Mary Minor knows many of her customers by name and treats them the way she’d want to be treated.
For the Lamar, CO, retail associate, this means acting with courtesy and urgency — a guiding principle of the #PostalProud initiative.
“I try to be aware of people’s time,” Minor says. “If I have a line, I find out who is just dropping something off so they don’t have to wait.”
This approach goes a long way toward building customer loyalty, according to Retail and Customer Service Operations VP Kelly Sigmon.
“Working with a calm sense of urgency shows customers that we value their time,” she says.
Minor has three tips for fellow employees:
• Be knowledgeable. Fast service means knowing what your customers need. “Know your products and promote them,” she says.
• Offer options. “I try to save my customers money. If they have a package that would fit in a flat-rate envelope, I recommend it as an option.”
• Go the extra mile. “I learned how to say ‘have a good day’ and other things in Spanish,” she says. “I also count their money in Spanish.”
Minor enjoys showing customers that she cares.
“People appreciate that personal touch,” she says.
“Best practices,” a new series on employees who demonstrate on-the-job excellence, appears regularly in Link.