Hi All,  It's time for me to chime in with my nickel's worth of
information.  I say a nickel instead of two cents because I use USPS
Media Mail _six days a week.  I also purchase Delivery Confirmation
service on all parcels valued at less than $125.00 and insurance
on all parcels valued at over $125.00.

All my parcels are securely taped and in _new_ boxes.  They are also
well packed.  (As I have explained in a previous posting, voids in
a parcel lead to damage.)  The tape I use is the nylon filament type,
2" wide.

My label is printed on a printer.  It's never hand-written.  All of
the addresses are clear and bold.  In other words, the parcel looks
and feels professionally packed and addressed.  I even go so far as
to cover the address label with clear tape so there is no chance of
it getting damaged if it gets wet.

It's been nearly three years since I started using Media Mail to
send rolls to customers and every parcel has arrived undamaged and
in a timely manner.

Here's my point, and I've been told this by postal employees.
They take as much care of your package as you take before you bring
it to them.  While that doesn't seem fair at all, it is by no means
unreasonable.  In more simple English, if you don't care, why should
they care?

When you're at the post office everyday and you know all the clerks
on every shift by their first name, you have a choice.  You can be
just another customer, or you can become a friend.  I choose to be
their friend, and as such, they confide in me like they would any
other friend.  And, once you learn what goes on behind the scenes,
it's much easier to 'conform' to standards that meet their (the post
office's) liking.

You also learn little 'tricks' that make doing business with them
more pleasant, like having all your paperwork in order and ready to
go _before_ you reach the clerk.  (They really dislike people who
aren't ready, and who waste the clerks time filling out this or that
form at the counter.)

So, take it from a 'Postal Pro'.  Life at the post office can be
a pleasant experience every time you walk in.  It's all about what
_you_ do before you get there!.

Musically,
John A Tuttle
Player-Care.com
Brick, New Jersey, USA  (Now I'm off to the Post Office.)