Poplar Bluff’s post office has changed the open hours of its lobby area, where patrons can check their post office boxes.
Previously, the lobby was open around the clock, seven days a week, but going forward its hours will be limited to when staff is on hand.
“What we’ve done is open it as early in the mornings as we can, at 5 a.m., but we do have to close it up at 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday,” said USPS Strategic Communication representative Mark Inglett in Kansas City.
“We’ll keep it closed Sundays and holidays because there will be no employees there to monitor things,” Inglett added.
The change was brought about by an increasing amount of vandalism and problems in the lobby, Inglett said.
“It’s definitely a safety precaution for folks,” Inglett said. “We’ve had some homeless people sleeping in the lobby and some issues that brought danger up by our customers coming in.”
The problems, Inglett said, have been “lingering for a while,” so the decision had to be made.
“Unfortunately, there’s folks down on their luck and things like that, but we’ve got to think of the safety of everybody else as far as coming to check their PO boxes,” he said.
The changes, Inglett said, while not unique to Poplar Bluff’s facility, are effective immediately.