Wedding Blog
This weekend Mr. Fro Yo and I went to the post office to send out our save the dates. I finally had an opportunity to go to the post office, and I waited diligently in line with my bag of save the dates. Screaming children ran around, but I kept a smile on my face because this was a huge step in inviting our guests, and I was so excited. Finally it was my turn. I got to the counter and happily started taking out our save the dates and informed the postal worker that I would like to have these hand canceled.
The postal worker did not have a smile on her face and flatly told me that they don’t hand cancel.
I politely asked if it was just this post office, or if it was all post offices in Austin. She said it’s all of them, and then called the next person in line. Wow.
Now I don’t think that our save the dates will get damaged per se, but the picture magnet is on the side of the stamp in the envelope and I just didn’t want them to arrive damaged in any way.
It was such a disappointment! Did any of you have struggles with the post office during the wedding process?
|
Share this post: What? No Hand Cancel?
Maybe you can find a P.O. to do it in the suburbs? Ugh. what a pain though.
@Mrs. Mary Jane: I just let it go for the save the dates and heard that they made it to their destinations safely. Maybe that’s true, or maybe my guests are lying. Either way I’m going to have to figure out something else for the actual invitations.
That is a bit insane. I live in NJ and sent out my save the dates this past monday. I asked to hand cancel and they said SURE. The postal worker walked over to an empty window and handed me a lovely red cancel stamp. She told me to make sure I got part of the postage stamp in the cancel ink and then she walked away.
10 minutes later I handed her my invites and the stamp. What a bummer! I am so sorry to hear about your trouble.
i have never heard of hand stamping ever. here you are not going to be allowed to touch a hand stamp that is property of the postal service any ways. everything is done by a machine. i’m pretty sure most postal offices would rather use a machine then have to stand there hand stamping save the dates, or wedding invites cafeully for fear of getting yelled at that they are being to rough. know what i mean? they are just doing their job… sure it might not be the job we want but what can we do.
That’s so frustrating! I hope they don’t get smushed. 
@anvil_chick: most post offices will let you hand cancel yourself so that they can continue working with other customers. Apparently not mine.
i’ve heard that even if you do hand cancel, they will still go through some sort of machine either at the point of origin or at the destination. i highly doubt that the machine will ruin the magnets. the envelopes might not look too pretty, but who really pays attention to that?
We sent out some save the dates for an event we did at work a few months back that had real birthday candles inside that we didn’t want to break, so we had the PO hand stamp them. Strange that some will do it and some won’t.
I know post offices are very busy and I’m sure that can make it hard for the workers, but I have met some seriously grumpy postal workers. Some of them don’t seem to know what customer service is!
I’m so sorry you had such an unhappy experience…I have to say, mine was pretty disappointing too, as you enter the post office, you feel like those little pieces of papers are your babies, and you want to send them off with tender loving care, only to be stopped by a gruff postal worker that could care less! (Oh, yes, I know the feeling) - we ended up not hand-canceling (this was for our invites) and I sent one to myself to check quality/wear, and it was okay in the end. Whew!
Bummer! I had the same experience in Seattle…apparently none of the Post Offices here will hand cancel. I didn’t care about the STDs as much as the actual invites, but I didn’t hear about any being damaged. I would check some suburban or rural areas if you are really set on having the invitations hand canceled.
Woah…maybe it was THAT particular post office or maybe that employee!! I guess she was having a rough day…GEEZ!
Keep in mind there are 600,000 postal employees and some of them may be floating around on Weddingbee.
You may want to consider that for only .44 you can send a letter (or a wedding invitation) from one end of the country to another. What else can .44 get you these days?
The Postal Service has been closing offices, laying of long-time employees and cutting operating costs everywhere. Hand cancelling takes a lot of time and is not cost-effective. The employee who may have been a little gruff with you might just be more concerned about being laid-off or reducing waiting time in her office - I wouldn’t take it personally.
That’s not cool, especially after all of the work that everyone put into your STDs. I’d try to call and see if there is another post office that will hand cancel.
Argh, that stinks! I tried to visit less busy post offices during non-peak times, and was always allowed to hand cancel my envelopes myself.
Although frustrating, at least they didn’t watch you hand cancel all of your save the dates only to find out later that they put them through the nasty machine anyway. Hopefully you will have better luck with your invites 
When I mailed our save the dates I asked the lovely USPS employee for non-forever stamps. And she replied: “So, I guess your cards are too good for the forever stamp?” I was not amused.
As Michelle Tanner would say, “how rude!” I’m sure that they’ll arrive safe and sound, though.
@Muffet: I agree that it’s great that we can send letters for such a cheap rate, and I wasn’t personally offended. However, I was and am always going to be put off by bad customer service regardless of the business.
I sent magnets for my STDs too, and I have never even heard of hand canceling before you brought it up in this post! hehe. Everyone I talked to said they made it fine, so I wouldn’t worry too much Miss Fro Yo.
@FutureMrsKoontz: I know, it was just supposed to be a sort of practice run for the real invites.
I read all these stories on WeddingBee about eager brides being greeted by cheerful postal workers who happily either hand cancelled or allowed brides to hand cancel themselves…
I think those people do not live in New York City. I tried three different post offices. The first one rudely said to leave the box and someone would hand cancel them “later.” I checked with guests for our STD cards… nobody’s was hand cancelled and the outer envelopes were really unsightly upon arrival.
Bottom line - for what you pay for a stamp, don’t expect greatness from the postal service. If they get there, that’s a victory unto itself.
i called the main post office by me and they said they wouldn’t hand cancel my square post card STDs (even though I paid a $.20 extra because they were non-machinable anyway!). I ended up going to the post office on the same block as my house and asking the guy there really nicely. He said, sure, congrats! I was soo relieved! some of postcards just made it there (1 month out!)
I hate to sound dumb, but what is hand canceling? I am getting ready to mail out my STD in a couple weeks, and I have never heard of this. I have never mailed anything in bulk before either/
@tbk041710: hand cancelling allows you to cancel out the stamp by hand rather than running it through the machine. Sometimes the machines can damage the contents in the envelope. Granted, I was being overly paranoid, but for some invitations it can be important.
none of the ones i went to would do it either. i dont think it should matter that much.
Disclaimer: My FI is a Postal Carrier
According to ‘Postal Regulations’ they charged for Hand Canceling as an additional service called ‘certificate of mailing’ for an additional $1.15 per letter.
On occasion you will find a clerk who will either hand cancel them for you for free or give you the round date to do it yourself. It does not stop your letter from going through the sorting machines and getting scuffed up.
Just remember, you were there for a few minutes with that screaming child, obviously annoying enough to mention it. They deal with ill mannered children and rude customer 8 hours a day. I know that the clerks at our post office sometimes pick the less of to evils, one telling you that they don’t offer the service verses telling you that it will be $1.15 each, especially since they know that it isn’t going to stop your letter from getting any less damaged in the mail.
I just checked with my father (a very recently retired Postmaster - he was with the PO for nearly 30 years). He said all post offices will hand cancel upon request. All of the offices he was in charge of kept a round cancel stamp at each window. They have to hand cancel any large packages as they do not fit through the machine. So, the stamps are available.
I guess it really comes down to the clerk at the window. I know my father is one to personally go out of his way for people, but not everyone (especially some of his employees) shares that fine quality.
My local clerks are really friendly, so hopefully they’ll go for it. If not, I’ll have my dad make a few phone calls…don’t mess with a bride!!
I think they were lying to you. the people there just sounded lazy and wanted to just work on the line that inevitably develops at the post office, no matter how busy or how many employees are working.
Though, today i had one of my few good experiences at the PO! I got some Simpsons stamps. And they gave me a chocolate!
i’ve never heard of one doing that here, and i went to my post office and asked and they said no way not an option any where. :S
I live in Austin and that is not true!! I don’t know what part of town you live in but try the one on parmer between mopac and 35 for your wedding invited. It’s next to Palm Beach Tan. I can’t tell you how many time I have taken things there to be hand canceled and it’s never been a problem.
@Ally: Thank you so much! I didn’t think it was true. I’ll go there next time!
Oh I totally agree the PO was lying to you… all of them don’t WANT to do it for you, it’s not that they don’t do it. It’s added work to hand cancel, so its easier to say they don’t do it. I have heard of some brides dealing with this & offering to hand cancel the stamps themselves off to the side in the PO. If you want to have your invitation suite hand canceled, thats an option as well
@10.10.10 hand canceling letters as a service has been in postal regulations for many years, but most post offices didn’t follow it until last year when they had a stand up about it (my FI has been a carrier for 24 years :o) Since they are operating within a deficit this year, they are charging for a lot of things that they didn’t use to and following a lot of regulations that they used to just look the other way about.
@recessionistaBride: it is actually against postal regulations for a clerk to allow you to hand cancel your own mail. Despite that, there are clerks that will allow you to, but they aren’t lying!
Not all post office employees go out of there way to be rude or lazy. My FI and many of his co-workers are friends with their customers outside of work (a large amount of them send us holiday cards, we invite them & they attend gigs that he plays at, they ask about our pets and some even jokingly call him the ‘hot’ mailman :o) Good postal employees do exist. I know when I go to my local post office (almost everyday, but not were FI works) that I have good relations with the clerks and there are still some that squawk at me, but the majority of them are really nice and try to be accommodating. I always try to be nice and joke with them, since I have seen my fair share of customers who are rude to them :o)
I was so nervous about dropping mine in the mail at all that I didn’t do it - I sent FI with the stack in hand… I’m pretty sure he just dropped them off Luckily, they made it to their destinations undamaged!
My mom did at one post office, and went to a small one, where they let her. If first you don’t succeed!
I know in NYC I have seen that even if the letter is handcancelled, it may go through a machine since depending on where the final destination is, there are different sorting avenues that the letter goes through. I say dont stress over it. I have gotten many invitations that had the black line on the envelope but the actual invite inside is absolutely beautiful. I dont even think Im going to go through the trouble of hand canceling. Invitations are beautiful but at the end of the day most people just throw them away and keep the directional cards if necessary. Just smile and jump for joy that you got your save the dates out!!!
That really stinks. My aunt is a mail carrier, so I’ll ask her what she thinks about hand canceling. I’m really sorry she was so rude, though. I’m in customer service and deal with people 8 hours a day and for the most part, I think I do a good job of being nice!
So, out of curiosity, what’s the point of hand-canceling if the letter/StD/Invite will most likely go through a machine anyway?
Sorry that you had such a bad a experience! Like Mrs. Bruschetta, I try to go during non-peak hours - basically as soon as the post-office opens on Saturday or around 2:30 on weekdays, which is after the lunch rush & before the after-hours rush. I hope StDs & Invites turn out okay!
I live in Southlake—they actually handed me the stamper and told me I had to hand cancel them if I needed that done.
I said, “Sure!”
That is the only way it would get done.
So maybe you can ask to do it yourself!
I live in Phoenix and my request to have my std(s) hand cancelled was politely, but flatly declined. I hope all works out with your Std(s)..mine were not harmed at all.
My fiance made fun of me because I had to hand my invites to someone at the post office instead of putting them in the mailbox. 
Whatever….I know in my job that if you don’t follow through til the end….nothing goes right.
major sour puss! this is why people despise going to the post office.
I hope your STDs arrived safely. I don’t think it’s such a big deal to hand cancel since the machine is inevitable and even if people save the invite, the envelope goes right in the trash. Just make sure your envelopes are sturdy enough to support what’s inside and have a good attitude when you go to the post office and hope for the best.
Postal employees are often the butt of jokes about unhappy workers so maybe they don’t have the motivation to provide exceptional customer service when their jobs are no longer certain and people make fun of their profession. I’m pro post-office because there is no better alternative to international mail and even packages are cheaper with the USPS than its competitors. I would rather pay less and deal operate within their rules.
I was just too afraid to ask about it. Postal workers are kinda gruff. I have had one really nice one though.
All of the post offices that we went to offered hand canceling. I believe there is a limit of 50 hand canceled items per person per visit… so we took split them up and went multiple times. When we mailed our thank you cards, we handed the cards to the clerk and said, “we’ll like to get these hand canceled please. If it is ok, we can do the stamping while you take care of another customer. ” it was a win-win! she was happy that she didn’t have to do the stomping and it was quite fun for us to put all the finishing touches on our cards before sending them off
I’m late on this but … While hand-cancelling gives you some control over the appearance of the envelope, it won’t eliminate the potential of damage from a machine. USPS processes 700 million pieces of mail (including parcels) DAILY, there’s no way they could sort that volume without machines. I worked in a mail processing plant and almost every envelope goes through at least one sorting machine at least once. And even if only one item in a million gets lost or damaged, that’s still 700 a day!
Sorry you had a bad experience at the counter, though. Good for you for not taking it personally. Among other explanations, the clerk could have been misinformed or just doing what a misinformed manager told her.
What a liar! I had mine hand canceled in Austin! At the Hyde Park Post Office. In fact, the guy there let me do them myself, and he was totally nice about it!
So rude! We didn’t bother with hand canceling ours, but the postal worker who sold me my stamps totally didn’t tell me until after I’d swiped my debit card that he was having me buy $0.20 more than I needed for each STD! I said I wanted pretty ones, but not ones that cost that much more!
That was rude! but for what I read on the previous comment you can do it!! so yay!!
The same thing happened to me, the post office I was at didn’t hand cancel and I would’ve had to pay 20 extra cents that would have to go on the envelope (and they only needed one stamp and I didn’t want to add more postage) to get the post office that does to do it. So I gave up.
| Visit our sister sites | Project Wedding Wedding Songs |
eHarmony Advice Dating Advice |
JustMommies Pregnancy Calendar |
Fertile Thoughts Infertility Support |
Miss Frozen Yogurt, Dallas
Age and Occupation: 28, Special Projects Coordinator
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Equity Trader
Engagement Date: March 19, 2009
Wedding Date: April 2010
Venue: Marie Gabrielle, Dallas
About Me: I was born and raised in Texas, and have lived in several of the cities across the state, but I currently reside in Austin. I went to college in Boston and have a special place in my heart for the Northeast. I love reading, shopping, wine, reuniting with college friends that are scattered across the country, reality TV, trying out new recipes, and attempting all the DIY projects that come along with wedding planning. I'm a "bleeding heart, save the world type" and thankfully my job allows me to work on legislation and policy to help out those in need. I met Mr. Frozen Yogurt in a bar, though he doesn't even drink! And now we are planning a modern yet vintage wedding in Dallas while dealing with the trials and tribulations of first time homeownership.
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
| 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
| 29 | 30 |
Latest Gallery Pics