Customer Service: Silent Call for Help

When you think of going to the Post Office, you usually assume there will be a pretty long line, especially in a college town. Yesterday when I went to the Post Office, there wasn't anything unusual-there was a long line almost to the door when I arrived. One thing that was different, however, was that there was a sole man working the desk, immediately after lunchtime.

You could tell he was pretty exhausted, overwhelmed and tired. I've been to this post office before and he's been smiling, friendly and content with his job. Today, I'm pretty sure he would have rather been anywhere other than his job.

The people in line were anxious, frustrated and wanted to leave, but because they had to mail something, they had no choice but to wait. If the long line and single worker wasn't enough, there was a man in line who needed a passport, which the worker had to service.

The passport involved a significant amount of time as people grumbled, tried to leave and started to raise their voices. Even after the passport customer was serviced, the line continued to drag on at a slow pace.

All of a sudden, the postal worker brought out customer service cards. It seemed like a frantic move, his only way to bypass the frustration he knew he was up against in line. I call this his silent call for help.

He gave each slip to the customers in line with eyes like a sad puppy dog. For those customers who were clearly and loudly outraged, he told them quietly, "call this number and tell them what you think, give them a piece of your mind".

You could blame this on staffing, budget cuts or management...and all of that would be pretty fair to take an aim at. However, I see two major problems that some may overlook.

1)Customer Service Cards should ALWAYS be out! These aren't designed as a cop-out when things are going wrong, I'm sure companies want to hear about things going right more often anyway. Companies shouldn't be afraid to pass out customer service cards abundantly, after all, it's going to only help them grow.

2)Even if the time, type and circumstances of work are overwhelming, somethings are simply out of control and you always have the power to decide how you are going to act when treating a customer and facilitating your job duties. I remember working extremely long shifts at the front desk of a resort on a holiday weekend where the check-in line seemed endless and you would pray a room would be ready when the next guest came to you. Some days are harder than others, but you can never let the customer see that you are overwhelmed, apathetic or 'hopeless' when conducting your work and serving them. It's not their burden to bear. Again, you can't help the circumstances of understaffing, etc sometimes, but you do have the control to change the mood. By simply smiling, apologizing or showing some of his personality every customer in that post office would have been a lot more forgiving of the circumstance than him not saying anything at all.

There shouldn't be a need for a silent call for help such as this. Employees have the power to express real concern to management as well as the power to change the mood of customers and themselves when dealing with overwhelming situations. After all, at the end of the day each of us can only do our best.

Picture from:http://mytown.mercurynews.com/archives/campbellreporter/09.06.00/post-office-0036.html At this site there is also an interesting related article about understaffing at postal offices. Interesting!