Vang Thao always finds a way to say yes.
“Never tell a customer ‘no,’” says Thao, a Brooklyn Center, MN, city carrier assistant. “I’ve had people chase me down on my route to hand me packages, and I always take them — even if my bag is full.”
Postal Service leaders say employees like Thao help the organization strengthen customer service, one of its core business strategies.
Thao has three tips for his fellow carriers:
• Make it easy. Customers have a lot of shipping options, so you want to make it as easy as possible for them to choose USPS.
• Keep a positive attitude. “Always have a smile on your face when you talk to a customer,” he says.
• Stop and listen. Thao says listening to your customers is important. He’ll sometimes spend a few minutes just having conversations with people on his route.
Although Thao has been with the Postal Service for only two years, he knows customer service is key to the entire operation.
“Customer service is important because that’s how we’re able to keep our jobs,” Thao says. “It’s the most important thing as a letter carrier, because without customers we wouldn’t have jobs at all.”
“Best practices,” a series on employees who demonstrate on-the-job excellence, appears regularly in Link.