Mail Service in USA

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Mail service in the United States can be expensive and sometimes slow, especially in the large cities where millions of pieces of mail are handled daily. Deliveries are normally made only once a day to private homes, twice a day to offices.

For ordinary mail within the United States, you should have a supply of the required stamps plus a supply of air letter forms, or airgrams as they are called, for letters outside the United States. If you purchase a large supply in advance, you can avoid standing in line at the post office each time you want to mail a letter. Except fro airgrams, which do not require stamps, put a stamp on your letter and drop it in the nearest red and blue mail box, which can be found on many street corners in many locations in the town or city. If you go to a post office in a large city, remember that it will be most crowded during lunch time or late in the afternoon when people are leaving work. Post offices remain open during lunch, but most are closed on Saturday and Sunday.

If you want to be sure that an important letter has been received, send it "Registered, with Return Receipt Requested". This must be done at a post office and there is an extra charge for the service. Most personal mail is sent "first class". Other classes of mail are used to send newspapers and magazines and are less expensive than "first class," but are likely to take longer for delivery. If you are interested in anything besides the usual "first class" mail, ask at the post office for "Special Delivery" (delivered by hand and quite expensive) or rates on mailing "In Bulk" for heavy packages and books. There are many special rules for mailing packages regarding size and how they are packed. You should ask at the post office(by telephone if you like) before you wrap a package for mailing outside the United States, so that you do not arrive at the post office with your package and learn that you have wrapped it improperly.

Telephones

The United States is a "telephone land". Almost every one uses the telephone to arrange social engagements, visit with friends, conduct business and obtain all kinds of information. It is the chief method for sending and receiving information in the United States. some visitors hesitate to use telephone much at first, either because it is unfamiliar, because they think it is expensive(as it is in many countries), or because they fear they will be interrupting the person they call from more important business. In fact, local telephone calls are only 10 cents at public phones and less expensive still in private homes, many of which are charged a monthly rate for an unlimited number of local calls. Within normal hours---after 9:00 A.M. and before 9:00 P.M.---people are accustomed to the telephone ringing and most likely will not be interrupted. You need never worry about calling a business office for information, nor will you find businesses closed at lunch time. If the person you are calling is out of the office, leave a message with his or her secretary.