It's almost the end of the month, and you know what that means. No, not setting back the clocks, that happens a week later this year. And I'm not talking about Halloween - this is even scarier. Yep - it's time to pay the bills. Get out the checkbook, fire up the calculator, and lay in a good supply of first class postage stamps. With all of the bills we have, it's a good thing Hillsborough has it's own convenient United States Post Office - right here on Amwell Road. Wait - did I say "convenient"? Maybe I should rephrase that.
It wasn't all that long ago that Hillsborough had no post office of it's own. Sure, we had the Flagtown Post Office within our borders, and the Belle Mead Post Office practically on the line between Hillsborough and Montgomery - but before 2001 there was no post office called "Hillsborough". In fact, Hillsborough residents couldn't even use the word "Hillsborough" in their mailing addresses. Depending on what part of town you lived in, your mailing address was either Belle Mead, or Flagtown, or Neshanic Station, or Somerville - no matter that three of those locales aren't even located within our town!
The effort to get our own post office took more than a decade, and it wasn't easy. The US Postal Service is an enormous, slow moving bureaucracy - it's a wonder and a credit to those involved that we were able to pull this off. Our own Hillsborough Township Post Office - 08844! - with a shiny new building, state of the art, and so convenient for residents.
There's that word again - convenient. Just how convenient is the Hillsborough Post Office? Sure, it's practically in the center of town, and that's great - if you can get there when it's open. Did you know that of Hillsborough and the three post offices it "replaced" - Somerville, Belle Mead, and Neshanic Station - Hillsborough has the shortest hours?
That's right. Hillsborough, with its 10AM to 5PM weekday schedule, and 9AM to 2PM Saturday schedule, is open just 40 hours per week. Compare this with Neshanic Station, open 45 hours, Somerville, open 59 1/2 hours, and Belle Mead, open a whopping 62 1/2 hours each week. Even Flagtown, where area residents continue to get their mail, is open 52 1/2 hours!
Early riser? Drive to Skillman - open each day at 7AM, 50 hours a week. Want to stop by after work? Go to Raritan - open weeknights until 7 PM, 57 hours a week, or Manville - also open until 7 PM, 53 1/2 hours a week.
Are there any post offices with shorter hours than Hillsborough's? Of course! Take the long drive down Great Road deep into Montgomery, behind the general store - you've seen it, the tiny old Blawenburg Post Office, open 45 minutes less each week than the shiny new state of the art Hillsborough facility! And then there's East Millstone. They close each day for two hours at lunch time - and still manage to operate 32 1/2 hours a week. Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned that, I don't want the Hillsborough Postmaster to get any crazy ideas!
Getting the Hillsborough Post Office was enormously important for Hillsborough's identity. Nothing says "you've arrived" like a return address label with your actual real life locale printed right on it. But we need more than just a symbol. We deserve a well-staffed post office, open early, open late, and truly convenient for residents. Hillsborough is a first class town - we deserve nothing less from our post office.
OMG!! I thought it was just me. I have come to deem my time in line at the Hillsborough Post office as my time in HELL!
ReplyDeleteWhile I think that the sheer size of Hillsborough should automatically REQUIRE that it has its own Post Office, I think a little more care should have been taken in determining its size, entranceways and appreciative design. IT’S ALL wrong! From the teller placement to the P.O. Boxes to the entrance and exits.
It’s just too much going on at the exit with the cars going in and coming out and trying to get over to the BANK OF AMERICA strip mall area. Few people adhere to the fading arrows that indicate one should go ONE WAY. It’s pandemonium at its worst, especially during the holidays.
The fact that they took down the clock in the post office should serve as notice that they KNOW how long it takes to process envelopes and packages. It’s a known fact (and I am from NYC and I know) that some of the P O workers (in the office that is) work their hours and not a minute more. If they are there for a set of hours thy pace themselves accordingly.
Granted the people TRY to be nice and most are, but there are some that have an attitude that they “share” with the clients when it is their time to go on a break. Case in point. Once when the line was literally out the door, a woman closed her window. A patron asked her how she could do that when there was such a long line and the woman told her that she would be right back, She never returned and I was there for more than 25 minutes.
On the other hand, while it is a little longer trip, I go Flagtown when I can. It’s a one person operation and although IO haven’t gotten a smile lately, it is the MOST efficient and friendliest Post Office in this area.
I have tried to voice my concerns to the P O general however, that got me nowhere. I guess we just have to deal.