To most people in America, the phrase "going postal" is all too familiar. Becoming "extremely and uncontrollably angry, possibly to the point of violence" is a common experience for many visitors to the typical post office. Why is that?
This is a great example of why that happens:
This scene comes from my local post office here in DC where fourteen of us were in line the other day. Mid-afternoon, fourteen people in line, and one person at the counter. Two other postal employees were in the back chatting - loud enough for those of us in line to hear.
Why didn't they come out and help?
Why have us wait in line for 34 minutes (my actual wait time that day) when the other two clerks could have assisted and collectively served everyone in line in about nine minutes?
Why?
Because according to new rules, my local branch has been racking up too much overtime helping customers. According to their "staffing assessments" they only need one person at the desk in the afternoon and the other two people need to work in the back.
Folks, at the end of the day you want your employees to act like they own the business. You want them to cherish and serve customers. You want them to provide customers with a great experience.
Takeaways:
1) Eliminate the "wait" wherever possible - show customers that you value their time as much (or even more) than your own.
2) Reward your employees for acting like owners - with money, praise, and any other positive reinforcement you can imagine.
3) When all else fails - try humor. I've come to know Joe (the postal worker in the photo) over the last few years and he has a great attitude - something that is rare in my lifetime of postal experiences. Joe did his best to apologize to people for the delay, using his friendly and playful banter to keep us entertained while we waited.
At least one employee in the U.S. Postal Service understands that the name of the organization is the Postal Service.
P.S. Two of the people ahead of me were visiting from Europe. When their friend apologized for the delay, one of them said "Don't worry - it's giving us the chance to experience the U.S. Postal Service." (seriously - I'm not making this up) If I were the U.S. Postmaster General, I would be embarrassed by that observation.
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