Today I was in the queue at the post office. The good old reliable mail system has lost some luster lately because of the prevalence of email, so staffing is lighter than usual. In this particular case there was one employee on duty, and the line for customer service for this real human being was ten people long.
Four people had packages to send, two of which were pre-paid returns which needed no additional work on the clerk’s part, but he did suggest that they obtain a receipt just in case. They stayed on to do that.
This clerk managed to juggle one woman with a complex mailing issue (involving standing aside at the counter twice), two of the package senders and a lady who swore she had been in line for a half hour (he said it wasn’t quite that long, and I think it was more like ten). She noted that she didn’t want to be a bitch about the situation, but she had places to go and things to do. Perhaps she supposed that the other nine of us in line didn’t have anyplace to go. However, the gentleman behind the counter was cool under pressure, polite beyond reproach, and whittled down that line as if it were an everyday picnic. He mentioned to one customer who noted how calm he was that he had survived a childhood in Camden, college and a family with kids, so he obviously felt prepared for anything. It brought smiles to our faces.
I didn’t catch the fellow’s name tag completely (it was glare or his ultra-white shirt or something), but he was a breath of fresh air in customer service. I don’t know many post offices with staff that pleasant in the waning business hours of a Saturday.
I was there for stamps, and I don’t like to have mine dispensed from a grocery store cash register or an ATM, so I don’t mind the minor inconvenience when I have time to spare waiting in line. When my turn came I asked politely what small stamps were available, and I noted that he probably gets asked such questions fifty times a day? “Fifty?” he asked good-naturedly. I’m sure it’s more like two hundred.
So the post office does have nice people, and I felt it was beneficial to note that. Customers waiting in line, however, are often still as sour as ever.
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