Passport in a hurry ... anybody tried it?

Oakland is an excellent post office, Robin, much, much better than the one in Franklin Lakes, for example. In fact, the Franklin Lakes post office offers passport services, but posts the hours of the Oakland office -- they know how good the Oakland office is.

I'm not sure why the postmaster has trained only one person in taking pictures -- but all the clerks are very well trained in checking the passport packages to be sure they are complete and acceptable to the folks up the line before they will accept them for mailing.

On your specifics, I'm pretty sure that the hours you quoted are the hours the photographer is on duty. But, all of the clerks will accept the application packages whenever the post office is open -- they are open every week night until 7:00 pm for example, and I remember mailing our passport applications -- separately as the Oakland clerk insisted -- at 6:30 one evening. I had picked up the application and the instructions at 4:30 that afternoon. The clerk even told me where the closest photographer could be found.

Frankly, I was surprised your post office didn't check the application and contents before accepting the package. The Oakland folks have a nicely prepared checklist that the postmaster put together, they pass it out with the application forms, and they use it to check contents before accepting the package for mailing.

One really general observation -- privatization of the post office has really improved service over the past several years. Now, if they could only do something about the Franklin Lakes post office.

Thanks for reporting on your experiences. It's always nice to hear how things turn out.

Regards, Bob

PS: if it sounds like a bit of hero worship for the Oakland post office going down, you would be absolutely right. I got a certified letter through the Franklin Lakes office today; 15 minutes with three clerks on duty and only two customers in the joint. The comparison between the two offices is unbelievable. B.

PPS: Oh, price. We paid $3.00 for two passport photos at the Staples store in Oakland. Don't know what the post office charges since they weren't taking pictures. B.

[Robin Garr]

Oakland is an excellent post office, Robin, much, much better than the one in Franklin Lakes, for example. In fact, the Franklin Lakes post office offers passport services, but posts the hours of the Oakland office -- they know how good the Oakland office is.

That sounds much better than I took from your original statement, Bob! It does seem to me, though, that a passport office that advertises regular hours should provide full services during those hours.

The guy at the St. Matthews (eastern Louisville) PO did check my application and pictures, by the way - the app was pretty much a no-brainer, since the Passport Service had filled in the PDF on the Website and given it to me to download and print out without changes - but both he and I assumed that the photo background (a very discreetly patterned wall treatment that was less than flat gray only upon very close examination) would have been okay.

I do have to say that the Passport Service outdid itself in handling that with a personal call that was both competent and cordial. My cynical side pictured my important papers lost in a heartless, brainless bureaucracy, but the reality was far better.

"It does seem to me, though, that a passport office that advertises regular hours should provide full services during those hours."

Fair criticism of your correspondent, Robin. And, in fact, you can get photos during all advertised hours. But, the post office is open for many more hours, and will accept passport apps whenever it's open, it just won't take pictures during those non-advertised hours.

I had wrongly assumed that if the post office was open, I should be able to get my photo taken. Unfair criticism, really -- they actually do more than advertised. But as they make clear on your link, there are other photo ops in the area. So no real problem with them.

Just me.