US Post Office

*3.5 stars*
Come to this post office in December only if you’re a sadomasochist. Consider yourself warned!
Here’s why:
— Only a fraction of the seemingly many parking spaces are open to customers. On any given Saturday before the holidays, it will seem that at least ¼ of Bethesda has business at this post office. And that’s far more cars than parking spaces.
— Once you manage to actually snag a precious parking spot, you’ll get out and walk toward the building, only to realize that the line of customers is snaking out the door.
— If you have the patience to stand in the line, once you get into the post office, you’ll think, «Isn’t Bethesda was a rather populous place… why in the hell do they have this tiny dump of a post office?» (Bethesda has several post offices, and this happens to be the dumpiest.)
— Then, as you notice that the customers in front of you are loaded down with 100 oddly-​sized Xmas cards, and packages that need to be mailed to Dubai, Tokyo, Paris and Berlin (don’t forget the customs form!), you’ll start to feel the walls closing in on you.
The places redeeming factors:
— The clerks are okay. Not too friendly, but not too surly either.
— Longer hours than many other posts offices. Currently until 4pm on Saturdays, and until 7pm on weekdays. I think that in December they sometimes even have Sunday hours.