Memphis Post Office Caters To Hispanics
It's Memphis' first bilingual mail center

U.S. Postal officials are hoping a new bilingual post office here will make life easier for Spanish-speaking residents and speed up waits.

Memphis' first bilingual post office -- a contract unit with Nationwide Insurance -- opened Monday in Hickory Hill.

The post office, at 3546 Hickory Hill, shares a building with a Nationwide insurance agency and a Spanish-speaking consulting service.

The office is staffed with nine Hispanic agents, some of who've recently gone through U.S. Post Office training, said Nationwide agent and owner Larry Crum Sr.

Crum said postal officials saw a need for a bilingual office in that community, which has many Hispanic residents. Communication problems between workers and Hispanic customers were causing long waits.

This is the first bilingual contract post office in the Southern region of the country, Crum said.

"We're trying this as a prototype," he said. "We're really excited about it. I really think it's good for the Hispanic people."

The new post office, which will be under strict guidelines, will function like any other. Customers can buy stamps, mail letters, registered or overnight, and send international and domestic packages.

"Many people are from Mexico and constantly send things back," Crum said.

They won't be able to issue money orders, he said. And they won't process passport applications, but will accept them and get them to the right office.