Still waiting for a Christmas parcel to arrive?
The busiest time of the year for the local post office is the festive season with Christmas cards, online orders and presents all passing through the postmaster's hands.
No doubt it is an incredibly hectic time, but some Canberrans have put forward ideas which they think would make the post office a whole lot merrier.
Stamp vending machines, self-serve kiosks, more parcel lockers, play areas and a ticket system were some of the ideas slated.
The results came from a survey of more than 200 people in the Fenner electorate who were asked about how they used the post office.
The survey found locations, wait times, opening hours, pick-up arrangements and the number and availability of parcel lockers were among the top concerns.
"The opening hours should be longer than the normal 9am-5pm as it's hard to get to the post office by 5pm after work," one response said.
"A quick stamp only line or a machine that could issue stamps rather than waiting 20-30 minutes in the queue for people paying bills and getting passports. Or allow stamps and express envelopes to be sold at places other than the post office," another said.
The survey, conducted by Member for Fenner Andrew Leigh, found within the electorate most respondents accessed the post office by driving.
Those in the suburbs of Casey and Nicholls had the highest proportion of drivers at 97 and 98 per cent, respectively. The two suburbs were also the furthest from post offices with residents, on average, travelling two suburbs to access one.
The survey also analysed post office usage by age group.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the age group that most used the post office were those aged over 65 and those who used it the least were those aged between 26-35.
But all age groups, on average, said they used the post office slightly less than they used to.
Mr Leigh said he encouraged Canberrans to continue to share their ideas for improvement.
"This time of the year shows just how important the local post office can be, with many of us having sent off Christmas cards and eagerly waited for parcels to arrive," he said.
