Conversations

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 500.

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The Post Office is a great service industry in Britain and one of the biggest employers in Europe. It employs about one in sixty of all work­ers in this country (17,000 staff). It's made up for four large busines­ses — Posts, Telecommunications, Giro, and Data Processing Services.

The post office gives the services which customers require. Its main task is to deliver mail: newspapers, magazines, telegrams, parcels. Here you can also buy envelopes, stamps, postcards, pay communal services. At a post office you can have some services similar to those available in banks known as the 'National Savings Bank'.

You can find a post office in every town and city, but there are nu­merous sub post offices in suburbs and in smaller places. Sub post offi­ces are smaller and are often part of a general store, but they offer all the usual services.

Now let us pay a visit to a local post office. There are many windows with a notice in big letters showing the operation handled. The first one is marked 'Parcel Post', the next one is 'Money Orders'. Then there's one marked 'Post Restante' (Am. — 'General Delivery'). Going down the line you will see: 'Stamps', 'Post Cards', 'Stamped Envelopes', 'Regi­stered Letters', 'Air Mail'. In some conspicuous places you will find a board with the postal rates. This will give you information about how many stamps are needed for inland and foreign letters, that is how much postage must be paid on those letters. Then somewhere near the en-

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trance you will see a notice giving the hours of delivery. The window marked 'Parcel Post' handles all parcels or packages. Don't forget to insure your parcel if you've got something really valuable in it. This costs to buy a trifle, but makes delivery double sure. The larger post office even maintains a wrapping and packing service.

If you want to send printed matter (newspapers, magazines, books) you'll have to go to the window marked 'Book Post'.

The 'Post Restante' window keeps mail until it is called for.

The post office maintains this service for those who prefer to pick up their mail in person.

If you are in a hurry to post a letter and have no stamps at the mo­ment, that does not keep you from sending it. Just mark it 'Collect' and the addressee pays the postage due.

When sending a letter of particular value you should have it regis­tered (with or without declared value). The advantage of this service is that registered letters are not left with the ordinary mail in the letter box, they are delivered personally (the addressee has to sign for them). The sender is given a receipt at the post office so he can always trace a letter. Of course, there will be a special charge.

The 'Money Orders' window needs almost no explanation. You may send money orders by mail or by telegram and whatever you do, don't lose the receipt.

1. — How much is the postage on a picture postcard?

— Are you sending it in the United States?

— Yes, I am.

— It's fifteen cents.

2. — I want to send a letter to my aunt in Miami, Florida. What's the

ZIP code?

— Don't know. Here's the directory.

— Thank you. Here it is. The ZIP code is 33143.

3. — I want to send a money order to my cousin in Mexico.

— What's his name?

— It's Luise Gonzalez.

— How much do you want to send?

— Two hundred dollars.

— OK, there's a fee of a dollar ten. It's $201.10.

— Fine. Here's the cash.

— Thank you. Sign here, please.

4. — Could you tell me how much this parcel to Germany is?

— I'll have to check / look up / make sure. Is there anything else?

— Yes. Haifa dozen air mail labels and a roll of twenty-five cent stamps. I may also need a large registered envelope soon.

— That'll be 8.95 in all.

— Thank you. Here it is. Could you give me a 2 p. piece in the change, please. I want to make a phone call.

Some people are waiting in line at the post office in a small town of in Tennessee. The first one wants to pick up his mail.

5. Clerk: Next, please.

Richard: Hi! They told me over at the Morningside post office that I could pick up my mail here. Do you have the General De­livery letters?

Clerk: Yes, we do. Can you show me some ID?

Richard: Yeah, I think I have something with my picture on it ... Here's my driver's license.

Clerk: Richard Stephens ... Okay, Richard, just a minute ... Well, you hit it lucky today — three letters for you!

Richard: All right, thanks a lot!

Next. Hi! I want to mail this box of books to Japan. It's okay if it's sealed, isn't it?

Sure. But there's an eleven pound weight limit, and that box looks pretty big.

Oh, it weighs less than eleven pounds. Okay. You want it to go surface, I take it? Let's see ... yup, ten pounds even. Wait a minute! This isn't labelled right. What's wrong with it? Where's the return address? On the other side.

The sender's address has to go here in the upper left hand corner, and, look here — you forgot your zip code. Okay. I'll write it in. The other package here has to go to Lyons as soon as possible. Where's that?

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Janet: In southern France.

Clerk: Well, express is the fastest to Europe, but it's very expen­sive. Airmail's bad enough, even for small packets, but that's over two pounds, so it'll have to go as a parcel, and that costs a lot more.

Janet: It's over two pounds, I know ... How long does airmail take?

Clerk: Oh, about a week or ten days.

Janet: Yeah, that's okay ... I'll send it airmail after all. I'd like it registered and insured for $50.

Clerk: Okay, fill out this form, then.

7. Counter clerk: Yes?

Customer: I'd like to send a telegram, please.

Counter clerk: Inland or overseas?

Customer: Overseas.

Counter clerk: Can you write the address and the message on this

form, please? Customer: How much is it to Italy, please? Counter clerk: It's 70p, plus 11 p a word. Customer: 70p, plus 11 p a word. Counter clerk: That's right. Customer: Thank you.

8. Consuela Rodriguez: Good morning. I'd like to send this package to

Mexico.
Clerk: I'll need you to fill in a customs form, please.

Consuela Rodriguez: Sure. Business papers-no. Contents in detail,

um, sweater. Yes, it's a gift. Value-um, fifty

dollars ... weight-oh, I don't know the weight.
Clerk: Put it on the scale.

Consuela Rodriguez: There you go.
Clerk: OK, that's one pound, two ounces.

Consuela Rodriguez: Really? How much is that in kilograms?
Clerk: Oh, about half a kilo. Now is this surface mail

or air mail?
Consuela Rodriguez: Air mail, please.
Clerk: That's going to be $ 13.72.

Consuela Rodriguez: Thank you.
Clerk: Out of twenty. That's five ... six dollars and

twenty-eight cents change.

Consuela Rodriguez: When do you think it'll get to Mexico?
Clerk: There's no guarantee, ma'am, but I guess the

day after tomorrow. Consuela Rodriguez: Thanks.

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