Saratoga News Photograph by George Sakkestad Saratoga Postmaster Rick Araujo says in the era of competition, customer service is a priority. Saratoga's new postmaster plans for improved service By Michelle Alaimo Long lines at the Village post office and late home delivery may soon be problems of the past. Saratoga has a new postmaster and come January, Rick Araujo plans to make some changes. Araujo became postmaster in October, and although he has only been here a short time--he won't officially be sworn in until after the holidays--he has already noticed areas that need improvement. One is the Village Post Office on Saratoga Avenue. The office is open from noon to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday with only one clerk. Athough the clerk does her best to get customers through quickly, Araujo said he sees the need to open the post office at 10 a.m. and to add a second person to help in the morning. Araujo says he already has the approval paperwork for the change but does not know the exact date when the new hours will take effect. In addition to the need for longer hours, Araujo said he has noticed a lot of late deliveries. "It's a mail distribution problem," Araujo said. He plans to get the mail to postal workers earlier so they can begin deliveries sooner. Araujo, who last worked as the window supervisor at the Santa Clara Main Post Office and as the officer-in-charge of both the Freedom and Hollister post offices, says he is looking forward to working in Saratoga. Twenty-two years ago, Araujo started with the United States Postal Service in Santa Clara after his mother, a window supervisor at the Saratoga post office, encouraged him to do so. Araujo says he has seen a lot of changes in the postal service over the years, one of the biggest being automation. Previously, letters were all sorted by hand, and a worker manually typed in each address. Araujo said that now a machine bar-codes everything and sorts it to its proper destination. Araujo has also seen the USPS become more business-oriented. "We have competition biting at our heels everywhere," Araujo said. "We used to have 100 percent of the parcel business, and now we have less than 20 percent." He adds that although competition is fierce, the USPS is working on getting its share back. Part of that, he says, is treating customers well. "The customers always come first," Araujo said. "You do what you can to please them." Sam Vasquez, whom Araujo replaced, is now the postmaster of the Cupertino post office. [ Back to Contents Page | Saratoga News Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Saratoga News, December 23, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.