They are still at “it” at the local Post Office. “It” being a callous attitude toward customers, (AKA: citizens and taxpayers.) Back in June I wrote about this problem (On Improving the Post Office) and yesterday I visited the same place again to mail five flats and see if the service had improved. They were looking good when I walked in, but it all went to hell-in-a-hand-basket quicker than a bodice is ripped from a well-endowed Southern maiden in a romance novel. The line of customers had 12-15 people waiting. Four uniformed clerks were working, and one in street clothes announced a couple of times that if anyone was there to pick up packages or mail to come to end of the counter. She served a couple of people. Then it all broke down. With three people waiting, two clerks closed their stations and commenced to do some kind of paper work important, I assume, to the Postal Service. They did this without checking what the other two clerks might be doing. One was serving a customer with a big carton (it originally held ten reams of office paper) full of large brown envelopes, each one of which had to be individually weighed and a postage sticker printed and posted on it. The other clerk was doing her best to handle all the other customers. Within minutes the waiting line of three customers had swelled to almost 20. When I left the Post Office it was two clerks closed down for paperwork, one continuing to work the box of large brown envelopes and one soldiering on. The person in street clothes had disappeared. Why do they act like this? If they must close down and do that all-fired important paper work, they ought to go in the back room and not stand there ignoring customers. No cell phone usage was noted.
