With an eye for Christmas mysteries

the Christmas package Detective. Photo: Posten.no

With an eye for Christmas mysteries

The Postal offices’ Christmas detective loves her job, but needs help in order to make sure that as many packages as possible will reach the correct recipients during the hectic Yule tide.

 

For 14 years Åse Lerfald has helped recipients and senders of gifts from all over the country to solve riddles that may seem unsolvable: the Christmas detective takes care of packages that for one reason or other gets wayward in transit.

In very many cases, presents drop out of the packaging. Then, it is often  only the “to and from” that gives a clue to where the package is destined. Still, Åse and her aides have a solving rate of 90 per cent and more.

– I have many tricks up the sleeve to solve the riddles. After 14 years as a Christmas detective and 36 years as an employee of the Postal service, I’ve learned more than a trick or two. For example, we can search for first names and see who if we find someone with the name that lives at the same address. Unfortunately, we can not find “grandfather” and “grandmother” in that registry, says Åse Lerfald.

This year she gets good help from the Christmas detectives own website. Here the packet riddles are shown, and anybody can check for something they miss there.

– The most pleasant thing about this job is to call and tell that we have solved another riddle. Often they do not even know that their gift is lost in transit.

-The best phone call I have received this year, a lady I called the other day stated, she says.

She is going on holiday during Christmas, but will be back in action until January 12.

But even on Christmas Eve; Åse is to please others: she then works as a host during the Alternative Christmas event for Oslo’s street and drug environment.

How to help the Christmas detective

  • Use solid packaging for the presents. Preferred is the Norgespakke that you can buy at the Norwegian Postal Service
  • Verify that the address is correct. If in doubt, you can use the Address Search of the Postal Service or Gulesider.no
  • Add a note containing the address of both sender and recipient in the package

© Posten.no / Norway Today