CHICAGO, IL — Effective June 6, 2009, window service hours will be adjusted at 30 of 71 Chicago District postal retail locations.

“We have noticed changes in the way our customers use the Postal Service – especially the frequency of their visits to our retail counters at certain times of the day,” Chicago District Manager/Postmaster Gloria Tyson said. “A recent review of our retail operations showed we could increase efficiency by adjusting hours to best meet the needs of our customers.”

In most of the cases, the hours will be adjusted between one hour and two hours at the beginning and/or end of the day.

There are three locations where significantly reduced customer traffic made broader adjustments necessary:

• The Cardiss Collins Postal Store, 433 West Harrison St. will no longer maintain a 24-hour operation. Window services will close at midnight and reopen at 7:30 a.m., seven days a week. Customers will still have 24-hour access to their Post Office Boxes and a self-service Automated Postal Center, where customers can mail packages, buy stamps and conduct many other transactions with a credit or debit card.
• Finance Station U, 956 E 58th St., on the University of Chicago campus, will be closed for business on Saturdays.
• Haymarket Finance Station, 168 N Clinton will be closed for business on Saturdays.

“As always,” said Tyson, “postal customers have access to a complete array of postal services at www.usps.com. Customers can create shipping labels and pay for postage; find a ZIP Code, calculate postage; locate a post office; schedule free package pickup; track and confirm mail delivery; hold mail; change their address; find addressing information – all from their own computers. In fact, almost anything you can do at the Post Office, you can do online at usps.com.”

A complete list of the offices with adjusted retail hours is attached.

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An independent federal agency, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 149 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes, six days a week. It has 34,000 retail locations and relies on the sale of postage, products and services, not tax dollars, to pay for operating expenses. Named the Most Trusted Government Agency five consecutive years by the Ponemon Institute, the Postal Service has annual revenue of $75 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail.