Postal Hucksters: How marketing overlords ruined the charm of my local post office

[marmar]

from OnTheCommons.org:




Postal Hucksters
How marketing overlords ruined the charm of my local post office.

By David Bollier


I used to enjoy going to my small-town post office, here in Amherst, Massachusetts, because the clerks were so friendly. They would chat amiably with other townspeople, and laugh at small talk, and point with pride at photos of their grandchildren. I never knew any of them personally, but I always enjoyed the folksy tone that they set for the post office.

Then, about a year or two ago, I noticed a distinct change. Whenever I went in to mail a large envelope, and asked for first-class postage, Fran or Carl (not their real names) would insist upon asking me: “Would you like to send that Express Mail? Priority mail?”

I would patiently say, “No, I just need first class postage. Nothing else”

And they would persist: “Certified delivery? A signature to confirm delivery? Do you need insurance?”

“No…..” I would repeat with growing irritation. “Just first class.”

As if I were a pillar of stone, they would ignore me and continue their spiel: “And what about a roll of stamps? Do you need a passport application?” ............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://onthecommons.org/postal-hucksters

[Orrex]

1. I'm sorry that it's unpleasant for Bollier that these employees are required to do their jobs.

"Suggestive selling" has been a part of the landscape for quite a few decades. The fact that Bollier sees fit to complain about it only now it affects him directly reveals simply that he hasn't been paying attention since some time in the last century.

Additionally, if I'm the third guy in line and holding half a dozen irregularly-sized packages, I would rather have the postal clerk cut to the chase instead of listening to her chatting interminably with the guy who brought the large envelope.


Boo hoo hoo. I wonder how upset Bollier will be when he realizes that telephone operators no longer manually connect your calls anymore, either.

[rfranklin]

2. whether it's a chat or a sales pitch...

you are still stuck there in line.

[Orrex]

3. Absolutely, but the sales pitch has a foreseeable conclusion

If the worker has a script, then it allows the worker to keep the customers moving along.

The chat can go on forever.

[customerserviceguy]

4. The USPS is sinking

and that's what businesses whose product is not needed as much do.

I doubt they'll be little more than a shadow of what they are today in another quarter century from now. If they doubled or tripled the rate on junk mail, they'd lose about 90% of what they do today. Other than a few magazines and some non-UPS or non-FedEx shipped packages from eBay purchases, I really don't use them much anymore.