The long way from Mürren to Murzelen (Swiss Press Text 2011, by Steiner Jürg Müller Philippe) - Swiss Press Award

Berner Zeitung, Ressort ZEITPUNKT

Steiner Jürg Müller Philippe

Where does public service end and luxury begin? This report, which follows a letter from Mürren in the Bernese Oberland to Murzelen near Bern, highlights the tensions Swiss Post faces today. On the one hand, there is the pressure to cut costs because the post office has to compete with growing competition in a largely liberalized market. On the other, there is the spoiled population that takes it for granted that a letter will be delivered on time and does not accept it when the post office in their own village is closed or the mail is not delivered until the afternoon. This report gets up close and personal with the people who hide behind the abstract postal apparatus and who, day after day, ensure that the impressive logistics system in the Bern region functions perfectly - be it the post office manager in Mürren, the truck driver, or the postman in Murzelen.