Routine Tasks Bring Diverse Cultures Together at Winnetka Shipping Store

Sarah Tran came to the Express Pack & Ship here to send 90 pounds of food to her son.

But while she was mailing the package, Tran couldn’t resist buying Lotto tickets and a used Canon camera priced at $65.

“It was a good deal,” the Palmdale woman said.

The sign out front may say Pack & Ship, but longtime customers know the store is also something of a trading post--and a crossroads of the Valley’s diverse cultures.

The compact store, situated in a shopping center on Winnetka Avenue at Keswick Street, attracts some 600 to 800 customers a day. Most drop by to fulfill the unexciting but essential tasks of modern life: paying utility bills, buying money orders, sending or picking up packages and getting documents notarized.

There are also ATM, copy, fax and Lotto machines for customers. And occasionally other stuff as well, like the camera--which store owner Rick “Doc” Young was selling for a friend.

“Everything we put in the store we sell. When you have traffic, you can sell anything,” said Young, 56, of Calabasas. “When you come in here you see it’s a happening place. People breed people and bring in new customers.”

Many of Young’s customers are working-class people who don’t have checking accounts, forcing them to pay their bills in cash or with money orders. Others simply come to send packages or check their private mailboxes.

It’s a fast-paced place where people getting along fine rub elbows with those just getting by, and where immigrants line up beside longtime Angelenos.

Blanca Mayorga came in last week clutching a stack of paperwork. The Reseda woman said she regularly uses the store’s fax machine to send bills for her husband, a welder, or documents to her native Bolivia.

Years ago, many utility companies and stores had places where you could pay bills in person. Today, few institutions offer walk-up payments--at least nearby, many customers complained.

Anna Campirano of Winnetka said she tired of dealing with banks and closed her checking account. Now she pays her bills here with cash or credit cards before heading to her insurance company job.

“It’s right on time for me and then I’m on my way,” Campirano said.

Others are just a little absent-minded. They forget to keep sufficient funds in their checking accounts and fear checks will bounce. Some don’t trust that their bills will get paid on time by mail.

Getting their mail promptly is a big deal for many customers evading long, slow lines at post offices. Bill Harrington said he likes not having to worry about missing package deliveries at home. The store provides customers with a street address, usually required for getting packages, and employees can sign for deliveries. Harrington also rents a private mailbox, to which he has 24-hour access.

“The post office closes at 6 and that’s it,” said Harrington, 46, of Canoga Park. “If you’re late from work, you can’t pick up your mail.”

Most customers wear the no-nonsense expressions of busy people with harried lives. One man left his engine running as he dashed inside for a Lotto ticket. Customers don’t talk to each other much, except to ask, “Are you in line?” Not lingering is probably best, as the store is often crammed with customers or packing merchandise--boxes, bubble wrap, bags of loose-fill foam pellets and even greeting cards. Key-making, customized business cards and passport photo services are also available.

Young said offering these myriad services is necessary to survive in a market with so many mail and packaging businesses. He opened his place 15 years ago, quitting his regional manager job with a cosmetics company. He was burned out--too much business travel and not enough time with his wife and two kids--when he decided to buy a Mail Boxes Etc. franchise.

Young and longtime friend and co-owner Sherry Dapron pooled $100,000, virtually all their savings, to buy a franchise. Four years ago the business went independent. The store has six employees, including the owners, and about $2 million in gross revenue moves through the store each month, Young said.

At the counter, Young comes across as a throwback to the apothecary, or perhaps a Latin American bodeguero (market owner), laid-back in polo shirt, denim shorts and sandals as he chats up customers and dispenses advice to solve their problems--quickly.

At a time of declining face-to-face service, if a customer here needs assistance carrying a heavy package, a worker will help. But bringing in more money is always a main priority.

While handling one packing order, Young reminded a fast-moving line of customers of an upcoming Lotto jackpot.

“Who wants to be the next millionaire?” he asked. “You got to be in to win, you know.”