Good response to Jamaica-US postal alliance
The recent alliance forged between the Postal Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ) and the United States (US) Postal Service, through its agent, SkyPostal, has received a good response from St Ann residents.
“The response has been good, we get a lot of people,” post mistress at the Ocho Rios post office, Jevon Gray, told the Observer. “In fact, since we started we haven’t skipped a day, every day somebody comes in.”
According to Gray, the service — which offers delivery of letters and other documents to the US within three-to-five days — will attract a lot of customers as word spreads of its availability. It has been on-stream in St Ann since last Tuesday.
“I have been asking for this service for a long time as people have been requesting it. It will do very well as it is a much-needed service,” Gray said.
The PCJ says the forging of the alliance was part of its sustained efforts to improve the quality of the postal products offered to the Jamaican public.
Under the agreement, Jamaica Post will be able to offer affordable options for businesses and customers to send mail and merchandise to the United States and Latin America. Jamaica Post will provide a reliable three-to-five day delivery of packages on weekdays. Customers who lease letterboxes from their local post offices will also be able to access the service on Saturdays.
This will also allow customers to track their mail online from the point of initial processing through to its final destination.
The new service forms part of the Government’s efforts to broaden the services offered by post offices and to improve on efficiency in the sector.
The rates for sending mail via SkyPostal start at US$8.50 for a small envelope, US$10 for a medium sized package, after which the cost will be determined by weight.
“This is something (customers) will appreciate as the cost is reasonable,” said Eileen Laing, post mistress at the St Ann’s Bay office.
She said she was pleased with the response, so far, as her customers have been using the service.
The introduction of SkyPostal follows last year’s introduction of a much-heralded local 24-hour priority mail service with rates starting from J$100.
Questioned as to whether mail was actually being delivered within the 24-hour time frame advertised, Gray said: “We haven’t been having any complaints.”
The Ocho Rios post office is reputed to be the leading mail office islandwide in terms of the variety of services offered. Listed among the services are Lotto ticket and phone card sales, bill payment, remittance, fax and photocopying services, along with sale of the Observer.
