John Blair treats his customers like friends.
In fact, many are.
“I tell my family that I feel like I get paid to take a walk to see my friends every day,” says Blair, a letter carrier at the Vienna, VA, Main Post Office.
USPS encourages employees to provide each customer with friendly, professional service. This is part of the organization’s broader strategy to grow revenue by delivering excellence and building customer loyalty.
To help his colleagues achieve these goals, Blair offers three tips:
• Stay positive. “Customers deserve a smile and a greeting. If you make eye contact and you’re sincere, the customers will forgive any mistakes you might make,” he says.
• Keep your cool. At some point, everyone encounters a customer who is upset.
“If I have a superpower, it’s that I don’t let things bother me,” Blair says. “It doesn’t come naturally. It takes practice. It may sound philosophical, but if I can’t control it, I dismiss it.”
• 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.”
Blair, an Army veteran who has served tours in Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan, says he feels thankful he gets to continue his public service through USPS.
“Letter carriers are the ambassadors of the Postal Service,” he says. “In many cases, we are the only employee that customers have contact with. The way we look, work and act shapes the public’s direct impression of USPS.”