Avril sure delivers!

A Westmeath An Post worker has been honoured for going beyond the call of duty for a member of the public.

On June 11 Multyfarnham native Avril Orme, who was the acting Delivery Service Manager at Mullingar Delivery Service Unit, received a phonecall from An Post's customer service asking about a passport that had been misdirected there.

The owner of the passport was a woman from Waterford who was flying from Dublin airport in the early hours of the following morning.

The woman had no way of collecting her passport from the DSU in Mullingar as it would be closed by the time she would have travelled up from the south east.

Avril got the woman's number and spoke directly to her. Worried that she would not be able to go on holiday the woman was very upset and began crying. Avril reassured her, saying that she would make certain that she would have the passport in time.

After her day's work was over, big hearted Avril drove to Dublin and met the woman in the hotel that she was staying in prior to her early morning flight.

In recognition of her exceptional customer service, on November 1 Avril was one of a number of An Post employees honured at a gala event in the GPO. She received a Value in Practice (VIP) Award in the category Putting the Needs of the Customer First.

It's been an eventful few weeks for Avril. On October 1, she took up a new position as the Delivery Services Manager in Belturbet in Cavan.

Avril, like her father Eamonn who served as a postman for 47 years, joined An Post at an early age. A familiar and popular face around the wider Mullingar area, Avril says that she is looking for forward to the next chapter of her career.

“I will miss the people of Mullingar, it was home to me for a long time, I’m looking forward to my new challenge.

“I really enjoyed serving the customers of An Post In Westmeath especially my home village of Multyfarnham and I will miss this. I have made friends with so many and I will bring all my knowledge and experience that I’ve learned throughout the years to the next stage in An Post.

“My thanks to my family and close friends for their ongoing support without them I wouldn't of achieved this huge milestone.”