Finland's postal workers do double duty as grass cutters

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Finland’s postal service forayed into a new industry that will see mail carriers not only keeping letters in order, but lawns too.

From May to August, residents will be able to schedule grass cutting through the state owned company, Posti. There is a choice between 30 or 60 minutes, and prices range from $95 to $190 depending on the size of the lawn. Residents also have to provide the lawn mower. But the service is tax deductible.

The idea to get into gardening was suggested by employees of the company.

“Lawn mowing is the first home service that consumers can order from Posti,” director Anu Punola said in a statement. “We will pilot the service this summer throughout the country.”

Punola said that residents will take advantage of being able to order lawn maintenance if it is simple and easy.

“We believe many customers will be happy to outsource lawn mowing when we make it convenient for them to do so,” she said.

This is a new venture for Posti. The company has been looking for ways to keep revenues and workloads up after seeing a huge decline in volume. The Helsinki Times reported that deliveries have fallen significantly and that “delivery volumes now correspond to the level of the 1950′s”.

The scheduled grass cutting will be done on Tuesdays, the day of the week mail delivery is the lightest.