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Brian Dietrich’s afternoon was simple: Get off work at 12:30, stop at the post office to submit his passport application, go home. When he arrived at the Snyder Retail Plaza at 58 Snyder Ave., Dietrich found he was the only customer, yet still faced a handwritten note taped to the door referring people seeking a passport to another location.
Entering the post office, he asked the two employees why he could not submit his application. The answer: "Call back tomorrow."
Dietrich left thinking they would be ready to accept his application the next morning.
Dietrich called — several mornings, in fact — each time with the same information: They were not able to accept his application that day.
A visit to the Penn’s Landing location at 622 S. Fourth St. a few days later yielded no passport, but came with a referral to the post office at 30th and Market streets — an inconvenient trip for the resident of the 2600 block of Mildred Street.
"30th Street is a pain," he said. "Just a bad place to try and find somewhere to park. I was a little aggravated I couldn’t get it done that day."
After two weeks of calls and visits to the two South Philly locations, Dietrich called the United States Postal Service complaint line.
"The complaint line said [the post offices] shouldn’t be putting up handwritten notes, they should be taking applications," he said. "They told me that if my passport had already been processed, they could help get it expedited. But the fact that no one could accept it, they were at a loss for what to do."
He took the materials to Cape May, N.J., while on vacation in June, where he was referred to the Rio Grande post office outside Wildwood. Dietrich said he was in and out, mission accomplished in 10 minutes.
"They didn’t refer me to a special window," he said. "She gladly took my passport application, took my checks and processed all my information."
According to United States Postal Service officials, the inability to accept passport applications at many locations is due to more than just overwhelming demand during peak travel seasons. The post offices also are understaffed and lacking certified staff.
To apply for a passport, applicants must bring the application; proof of U.S. citizenship, such as a birth certificate; proof of identity, like a driver’s license or state identification; two identical 2-by-2-inch photographs; and two payments — $30 for the execution fee and the application fee, which is $67 if 16 and older or $52 if younger than 16.
Post office employees who accept these applications must be certified, which means they are trained to read over the necessary paperwork and make sure the application is ready for processing. However, according to Ron Dellolis, supervisor for the Snyder Avenue and Penn’s Landing branches, even when these employees are on staff at specific locations, applications may not be accepted due to customer needs at the time.
Dellolis said it has been a combination of reasons as to why the Penn’s Landing site could not receive applications.
"We have one person on vacation and one just had surgery," he said last week. "We also just hired several new employees who have yet to be trained on accepting passports."
Because of this, it has been difficult for the locations to have enough certified workers to accommodate applications, he said.
To be certified to accept passport applications, postal employees must complete online, on-site training, Dellolis said. Upon completion of this two- to three-hour process, the certification is sent to the Philadelphia passport agency for approval. According to Dellolis, this would mean certification can be attained in as little as three hours of training and after a day of waiting on paperwork. But Dellolis said not all who work at locations that accept applications have been trained for such because staff shortages require them to be elsewhere, such as helping postal customers.
If a worker accepts the application, but isn’t certified and it is sent in, it is returned, slowing the process, Dellolis said. But even if employees are certified, hopeful applicants may still be turned away.
"Sometimes it entails quite a bit of time. You might [have] a family of five come in, all needing passports, so you start going through their applications then a customer comes in with big mailing, and they’re complaining because they want to conduct their business in a timely manner," he said. "New employees need to be trained, but at the same time, we have to staff the stations."
An employee at the Snyder Avenue location — where Dietrich’s quest began — said they were not able to accept applications because they were understaffed and advised anyone wanting to submit an application to call each morning to see if there was enough staff to accommodate requests.
The Snyder Avenue manager referred questions on understaffing to United States Postal Service Communications Specialist Donna Graham-Dilacqua. Graham-Dilacqua issued a statement explaining the relationship between the USPS and the Department of State to accept passport applications:
"Through this partnership, 65 percent of all passport applications received by the Department of State are accepted at post offices throughout the nation," she said. "The U.S. Department of State has projected that their applications will grow from 12 million to 17 million by 2008 due to the recent changes in the law.
"The impact of the increased demand has also been evident at postal acceptance locations. The postal service continues to develop our employees to meet the needs and the demands of the communities they serve."
To remedy the situation Dietrich — and possibly others — have faced, Graham-Dilacqua said Philadelphia Postmaster Judith Martin has agreed to look into the "isolated" incidents and divert resources to address passport issues in South Philly post offices. For further convenience, a passport fair is in the works to be held at the Snyder Retail Plaza branch at a to-be-determined date and time.
Dietrich may not benefit directly, but he’s happy others may not have to face the same struggle.
"I think it’s a good idea, not so much for myself, but for senior citizens. For them to go to 30th Street, there’s no parking up there, it’s right next to freeway, so this is good."
