Loyd provides helpful, friendly service to A2 post office customers

Newman from "Seinfeld," Cliff Clavin from "Cheers" and Henry Loyd from Ann Arbor - what do they all have in common? They are all exceptional United States postal workers ... well, except for Newman, who is always using his mail truck to run scams with Kramer.

Then there's Cliff Clavin, whose continuous drinking sometimes becomes more important than his job.

At least we in Ann Arbor still have Loyd, the real-life post office employee who loves his job and is appreciated by many.

EMILY NATHAN/Daily Henry Loyd always has a smile on his face to greet post office customers.

Loyd , who worked until last Friday at the Nickels Arcade post office and will soon move to the new South University post office, is probably best-known for the Hershey Kisses that he doles out on Valentine's Day. But at all times of the year, the friendly Loyd greets all his customers with a smile and tells them to "come by and see me again."

Loyd said he genuinely enjoys his job. "I play at the post office," he said. "Sometimes I have too much fun to consider it work."

Mark Fancher, a visiting clinical professor at the Law School, is a frequent customer at the Arcade office.

"I always feel extraordinary warmth here," he said while adressing an envelope at the office one morning this past week. "Henry is extremely helpful and friendly. He's patient with all the people.

"He's the best example of why the bad rap that post office workers get is a myth."

As Fancher pointed out, Loyd is a unique person. In addition to working in the Nickels Arcade post office, he also runs marathons. With more than 100 other postal employees from across America, he recently ran the Centennial Boston Marathon. All the runners were given special post office running uniforms, he said. He has been jogging for six years.

Loyd said he also is learning to speak Korean. Loyd has a friend in Ann Arbor who teaches him Korean while he helps his friend with English. His post office desk bears a sign with his name written in Korean, and Henry reminisced about how a woman from Korea once recognized his sign. He said that after a long conversation, the two realized that they were related.

Loyd has always lived in Ann Arbor and began delivering mail in high school. After serving two years in the army, he worked for McDonald's before taking a job with General Motors. Fifteen years ago, when General Motors laid him off, Loyd decided to return to the U.S. Postal Service. He worked his way up from servicing stamp machines to the desk day job that he now holds.

The post office in Nickels Arcade where Loyd has been working for so long is moving this week to a new location on South University. He said that he "hates to lose his customers over here," but he added that the post office needs a bigger location.

Students from another part of campus will now get the opportunity to meet Loyd in the new office. As Brian Sigler, an LSA senior, said, "(Loyd 's) by far the nicest guy ever."

If his new customers are as appreciative, Loyd should have no problem making new friends on South University Avenue.

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