Yesterday afternoon, my wife walked up to the Tenleytown Post Office to send a rush order payment to her impoverished sister out in Oregon. We may never see that money again, but that's beside the point here. Here's the point. While service in DC tends toward the abysmal, what my wife witnessed yesterday sets a new record for unfriendliness. The following is a true story, only the names have been changed.
The set up: The guy in front of my wife in line gets to the courtesy fill-out-the-address-portion-of-your-package counter (you know the one) and needs to write something on the envelope he is about to send. He picks up the pen chained to the counter and attempts to write with it. After several futile attempts to transfer ink to paper, he turns to the guy at the window and has the following conversation...
Guy with the empty pen: Excuse me, but do you have a pen? This one (holding up the chained pen) doesn't work.
Guy behind the window: That pen works.
Guy without a working pen and now a somewhat shocked look on his face: Umm, no it doesn't. You can come around the counter and try it if you want...
Guy (firmly planted) behind the window: I DON'T HAVE TO COME AROUND THE COUNTER FOR NUTHIN'!
Everyone within hearing distance falls into a shocked silence. Another Post Office employee comes to the window.
Other Post Office Guy: What do you need, sir?
Where's-that-confounded-pen Guy: I just need a pen. Please, I just need a pen. This one's broken and...
Other Post Office Guy: Here ya go (reaches down, picks up a working pen and hands it to the needy guy).
Before I moved here, that story would have shocked me. "Why I've never heard of such outlandishly bad treatment, even at a Post Office," I would have proclaimed. When my wife told me the story last night however, all I could do was laugh. Just when you thought service couldn't get any worse, they go and turn all angry and aggressive on you. Please just stick with the status quo of not caring about the customer. I've learned to live with that.
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