Warsaw Post Office customers are being educated on a machine that allows them to purchase stamps and mail packages and letters without the hassle of waiting in long lines.
The post office, 365 W. Market St., has had an Automated Postal Center since 2005, but many customers do not know it exists, according to Warsaw Postmaster Bill Belisle.
Belisle said the reasons he thinks the center has not been used more is because customers walk by it and don't realize it is there, or don't know its purpose.
The machine is in the post office lobby on the left-hand side as customers enter the main doors.
Belisle said the post office may not have the machine anymore if enough customers do not use it. He said that will impact customers who do use the machine. That is why he has worked with other post office employees for the past two weeks assisting customers with using the center and informing them the center exists.
"We are trying to let the public know they have an option to mail packages and purchase stamps after regular business hours," Belisle said.
Customers have access to the machine 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
He said customers can perform most of the mailing transactions using the center that are available at the post office's retail counter.
Customers can use the center to purchase stamps and mail packages, without a service fee, using a debit or credit card.
The center uses a touch screen system that allows customers to weigh packages, purchase insurance and select package contents.
Belisle said post offices in Fort Wayne, South Bend, Elkhart and Mishawaka also offer the center.
He said the center will be particularly helpful to customers when mailing packages during the holidays.
"People can use the center to mail packages during the holiday season and avoid long lines," Belisle said.
Postal Clerk Betty Lynch has assisted customers with the center for the past two weeks and said they have been responsive to the machine.
"We are finding that customers are excited about the option of mailing items day and night and many did not know about the center before," Lynch said.
Lynch helped Warsaw resident Sue Morris with purchasing stamps Wednesday afternoon using the center.
Morris said she has mailed items at the Warsaw Post Office before, but never noticed the automated center.
"It is helpful to have instructions on the screen when purchasing or mailing items and I think it is a convenient center," Morris said.
Customers can call Belisle at 574-267-7321 for more information about the center.
