Something odd happened to me yesterday–I had a pleasant experience at the post office

Something odd happened to me yesterday–I had a pleasant experience at the post office.

It all started when I needed to send some documents to my tax accountant via Priority Mail. I gathered up the documents, drove to the post office and, once inside, headed straight towards the automated kiosk just inside the lobby. It’s then that it occurred to me that I needed the Priority Mail packaging material and a label before I could continue. It’s also then that I couldn’t remember if the automated kiosk printed the label or if I needed to make my own.

Apparently my temporary look of confusion was all one of the postal employees needed to see before jumping in to help. I never even noticed she was standing behind me. She quickly asked if she could help me use the kiosk and I decided to play along just for fun.

I’m still not sure if this postal employee was the exception to the rule but her help was fantastic. She guided me through each screen and explained what it was asking me to do. She also made sure that I pressed the buttons on the screen instead of just doing it for me (much the same way that I teach people how to use their computer by letting them do the driving, not by me doing it for them).

I even learned something

Oddly enough, I actually learned something during the entire process. I always thought you had to print the big address label that often does not fit on some of my packages. My new postal employee helper informed me that if I just hit “No” on that screen, a miniature Priority Mail stamp will print instead. Wonderful!

I hope this trend of having a human being “on call” to help people use all of the new automated kiosks in our lives continues. I think the noobies of the world would agree with me.