Special to the Town Crier
The U.S. Postal Service will unveil its most modern approach to retail postal services Monday at Loyola Corners in Los Altos.
The new "postal store" is located at 1525 Miramonte Ave., formerly the site of Safeway Food and Drug.
Los Altos Postmaster Chuck Pruitt decided to wait until the "punch list" was completed on the building and all touch-up painting was finished before opening the doors of the new building.
"Our postal service is changing. When you walk into the lobby, you'll see a retail environment where customers can help themselves with mailing materials and browse for new products," Pruitt said. "We want people to shop in a warm relaxed atmosphere where they can put their hands on the product and take it to the counter for check out. All items are bar-coded for quick transactions."
Everything in the postal store, including products and materials, is new. A retail sales professional will direct customers to the services they desire.
The Loyola Corner's post office will be one of the first retail environment Postal Services on the Peninsula.
Recently, a post office in Brisbane successfully adopted the new concept. Pruitt said the retail postal concept was given its trial run at several locations in Chicago.
"Going into that first post office featuring a retail environment in Chicago was a shock to me because of all the available products," Pruitt said. "The variety is incredible."
The new Loyola Corner's post office has 782 post office boxes in four sizes available for rent. The boxes are located in the lobby, which will be open 24 hours a day.
Postal carriers have been working out of the new facility the past three weeks delivering mail on 94024 zip code routes.
Barbara Stryker, Los Altos post office station manager, said people living in zip code area 94024 should pick up parcels, and express and vacation mail at the new Loyola Corner's post office.