I only wanted a piece of tape!

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PenMan1

PenMan1

Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2009
Messages
6,380
Location
Eatonton, Georgia
This is not a "rant" because I don't think they really belong here. Today, I needed to send two pieces of express mail. I had run out of envelops. So, trying to be efficient, I went to the P.O. to collect more envelops and mail my two express pieces. I FORGOT to take my tape to affix the labels I printed at home to the envelopes that I didn't have.

I stood in the "considerable" line to get two pieces of tape ( which I would be happy to pay for) to attach my label.

As the clerk attached my labels, she challenged me about getting "commercial" postage rates for "private" mail.

She tried to "make a scene" and hold up the line while she publicly berated me for being a private person trying to use "a cheaper" commercial rate.

Rather than to hold up a growing line, I said that she was right and I would retrieve my envelops. NO! I had presented the packages and could not "take them back"

I began to get angry ( I don't really gey angry, I think the last time was in 1970, when I got my draft notice). I asked to see a supervisor. The supervisor "had left for the day and she was in charge"

I really believe her intent was to close the P.O. to all the other patrons patiently waiting behind me. Finally, knocked her hand off of my envelops and told her to "call whomever she needed to call, that I would be buying tape at the store next door"

I did go next door, buy the tape and put the envelopes in the express mail box outside. I did go back inside, because I had forgotten to pick up my extra express envelopes. This lone clerk was STILL harassing the guy who was directly behind me when I left some 15 minutes earlier.

Is this what we have become?
 
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We have the same person working at a Local post office----I don't go there very much. They opened a branch post office at a Christan Book store and I go there.
Funny thing ----those folks are always nice.
 
PenMan1 said:
He is Harvard trained and is always looking for work,
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Have you told him McDonalds are employing in his area?

"whats the first thing a Harvard Graduate says to you...... Do you want fries with that " :biggrin:

damn, I hope you have a sense of humour.........
 
I have a great postman he is alone during the day and runs the whole store by himself. he is great to deal with.............
 
I could go on and on about all the bad stuff that has happened to me lately. BUT, I choose to dwell on the positive! She just ruined my day for no real reason. When I left rather than fight, she turned her venom on the customer behind me.

Maybe she just needs a hug.....It would take really big arms to get all the way around her.....maybe that is the problem....Nobody showing her any love.

Thanks for listening!
 
We have a little tiny post office here that I like to go to. They are really nice, will help you fill out the poorly created forms for customs and the like. Now...if you go to one of the "main" branches all bets are off!
 
We had an exceptional postwoman here for the longest time (small town, about 1,200) but she recently retired. The new workers are not harsh to difficult to deal with, but just don't know my 'system' as well as the lady who retired. I count my blessings because I have dealt with frustrating situations before at the post office like yours.
 
Andy, you are probably right.... maybe she did need a hug! :wink:

I'm reminded of a hockey player last year ... I'm not really a hockey fan so bear with me... who got fined for a terrible display..cheap hit/fight ... I don't remember. There was NO excuse for it! However, it turns out he had just gotten word that day that his wife had cancer.
Certainly it's not right the way she treated you. Maybe, just maybe .... she has some other things going on and needed to take them out on you! :smile:
 
I call these folks "Domains". As long as they are in their domains, they have some power and they tend to wield it with cruelty and wonton abuse. You find these people in the tag office, local enforcement officers in the county office, and any other place that questioning their overbearing authority will get you nothing but more trouble. I chalk it up to Karma and Dogma...they will run into another "Domain" somewhere else and get their share of it...
 
I absolutely loathe going into a Houston post office and avoid using USPS like the plague. The bigger the city, the worse the customer service at the USPO.
 
Gosh I guess I'm luckey, we have two ladies that work the counter and our Postmaster who sometimes tries to stretch his wings of authority, but both of the ladies are great, and old Hal is most of the time. I'd hug either of the girls but I don't think Hal would want much more than a hand shake and a pat on the back. I think rude postal employees are the result of the many people they have to service through the day, some can be pretty dumb, I guess it's like any job you get good days and some days you want to beat the snot out of the next person that says Hi how are you...
 
We've got one guy locally whom is always glum. I make it a point to try to get a smile out of him. I've got about a 50% average so far. He finds it fascinating that I ship pens far and wide. His idea of a custom pen is wrapping tape around a bic to show that it is his.
 
there is two post offices in my city one is the main one and the other is the one for the smaller town that has pretty much merged with the city. The Main one expect a line that will take 30-45 minutes or longer just to send off something, not to mention the hostile feeling I get when I go there. The other one has four people working there and the line is 5 minutes on a bad day. They are always kind, curteous, helpful and funny. I bet you can guess which one I choose.
 
Funny, I live in a Big City and there are many post offices around town. I have never been harassed, even when the line is long. Everyone is always trying to do their best. I think that dealing with the public in such large numbers could make anyone cranky. The only people I see being out of control, in most places, are the people waiting in line. I sometimes want to say something to them as they are angry,rude, and downright nasty to the people behind the counter. I try to view waiting in line as an opportunity to do nothing, rest for a minute or just stand quietly. Certainly makes the wait easier.
 
If you have a late model cell like I have I would have stepped back and shot a video. Then sent it into the news. And maybe even your senator. Being you pay for them to serve you you should be entitled to shake their tree a little.

Some times a good kick in the rear can change the way things work.
 
PenMan1 said:
I began to get angry ( I don't really gey angry, I think the last time was in 1970, when I got my draft notice).
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Dang. For an old guy you still have a pretty good memory. You need to do your mailing chores over here in Mayberry..........I mean Social Circle. Nicest people you ever want to meet, and not one of them a grouch. Know em' all by first name.

BTW -- Got my draft notice in 69.
 
We have the same issue with grump workers in our town. I call them heros, because they always act like they are going out of their way to do you favor. Although, in my experience the employees of the big box retailer with the smiley faces is the worst offender.
 
Jacko said:
If you have a late model cell like I have I would have stepped back and shot a video. Then sent it into the news. And maybe even your senator. Being you pay for them to serve you you should be entitled to shake their tree a little.

Some times a good kick in the rear can change the way things work.
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The post office gets very little funding from tax dollars, actually no tax dollars are supposed to be used for the operating expenses. They do get tax dollars that subsidize the non profit mailers that get lower rates, and they get tax dollars for past pension and other related costs. Most Senators and members of the House of Representatives will blow smoke for you, but they might as well say there is nothing that they can do.

Your tax dollars help defray the cost of delivering your church newsletter, info from all non profits such as the Boy Scouts, Girl Scout, Planned Parenthood, Red Cross, and a million others, even the the local Chapters of Wiccans.
 
Size Matters

I dealt mostly with a small office with just the post master, one rural mail carrier and one Part time employee shared with another small office. The service was great. Now I get carrier pickup at my house and my wonderful carrier is a blessing. I do hate needing to go to the office though not because of rudeness but because there is always a line and they are sticklers for detail.
 
Bobalu said:
PenMan1 said:
I began to get angry ( I don't really gey angry, I think the last time was in 1970, when I got my draft notice).
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Dang. For an old guy you still have a pretty good memory. You need to do your mailing chores over here in Mayberry..........I mean Social Circle. Nicest people you ever want to meet, and not one of them a grouch. Know em' all by first name.

BTW -- Got my draft notice in 69.
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Bob: that's the problem. It really is Mayberry here too. Folks just don't act that way.
One guy even defended me. He said "He is a business...He's PenMan...everybody knows penman". I'd bet $100 he couldn't call my real name nor me his name, but we both know each other and what we do....it ain't no big town.

I did get a couple of calls in the last couple of days. Aparently, the clerks name is Estelle and she is off of her meds again. The grapevine works faster than the high speed Internet here.
 
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PenMan1 said:
I could go on and on about all the bad stuff that has happened to me lately. BUT, I choose to dwell on the positive! She just ruined my day for no real reason. When I left rather than fight, she turned her venom on the customer behind me.

Maybe she just needs a hug.....It would take really big arms to get all the way around her.....maybe that is the problem....Nobody showing her any love.

Thanks for listening!
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.....I politely ask the "rude person","I s there anything I can do to make you happy?". That is usual ally the last verbal exchange that is made.
 
While I have never experienced the level of rudeness you described at your Post Office, I have encountered, "less than helpful" personnel, especially in the Post Office over neat the Atlanta Airport. That said, the people working in the Post Office in the town I live in are great. Always pleasant and friendly, they know their jobs very well and they can really move people through the lines. It happens to be the same at the local auto tag office as well, which is not very common either. I guess we're just lucky here.

Jim Smith
 
Are local postal workers all seem very nice and helpful. That being said, I go far out of my way to avoid standing in that line. I would certainly go back home or to a local store to buy tape rather than wait in the line.
 
The post office has no exclusive on rude employees. They are everywhere. One time at Wally World, my wife & I tried to go through the self checkout. The scanner must have been really dirty, or just not working correctly. There was an employee nearby, but she didn't offer to help. After a few frustrating minutes of trying to check out, we gathered our stuff & went to a regular cashier. The employee who was by us in the self checkout came over & said I had forgotten something. Thinking I had forgotten an item, I went back over, but there was nothing there. I asked what I had forgotten, and she said I had forgotten to finish checking out. I told her that the scanner didn't work right, and it wouldn't let us cancel the process. She told me that I just wasn't patient enough with the scanner. I told her that since she saw us having problems that she should have helped us. She then told me it wasn't her job to check out people. If I wanted that service I should have gone to a regular checker to begin with. This was about a week before Christmas, and I just told her Merry Christmas & walked back to the regular checkout line.

I hope she got another broom for Christmas so she could fly twin engine. And I just wish I'd thought of that comment when I was talking to her. It would have been better than Merry Christmas. Why is it that we think of the best "Come Backs" 5 minutes later.:rolleyes:

AFWIW, my regular postman is as friendly as anyone I've ever met.
 
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