Miserable Post Office Worker

tomstickland

My local post office is excellent. When Tescos moved in they booted the PO out of the store. So the local fruit and veg shop owner changed over to running a post office. They never complain and they often ask me what I'm selling now.

Mandles

justpaper wrote:

talk about mispriced i thought that couldnt happen,.. but the other day i sold a sander which cost 5£ ish to send,.. then i sold another sander same one (i had 2 of them) i went too the same PO and was priced £7.20 for it,. both sanders where in england mainland,..i dont trust that PO no more,.


kinda off the topic but....

How much dose a PO make i hear its not alot for all the paper work they have too do,.. the local PO around here has closed and i was looking too opening one, anyone got any info ... i know u have to go too thru a vetting process, well from what ive hear whole family has too,

Yeah i had exactly the same item & packaging go for £5.50 & £7.20!!Also it was this stupid woman who overcharged me.Instead of starting it over again as she got in a right muddle she did lots of sums & overcharged me £5.Needless to say when i rung later to say this had happened they said it was impossible(complete rubbish).I have been overcharged lots of times & the money never turns up!

Mandles

elona wrote:

Mandles

And when they have to shut due to lack of support and customers - they will wonder why?

they will wont they.

Benji

Mandles wrote:

I spend £20 to £40 postage a week from ebay & in general(i go to a few post offices) i am made to feel a nuscience.Like you said they should be happy for the business but i find im like a bad smell to them. they always say "Ebay??!!" as if i should get a proper job.Not to mention that i have been short changed or parcels mispriced a fair few times.Why are they mainly so miserable?? I drive miles to go to a half happy one.

I had the opposite problem about a year ago. I'd been going to the local PO for months, holding up queues with a dozen assorted parcels a time. So I signed up for Smartstamp, and started turning up at the PO with my parcels already weighed, stamped by Smartstamp and with a computer-printed certificate of posting. One PO started to refuse my packages - because they weren't getting any profit out of the Smartstamp Stamps! The other PO had a similar attitude but didn't go so far as refusing! Can't win either way!

jaffa30

Hi Benji

Make you wonder doesnt it

I am off to the one down the road tomorrow where the two lads who work there are excellent .
They couldnt be more polite and eager to help.

So its no more Mister Miserable upthe other PO for me.

cack

Jet wrote:

..some customers were downright rude. I can remember him getting serious abuse from a male customer who refused to remove his crash helmet when asked (bearing in mind my mother-in-law had just been through a serious armed robbery for the second time and had to retire from the stress, and the customer knew this), he swore at my husband and said he suggested my husband make him take the helmet off and then threatened physical abuse. He repeated this behaviour many times and was even caught shoplifting. We tried to ban him from the premises but was told by the post office that we weren't allowed to ban him from our own shop!

....

As for the payment for parcels, when my ex husband was running the post office (about 4 years ago), it was literally pennies that he earnt from postage. I can't remember the exact percentage rates but after tax and NI, he was barely getting minimum wage and bearing in mind that rent and all the overheads that come with running a shop have to be taken into consideration from that net amount. Any shortages from mistakes had to be made up by the sub postmaster and help and support from post office counters (as it was then) was almost non existent.

While I am not saying that anyone here has been rude or abusive, I do understand sub postmaster or mistresses being stressed out by the general public.

Definitely. My family used to run a sub-post office, and I worked there for a couple of years. Whilst many people are great to deal with, there's always a few scumbags who make life hell. I received abuse (and even death threats) on occasions, usually from someone trying to cash a stolen giro......

I don't think people realise how stressful it can be. As Jet pointed out, you are liable for any shortages, and you get little back up from the P.O. (Or certainly that is how it was about 10 years ago, I don't know if things have changed since then). For running a post office, you get a salary which is calculated from the previous year's transactions. So obviously, if people come with parcels already stamped, this doesn't count towards this. Neither does spending hours weighing and counting dozens of bags of 1p coins (some of them in old crisp packets or other greasy food bags) that someone has been saving up for years and wants you to change for them, etc... you get the idea.

The Post Office also used to do things like forcing you to upgrade signage etc, which you have to buy from them. (IIRC, the price of one of those red 'lozenge' signs to go on the front of the building was about £80 even then. When they decide to change the logo, you are expected to bear the full cost of changing all your signs).

All in all, not a great deal.As a result, I always make allowances for the counter clerk not being in a great mood.....

Having said all that, I have found that there are some post office clerks that consistently look unhappy to see you, whereas there are others that value the business and make more of an effort.

black-saturn

My mum ran a post office for years and also received threats and abuse. She used to say the job would be great it if wasnt for the customers!!

jaffa30

I agree it may be a bit of a thankless job at times and theres no excuse for threats being made towards the staff.

But in this current climate where a lot of post offices are shutting ( theres 3 closed down round here in the last 6 months ) wouldnt you think they would be a more happier to see a steady flow of ebayers coming in through the door spending X amount a week sending parcels.

Most of the Post offices round here incorparate a newsagents so when i am in i always end up buying a paper or a lottery ticket , so really they are getting extra custom off me.

I was at the PO down the road this morning sending 3 parcels and asking for a couple to be weighed for postage costs and the lad couldnt have been more helpful , he wrote down the prices and i didnt even have to ask for a COP .


It must just be the Miserable Git Up the other Post Office.

Jaffa

Kaminari_2

I don’t think there is any excuse for poor service in any industry. I have done a variety of things over the years and in a few of those have had very aggressive customers (yes, I have been threaten with death as well). It doesn’t mean it should be taken out on other customers. I have found if I am polite and helpful it makes my job more enjoyable and people are more patient if you look like you are making an effort and give a good service. In any customer service role the employee is there because of the customer so should be grateful and happy to serve the customer. If not, as shown above, customers will go else wear and there will be no job left.

black-saturn

If your miserable and moody it makes your customers miserable too.