Saturday, February 28, 2009

A Trip to the Post Office to Pay Bills

The post office is much more than a place for sending packages and letters. There is often a small store inside selling stationary, books, music and videos. It is also the main center for paying all sorts of bills. Many Italians prefer to pay their bills in cash, and the post office is the place to go. Yesterday I went to pay our electric bill and condominium fees.

I went to my favorite post office which is near the ancient pyramid of Cestius. This building was built in 1934 and designed my Adalberto Libera

Most bills look the same in Italy, be it the electric bill or the cable TV bill. Here are the bills I was paying.

The first thing to do when you enter the post office is to get a "number." Yellow machines distribute tickets specific to the purpose of your visit. I select "pagamenti" and receive number C256.


I look at the board and see that customer C226 is currently being helped. I wait for my number to appear with the number of the window for me.


My number is eventually announced and this man at window 12 took care of my bills.

1 comment:

Willym said...

Just wondering how long the wait was? And am absolutely astounded he didn't close the minute you got to his window! What happened to that good old PosteIalia concept of customer service?