Real benefits of our model postal service

THE EDITOR: Residents must keep a rigid timetable of the due dates for all utility payments as mail is sometimes as many as two months late. For residents not to be disconnected they must go to the utility company and get a copy of the bill so they may avoid disconnection. Such tardiness in mail delivery has made our residents more aware of the dates when bills are payable.

One of my neighbours in his 70s was recently disconnected by T&TEC for non-payment. He told me he did not get the bill. I reminded him how hard the post office was working to make sure he was up to date with his bills. For this the residents of Bedassie Street, St Augustine south, most graciously thank the postal service for ensuring that we are on top our bills.

But I think we should be even more thankful for the exercise programme that the postman has set out for our residents. He has a novel manner to deliver mail. I call it novel, some might say future-thinking, lazy people may cuss, but we are thankful to this man who is thinking about our health.

Whenever the postman eventually comes, he delivers the core mail to some homes together with a number of incorrect mail (wrong address, wrong name etc). Then the residents must get busy redistributing mail to the correct addresses. Sometimes we get mail for another village. But we thank our postman for his foresight as the people do need the exercise, especially the old people.

We are also grateful to our postman, because through this frantic search to match people with their mail, we also get to know each other and find out where our neighbours live.

Our postman is also persistent and he insists that his customers get their exercise. Sometimes my wife wants to be lazy and would stick the letters on the mailbox with a note, “Not at this address,” but the postman would not pick it up. He would leave it there for the elements. My wife has on occasion taken the incorrect mail back to the post office. But guess what. Our hero, not to be outdone, dutifully brings back the incorrect mail to our mailbox. His persistence is admirable.

Whoever thought up this model for the post office, I declare today that it is working wonders for the residents of St Augustine south. This model should be copied by developed countries as it is a wonderful way to ensure that their citizens are never late with bill payments, are on a structured exercise programme, and, most of all, the citizens know each other.

SHAFFIAT HOSEIN, St Augustine