This was another year in which Postal Service employees offered valuable peer-to-peer advice through Link’s “Best Practices” column.
Here’s a roundup of some of the best tips:
• Show customers you care. “If you don’t care about your job, it shows.” — Carmel, IN, Retail Associate Courtney Wells
• Treat them with respect, too. “Help [customers] the way you want to be helped, and if something comes up on a route that can’t be resolved on the spot, don’t hesitate to give them the office number so we can look at the issue more closely.” — Canal Winchester, OH, Postmaster Tina Moore
• Treat your co-workers like customers. “My customers are letter carriers and clerks. In order for them to provide great service to our customers, mail from my operation must get to them in a timely manner.” — Baltimore Mail Processing Clerk Beverly Graham
• Never miss an opportunity to promote USPS. “If I see a competitor’s truck at a business, I stop in and talk with the owner or the manager and ask for a card. We could win shipping business from them.” — Flushing, NY, Customer Services Manager Howie Kobrin
• Remember the A’s. “Be an asset to the Postal Service, avoid accidents and have a good attitude. If you remember that, you’ll be alright.” — Vienna, VA, Letter Carrier John Blair
Another letter carrier, Eric Abrams of Chicago, said his most important advice is to take pride in your work.
“At the end of the day … feel good about what you do,” he said.