I had planned some great posts for you the last couple of days, none of which have been published due to an unfortunate experience with the post office! Like many Philly brides, I wanted to take advantage of the fact that our city is home to the nation’s first post office. As such, mail sent from this location carries a way cool stamp of the signature of the country’s first post-master-general, Benjamin Franklin. For everyday mail, I wouldn’t make the trip, but for our wedding invitations, I was willing to haul the invites over to Third & Market Sts. It’s once in a lifetime, after all, and I love the special touch it will add to our invites.
Anywhoo, friends MLF and Jimmy Contreras worked with me until the wee hours on Sat. night to get them done, so I could get them over to the B. Free Franklin Post Office on Monday. I admit, I was running a little behind because I had to readdress the Greek section of the envelopes, but checked the website and confirmed they were open until 5pm. I arrived well before closing time at 3:15pm with my box in hand and, with a bit of excitement, waited my turn. Imagine then, how freaking irritated I was when the clerk behind the counter looked at me with incredulity and said, “Oh, you’re too late for that. We don’t do that after 3pm.”
Me: “Huh?”
Her: “That has to go on the truck. That has to be stamped by hand and sent to the next location.”
Me: “Really?”
Her: “Yeah, because their invitations and they need to go out right away.”
Me: “I can’t just leave them here for the truck that comes tomorrow?”
Her: “No, You can come back tomorrow …. if you want; 9 to 3.”
I left, super pissed off, half because I had to go back again the next day, half because the woman had such an attitude about it! There is a nicer way to treat people lady. Frankly, if it were a real business, I would have expected an apology! I steamed as I walked back down Market St.
Was she for real with that “it has to go out same day” stuff? Unless it’s Sunday, shouldn’t it all go out the same day? It’s It’s a post office! That is the sole purpose of its existence; to freakin send mail! Or at the very least, knowing that thousands of brides come through there with their wedding invitations every year, maybe they could put it on their website? I suppose that kind of clarity is asking too much from our government. 
SPF