Is there any wonder the post office is going bust?
I’ve Just been in the main one in our town centre, I only wanted a stamp for a parcel, the size and thickness of a CD paper insert booklet.
Five counters were manned ( sorry womanned , Loretta), with 3 people queuing . So I went to a vacant counter. The conversation went as follows.
Me: “Can I buy a stamp please ? “
Woman: “are you number 188?”
Me: “no?” ( nearly went all Patrick mcgoohan, I am not a number)
Her: “You need a ticket”.
Me: “I don’t, I need a stamp”.
Her: “Sorry sir we operate a ticket system , for the customers convenience, it saves you standing in a queue. You can sit and wait in those comfy chairs and come over when your number is called”.
Me: “There isn’t a queue , there’s no one here!”
Her: “but if someone comes with ticket 188, I’ll have to serve them”.
Me: “But there’s no one in the shop . It’s a 3 minute walk from the front to here. I’ll have bought the stamp, licked the back of the king’s head and be on my merry way before they get here”.
Her: “Sorry sir it’s policy”.
Me beaten: “Ok , where do I get a ticket from?”
Her: “The front of the shop, there’s a machine”.
Off I trot to the front of the shop, a 2 minute walk away, I do tend to exaggerate . The machine screen is blank, with no instructions’ so I go back.
Her: “Have you got a ticket?”
Me: “No the machine isn’t working”.
Her : “Oh it’s doing that again”. She calls Janice on the shop floor , “Janice can you help this person get a ticket.”
Janice takes me back , switches machine on and gives me ticket no 189. I go back to the counter….
Her: “Are you 189 ?”
Me : “Yes , has 188 been yet?”
Her: Blank face that could curdle vinegar.
Me: “Can I have a stamp please?”
Her: “Certainly sir 1st or 2nd?”
Me: “2nd , I’m not paying £1.25 for you to take a week anyway.”
Her : “That’ll be £1.55 thank you”.
Me: “So it’s £1.25 for a 1st class stamp and £1.55 for 2nd class?”
Her: “It’s a parcel sir. It won’t fit in my slot”.
Luckily I didn’t tell her I could make the thing fit in her slot !
My wife tells me there’s a machine next to the ticket machine, that’s a stamp machine. FFS! Janice you could have said.
Editted to make everyone commenting the royal mail and post office are separate entities look as foolish as me.
:Is there any wonder the post office is going bust?
I’ve Just been in the main one in our town centre, I only wanted a stamp for a parcel, the size and thickness of a CD paper insert booklet.
Five counters were manned ( sorry womanned , Loretta), with 3 people queuing . So I went to a vacant counter. The conversation went as follows.
Me: “Can I buy a stamp please ? “
Woman: “are you number 188?”
Me: “no?” ( nearly went all Patrick mcgoohan, I am not a number)
Her: “You need a ticket”.
Me: “I don’t, I need a stamp”.
Her: “Sorry sir we operate a ticket system , for the customers convenience, it saves you standing in a queue. You can sit and wait in those comfy chairs and come over when your number is called”.
Me: “There isn’t a queue , there’s no one here!”
Her: “but if someone comes with ticket 188, I’ll have to serve them”.
Me: “But there’s no one in the shop . It’s a 3 minute walk from the front to here. I’ll have bought the stamp, licked the back of the king’s head and be on my merry way before they get here”.
Her: “Sorry sir it’s policy”.
Me beaten: “Ok , where do I get a ticket from?”
Her: “The front of the shop, there’s a machine”.
Off I trot to the front of the shop, a 2 minute walk away, I do tend to exaggerate . The machine screen is blank, with no instructions’ so I go back.
Her: “Have you got a ticket?”
Me: “No the machine isn’t working”.
Her : “Oh it’s doing that again”. She calls Janice on the shop floor , “Janice can you help this person get a ticket.”
Janice takes me back , switches machine on and gives me ticket no 189. I go back to the counter….
Her: “Are you 189 ?”
Me : “Yes , has 188 been yet?”
Her: Blank face that could curdle vinegar.
Me: “Can I have a stamp please?”
Her: “Certainly sir 1st or 2nd?”
Me: “2nd , I’m not paying £1.25 for you to take a week anyway.”
Her : “That’ll be £1.55 thank you”.
Me: “So it’s £1.25 for a 1st class stamp and £1.55 for 2nd class?”
Her: “It’s a parcel sir. It won’t fit in my slot”.
Luckily I didn’t tell her I could make the thing fit in her slot !
My wife tells me there’s a machine next to the ticket machine, that’s a stamp machine. FFS! Janice you could have said.
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