Alert Associate Helps Bust Fraud Attempt

Nashua, NH -- Retail Associate Nancy Carver called Loris, SC, Postmaster Bobbie Green about a customer who had mailed an Express Mail shipment containing $5,000 in postal money orders to Green's office. Nancy was suspicious of the transaction. She thought her customer might be the target of a mail fraud scam. 

Green contacted Postal Inspectors, who investigated the incident and confirmed the customer was indeed a potential scam victim. Inspectors successfully recovered the postal money orders and returned them to the customer.

A Satisfying Deal

Kevin Flanagan and Jon Ford

Kevin Flanagan and Jon Ford

   

    Kevin Flanagan and Jon Ford

SALEM, NH – Seeing a steady stream of customers on the very day an advertising piece hits mailboxes is a small business owner’s dream.

When Jon Ford opened Devanti's Roast Beef & Pizzeria in May 2011, he tried traditional advertising to promote his new business: Val-Paks, weekly circulars, and newspapers, but had little success.

Then, Salem Letter Carrier Kevin Flanagan introduced Ford to Every Door Direct Mail. After seeing impressive results with his first mailings of 10,000 menus using the new program, Ford placed a second order for 25,000 more.

 When asked what he likes best about Every Door Direct Mail, Ford says, “price, ease of use and the ability to target specific routes.” Flanagan relates that Ford received a call from a customer who had received the menu inquiring about the exact location of the pizzeria. “Jon explained to him that it was right next door to Planet Fitness,” he said. “The customer said laughingly that he works out at that gym three times a week and never noticed Devanti's was in the same plaza!”

“This is a great example of how well Every Door Direct Mail can work for any small business on a limited budget,” said Salem Postmaster Heidi Stewart, who helped facilitate the sale. 

"Above and Beyond"

When Atkinson, NH, Sales and Service Associate Nancy Connors took a call from a customer who was looking for an important Priority Mail package he'd ordered, she did what she normally does and got down to tracking down the mailing.

She made numerous phone calls and kept in contact with her customer to reassure him that she was actively engaged in finding where it was. Her tenacity paid off and she succeeded in locating the package. Ultimately, she made arrangements to get it delivered to him that very day.
In small town Atkinson, Nancy not only knew her customer but understood he was very ill. The package contained important medication, and getting it to him timely was not only therapeutic for the body, but for his soul as well.

Sadly, her customer died later that week. In a personal, handwritten letter to Postmaster Ed Maciejewski, the customer's widow said of her husband, "He was never able to thank Nancy in person, but he wanted to. We will always be grateful for her diligence and kindness."

Postmaster Ed Maciejewski calls Connors "a one-in-a-million employee. She is always going above and beyond."

Walpole, NH, Rural Carrier Commended

When Walpole, NH, Rural Carrier Richard Parkhurst observed that his 88-year-old customer's mail had not been picked up, he dismounted his vehicle to investigate. He knocked on the door and heard the customer yell for him to break down the door because he had suffered a bad fall. 

Parkhurst called 911 and waited for EMTs and local police to arrive. They determined that the customer was severely dehydrated from being immobile for three days. The carrier's actions allowed the octogenarian to be treated at a local hospital. Afterwards, the latter's family expressed deep appreciation for helping their uncle receive medical care.

Parkhurst received a commendation from the rural carriers' union and a personal letter of thanks from PMG Pat Donahoe.