Eight children sporting high-vis jackets and bright red cheeks enter the Murten branch on a hot summer morning, accompanied by two adults. They have walked for almost one hour from their school in Altavilla to Bahnhofstrasse in Murten. The children, aged six to nine (kindergarten to the 3rd class), look curiously around the branch, even in the “hidden” section. “Oh, I thought there would be loads of belt conveyors, but there aren’t any,” says Emilio in astonishment. The Head of Operations, Eva Bigler, and mail carrier, Daniela Messerli, are on hand to welcome the young group. During the following hour, the children are given a look behind the scenes.

They begin their visit with Daniela Messerli, who takes them to see the fleet of vehicles. At that time of day, just after 9 a.m., there is only one DXP electric scooter left in the car park as the other six scooters and three cars are already in use. Daniela explains: “We start work at about 6 a.m. and my colleagues set off on their rounds at 8 a.m. They only come back once everything has been delivered.” Sometimes, an extra trip is necessary. If someone has ordered a bicycle or a pram online, there normally isn’t enough space in the first car for such a large parcel.

Serving customers themselves

The children find the “inner life” of a yellow letter box fascinating. They are also impressed by the address compartments – they even find the compartment for their own school – but the post is already gone. The drying cabinet for the mail carriers’ work clothes is not running today, but it is switched on permanently on rainy days.

The girls are first to take a look behind the counter with Eva Bigler; they can even stamp the postage stamps and get to hold a genuine thousand-franc note. After observing for a while, Vivienne plucks up the courage to serve a customer herself. She checks an inpayment slip and swipes it through automatically. The children then affix a stamp to the letters they have written themselves to their favourite person or animal – Manuel’s letter is for his dog.

“So what did you enjoy most?”, Eva Bigler asks at the end of the hour long visit. The funniest answer comes from Johanna: “The string on the ceiling that you pull so that the connecting door opens by itself!” When asked who would like to work for Swiss Post when they grow up, almost all the children immediately put their hands up. And now it’s time for the highlight: there is a parcel waiting for the class in the My Post 24 parcel terminal. All the children can take the friends book home, along with lots of new impressions.

Branch visit for school classes

Swiss Post offers a range of unique experiences for classes ranging from kindergarten to secondary school. It is possible to visit a branch in agreement with the branch manager.