasing operating hours.

Bryan Ingraham, an employee at the Crystal Spring Post Office, said earlier this week that the Roanoke Postmaster is proposing cutting operating hours and employees. This in spite of the fact that another postal employee at the location reported that the branch generates the highest revenue per employee in the valley.

“We have one full-time and one part-time employee but now they’re proposing just one full-time employee,” Ingraham said. “The post office would open an hour later, close for lunch, and close a half an hour earlier. That’s a real inconvenience to a lot of our customers, since they come in on their lunch hour.” He notes that the decreases have not yet taken place, and encourages patrons to speak up.

“In the past they tried to close this post office a couple of times, and it was the neighborhood voice that stopped it,” he said.

Crystal Spring is just one of numerous post offices facing decreased operating funds across the country, as the Federal institution struggles to find its way forward amidst increased competition from the likes of United Parcel Service and Federal Express and the loss of revenue caused by technologies such as e-mail.

The Postal Service lost $2.8 billion in 2008 and slashed $2 billion in expenses last year. A call to the Roanoke Postmaster’s office was unreturned at deadline for this issue.

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