10-02-2007, 10:26 AM
I use One Stop Mail Shop. It's the place in Pahoa next to Serius Coffee that "looks empty"...but it's not! Kevin just re-arranged the furniture a few weeks ago & you can't see his desk from the street 
I called Kevin 3 weeks *before* I left the mainland & he gave me a box (aka a Hawaii address) over the phone! It made things SO much easier to have a Hawaii mailing address before I moved... I could get a new 808 cell phone number with Cingular while still in California, transfer my Credit Card billing addys ahead of time & send parcel post boxes to myself early so that they arrived right after I got here.
I've been thrilled with every aspect of having my box with Kevin and there's never a line at One Stop.... a big plus once you've stood in line at the Pahoa office on a hot day!
Some really important high notes with One Stop:
* they have boxes available *now*.
* they're in Pahoa, which is close to HPP.
* you get a real street address, not a PO Box number, so all online retailers will deliver your goodies.
* you can autopay every month with a credit card if you want to.
* Kevin is holding my mail for me while I am on the mainland for 3 weeks. The last time I was at the Pahoa post office, the postmaster chided a customer because they didn't have someone pick up their mail while they were gone, or put a 'vacation hold' on their mail.
* Kevin called me once to let me know my packages had arrived (which I had been checking for every day)
* I've called Kevin on a few occassions to see if an important package had arrived. Saved me a trip into Pahoa!
* I've received UPS, Fedex, USPS priority mail and USPS insured at One Stop. Kevin is there to sign for your packages! He also *sends* UPS, Fedex and USPS Priority mail. yay!
* Kevin always offers to help me carry big boxes out to my car - what a treat!
* I can send and receive faxes at One Stop too.
* did I mention NO LINES?
* I've called Kevin to ask if my housemate could pick up my mail for me that day - no problem!
* Kevin knows all of his customers by name and always greets you with Aloha and a smile.
I'm not knocking the Pahoa Post Office. They're doing their job, by the USPS rules & they have always been patient, helpful and nice. I'm sure they'd be just as helpful if time allowed, but they just have too many customers to do so.
But, even if I could get a box at the post office, I 'd still go with One Stop. Kevin's probably blushing by now
-Erin
I called Kevin 3 weeks *before* I left the mainland & he gave me a box (aka a Hawaii address) over the phone! It made things SO much easier to have a Hawaii mailing address before I moved... I could get a new 808 cell phone number with Cingular while still in California, transfer my Credit Card billing addys ahead of time & send parcel post boxes to myself early so that they arrived right after I got here.
I've been thrilled with every aspect of having my box with Kevin and there's never a line at One Stop.... a big plus once you've stood in line at the Pahoa office on a hot day!
Some really important high notes with One Stop:
* they have boxes available *now*.
* they're in Pahoa, which is close to HPP.
* you get a real street address, not a PO Box number, so all online retailers will deliver your goodies.
* you can autopay every month with a credit card if you want to.
* Kevin is holding my mail for me while I am on the mainland for 3 weeks. The last time I was at the Pahoa post office, the postmaster chided a customer because they didn't have someone pick up their mail while they were gone, or put a 'vacation hold' on their mail.
* Kevin called me once to let me know my packages had arrived (which I had been checking for every day)
* I've called Kevin on a few occassions to see if an important package had arrived. Saved me a trip into Pahoa!
* I've received UPS, Fedex, USPS priority mail and USPS insured at One Stop. Kevin is there to sign for your packages! He also *sends* UPS, Fedex and USPS Priority mail. yay!
* Kevin always offers to help me carry big boxes out to my car - what a treat!
* I can send and receive faxes at One Stop too.
* did I mention NO LINES?
* I've called Kevin to ask if my housemate could pick up my mail for me that day - no problem!
* Kevin knows all of his customers by name and always greets you with Aloha and a smile.
I'm not knocking the Pahoa Post Office. They're doing their job, by the USPS rules & they have always been patient, helpful and nice. I'm sure they'd be just as helpful if time allowed, but they just have too many customers to do so.
But, even if I could get a box at the post office, I 'd still go with One Stop. Kevin's probably blushing by now
-Erin
* I'd rather fail at happiness than succeed at misery *