Going postal at Christmas...

I went to the post office today to pick up a box of cat goodies from my friend Kathy in Michigan. Oh what a nightmare.

I was third in line. As I was waiting, the line got longer. There was an Asian woman at the table writing out her mail slip. She proceeded to cut in front of everyone, claiming she didn't understand English. We all called it to her attention. She started arguing that she WAS in line but just filling out her paperwork. Doesn't understand English. HARDLY. She sure understood that the people ahead of her were pissed.

UGH!!!! :mad: :mad: Everyone in the line was SOOOO pissed!! We all called her attention to the fact that she cut in front of at least 4 people. She looked at us like we were aliens. One of the people in line, who had a Jamaican accent said, "When I came to this country, the first thing I did was learn English!!" She had this stupid, blank look on her face. The woman behind me said, "Don't understand?? Yeah right!!"

The lady proceeded to the desk with her envelope and asked for a money order. She got it and had to fill it out, so back to the table she went. By that time, it was my turn. I got my box and left.

So, what would YOU have done???

Anger and frustration are a universal language - that's why she understood.

I wouldn't have let her had her way, but I'm not sure what I would have done! I probably would have yelled at the woman working at the desk for not making the lady go back to the end of the line.

I wouldn't have been happy.I agree with the guy who said first thing I did when I came to america was learn english.
She might understand a little english but not speak it.

:o Now Donna where is the patience.. Remember Patience is the Virtue.. :D Oh I know what you mean.. When I went to mail all the PT Christmas Cards the same thing happened.. We all was just doing this :rolleyes: && grumbling to our selves.. There was two that day at the table & the younger person cut in line & the old lady got in the back of the line.. So what I did was got the little old lady & took her to the front of the line {in front of the younger one}.. I stated to the younger one keep in mind wiser ones come before wicked ones.. :p You know she said nothing.. Nobody said nothing & all was just ;) ..

Yeah the more I know people the more I log my dogs and cat :D

lvpets2002,

I know patience is a virtue, believe me!! I was to the point where I just didn't care. I just wanted to get my package and ge outta there.

I've been trying to do a random act of kindness everyday. But this lady made it imposible.

Caseysmom,

Amen to that!!!

I hope I never have to go back to the post office until AFTER the holidays.

It would of been nice if the postal workers had told her she was not next and to get in line.

Sorry she was rude. I've seen it happen at the grocery store at those self checkouts. People cut all the time. :(

I probably would have said a few select words to that "lady". :mad: Had this been in the UK, she wouldn't have got away with it!

In Denmark, I notice that lots of people from the Middle East don't even know the meaning of queue culture! It can be really annoying, when you've been standing there, waiting for a bus and they just jump in front. :mad:

:) ramanth I thought you were going to say it would have been nice if the postal workers were Nice.. :D I know here the Postal Workers can be very rude.. :( Oh of course they if they cant smile = then they sure cant tell you to wait your turn..

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Originally Posted by ramanth

It would of been nice if the postal workers had told her she was not next and to get in line. :o

Sorry she was rude. I've seen it happen at the grocery store at those self checkouts. People cut all the time. :(

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Ooo... queue hoppers always make me mad too!

When I was still working retail, i remember it being around this time of year and we had a line up at the till - and some woman cut the line to the front. Everyone grumbled, but no one really said anything about it. I finished the customer i was helping, and said "next customer please" -- so the woman came to the front and put down her things. I said "I'm sorry, you're not next, this other lady is" (indicating the the person who got cut in on) "you'll have to join the line like the rest of the people here"

Well didn't she raise a stink! I took the next customer around her, and the next, all the while her raising heck about the level of service in the store, and what a b#$%^ I was, etc. etc., and eventually she left her items and left the store without purchasing them. Everyone else was pretty happy with the fact that she didn't get her way.

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Originally Posted by Blue_Frog

I said "I'm sorry, you're not next, this other lady is" (indicating the the person who got cut in on) "you'll have to join the line like the rest of the people here"

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Well done!! :D

Our postal workers seem to be in very good spirits most of the time, and they will tell someone that they will need to wait their turn. I sure appreciate that. People in line can grumble all they want, but if the "line cutter" really doesn't care that they are making people upset, they will understand when they worker tells them they have done wrong. I, too, get upset with people who pretend not to understand English. That is simply no excuse to break the rules!

Ahhhh, the Holiday season..... I am doing my best to be merry as I scurry about doing my shopping. It will be better next week when I am making deliveries!

You should have put a stamp on her forhead & shipped her home. :D :eek:

But that wouldn't be right I guess. Not sure what I would have done had that happened to me. I try to practice extra patience around the holiday's because I'm sure somebody's going to eventually do somthing to really pi$$ me off. :D

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Originally Posted by lvpets2002

:) ramanth I thought you were going to say it would have been nice if the postal workers were Nice.. :D I know here the Postal Workers can be very rude.. :( Oh of course they if they cant smile = then they sure cant tell you to wait your turn..

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LOL! Well luckily the post office workers I come across are very friendly even during this time of the year. But maybe it helps that I'm smiling all the time despite a long wait. :)

A lot of people pretend to not understand English when they think it will help them get there own way. :(

It was up to the postal worker (who probably couldn't care less) to explain to her that she should go to the end of the line. I would probably have said "Excuse me, but I believe I'm next in line" rather loudly if she walked up to the window in front of me. But since I'm guilty of doing stupid things on occasion, I try not to get too bent out of shape at other people's stupidity. ;)
Things like this are one more reason I love our little post office - the longest line I ever see there is three people!

Postal Clerks are fairly limited in what they can say to customers. There is a list of questions they have to ask, rules for what they can and cannot tell a customer, and the clerks never know when the rude person in line is just a postal customer or a "mystery shopper".

Is it possible....just possible...that the woman REALLY doesn't understand English well...nor North American customs and was well....confused? :confused: :confused: :confused:

I am very confrontational, and I would have raised a stink about it.

Ahh! Even if she didn't understand English, that still gave her no reason to cut. It seems like she did uderstand english, enough to claim she didnt! :o

I don't raise big things alot, but I would have confronted the lady working there about why she let her cut! Understanding English or not, she should still have to wait in line.

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Is it possible....just possible...that the woman REALLY doesn't understand English well...nor North American customs and was well....confused?

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Hardly. She certainly new how to fill out her slip in English and knew the meaning of "Next in line!!!"

Raise a stink all you want, there's not much (if anything) the postal clerk can do.

Remember, just like anyone else in a retail business, they have rules to go by, and mystery shoppers to contend with. They are very limited in what they can say to a customer.

I have been in situations here and abroad where I was confused and did not understand exactly the procedure.

I recall that happening to me last year at Kennedy airport when I didn't understand where the end of the cab line was. Fortunately, I understand English fairly well (even the way they speak it in NY!) and once I understood I went to the end of the line.

I was just wondering if a little compassion might not be in order?

(I go to a particular post office because the people who work there are always so nice. Lots of non-english speakers do business there and the personnel are always so patient and helpful with them as well as with all the other patrons. It makes me feel good to do my business there and I often tell the clerks that.)

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Originally Posted by CathyBogart

I am very confrontational, and I would have raised a stink about it.

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I'm the opposite. I am very non-confrontational. I just would not have seen any point in raising a stink over one person getting to go ahead of me for whatever reason and I would have understood the postal workers, especially at this time of year, being stressed and just wanting to move people along as peacefully and quickly as possible. I would have tended to give the woman the benefit of the doubt about not understanding or there possibly being a cultural difference, and if she was just being plain rude, I think those things can come back on a person, but so can patience and tolerance (in a good way).

Just my opinion, but I do understand the frustration of it. Everything is so stressful, rushed and hurried this time of year. I try to be one of the few to sit back and be calm and relaxed and patient as much as possible. It does me personally a lot of good.

http://petoftheday.com/i/our_smilies/rolleyes.gif

Equally as frustrating as the Line Jumpers inside ...
there's the ever popular "Parking Lot Wars" ... an often almost violent confrontation
between armed (with multi-ton SUV's and Pick-Ups) contenders for the always scarce,
close to the mall entrance, Parking Spot! http://petoftheday.com/i/our_smilies/tongue.gif

HOW many times have I patiently "circulated" in my mentally mapped limits out in the frozen
asphalt maze ... *waiting* for the package-toting shopper to come and claim thier Limo and
happily donate their Parking Space to ME??

ONLY to have a greedy and opportunistic Spot Grabber **SWOOP IN** at the
crucial instant when The Spot is vacant AND blocked by the departing tenant -
stealing "MY" spot right under my bumper.

http://petoftheday.com/i/our_smilies/eek.gif
http://petoftheday.com/i/our_smilies/mad.gif

Oh, Happie Whatever ... hope you can't find it when you're done shoppin!

http://petoftheday.com/i/our_smilies/biggrin.gif

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I'm the opposite. I am very non-confrontational. I just would not have seen any point in raising a stink over one person getting to go ahead of me for whatever reason and I would have understood the postal workers, especially at this time of year, being stressed and just wanting to move people along as peacefully and quickly as possible. I would have tended to give the woman the benefit of the doubt about not understanding or there possibly being a cultural difference, and if she was just being plain rude, I think those things can come back on a person, but so can patience and tolerance (in a good way).

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Jess, I'm the exact same way. I would have stood back and said "Self, what the heck. Let her go. I'm in no hurry."

Same thing in a parking lot. I just swing around to the next aisle and low and behold there is another empty one. OK, put on blinker to show the world that spot is mine and here we go. Piece of cake.

Life is too short to get mad over those things. I'm really learning to live by the rule of "Don't sweat the small stuff" and you know what?? I feel much better for it.

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Originally Posted by Edwina's Secretary

Is it possible....just possible...that the woman REALLY doesn't understand English well...nor North American customs and was well....confused? :confused: :confused: :confused:

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2 thoughts on this situation....

1) Why would anyone need to learn English? We have idiot (picture) signs for just about everything, let alone most things are written in multiple languages (think of the last assemble-it-yourself project booklet). I actually have seen people at the Dept. of Motor Vehicles giving an ORAL test to people who couldn't read English, and I have seen several who used an INTERPERATOR for the driving test!! :eek:

2) As far as customs go...I don't think it's necessarily foreigners only, I've seen plenty of Americans who think that if they get into a line and have to step aside to fill out something, that they are automatically next as soon as they finish the form. :(

JMHO

In the post office I use, the postal clerks often tell the current customer to go fill out their paper work and return when they are done. That person would then appear to be cutting in line, but in actuality they were already AT the front of the line but needed to go fill out something they needed to PICK UP at the desk. So I try to assume that this is the case and let bygones be bygones. After all, I don't want to end up being even MORE rude than a person who will cut in line. :rolleyes:

Jen,

Good point. I just shrugged my shoulders and :rolleyes: I'm WAAAAY to fed up with people right now and their pushiness to even bother. I can't wait till the whole Christmas season is over with. This is my first holiday season in retail and I gotta tell you, it's VERY draining.

However, tonight when I was working, there were lines at all the registers (I was working Customer Service). A push *&^% ran up to CS and asked if we were cashing people out. I politely told her yes, and that there were other people who had been waiting in line longer that were ahead of her (she just came in, got what she wanted and figured she'd be out in a nano-second).

Ehhh.. been there, Donna....

I was 4th in line for a lottery ticket. A lady was at the counter on the side, making out her lottery slips. She casually stands right in front of me. You know me, I rarely lose my cool, but I had to bite my tongue on this one. I very politely but firmly told her, (as well as pointed) that the BACk of the line was thataway, not in front of me. She started getting very angry at ME and said she was there before me and that I was in her space....

The people in back of me got really PO'd too, but did she move? No. I told her that if it wasn't around the holidays and I was in a fairly festive mood, I'd ...well...I can't print what I said (another rarity for me) ..but let her be. It wasn't worth her getting me all upset.

Donna, I doubt it was a cultural/race, whatever issue. It was plain rude. Politeness and coutesy is universal and carries no language barrier. I travelled to remote places where people spoke no English and never had a problem.

I always say.. what goes around, comes around.

This is the kind of crap that makes me not like Christmas...OY! People are SO rude! I am so glad that our customers are mostly very kind and giving people... I could never work regular retail because I would lose my job the first day! lol I think at the post office, I would have said, ma'am, you need to step to the rear and point or escort her there and leave her butt there (in a very cordial manner you understand! ;) :D )

As far as compassion for not knowing the language...if you live in a country then you should know the language...I don't care if it's the U.S. or Germany or Iraq...if you live there you should know the language.

If you are not familiar with the customs or protocol then you should ask, don't just assume. I am just so incredibly tired of excuses....

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Originally Posted by mugsy

As far as compassion for not knowing the language...if you live in a country then you should know the language...I don't care if it's the U.S. or Germany or Iraq...if you live there you should know the language.

If you are not familiar with the customs or protocol then you should ask, don't just assume. I am just so incredibly tired of excuses....

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Agreed!! My husband and I took a conversational Spanish class before we went to Mexico ... for a nine day vacation! And if someone doesn't have the opportunity to learn English before arriving here, then they ought to start learning it the day they cross our borders. Our tiny little town in the middle of nowhere has free E.S.L classes.

And, honestly, I have trouble believing that there are cultures where no one stands in line, ever, and it is never taught or learned. That sounds like complete and utter chaos to me. How would a society function is no one lined up or waited their turn? Sorry, I don't buy it. I've watched my finches line up to take a bath. My dogs line up to get a drink. I don't think it's that tough to comprehend. Just look and see what everyone else is doing and copy it.

Look I'm 14 years old and this reminds me of kids fighting about who was in the lunch line first! The women couldn't speak english so she's not going to know what it means when you say go to the back of the line! :) so maybe she should have known english, but she didn't so whats the problem its over with now?

I had a vastly different experience the other day at the Post Office. It was Saturday, and about ten past noon when I went in and got in the long line. In front of me was a little old lady, who turned and said "I'm so glad they were open! What time do they close on Saturday?" "One o'clock," I told her, and we're 'safe' now - if they let us in the door, we're sure to get our items mailed.

Behind me, a guy came in with two big boxes, and quickly another woman was in line behind him. She said to him, "You know, you could put those down, so your arms don't get tired!" He then put them on the floor saying, "Yeah, they're not heavy, just awkward, and we all adjusted the line to allow his boxes room, no problem.

A few moments later, the woman in front of me half turned and said "I just wish I could get the forms and stuff I need nefore I got to the head of line, I hate taking peoples' time there."

"You can," I said, and pointed to the spot a couple feet away from us where there were bins of forms. She said "Oh, thank you," got out of line by a few inches and picked up a form.

"Is this the Customs form?" she asked me, continuing "I've got to get my glasses on. I've got to mail these to my nephews in England."

"No," I said, and got completely out of line, asked how many she needed, and got them for her. After all, I know the customs form well - I have participated in Pet Talk gift swaps to foreign lands!

When I went to get back to my spot in line, she had swapped places, so I would be in front of her. I tried to demur, but she insisted. Then she asked if they'd have Tyvek envelopes up front, and I pointed to where they were, and helped her choose the right (International) ones.

We were still going to let her back into her place, but she moved to the side to fill out all her paperwork.

Everyone was friendly, we ha nice conversation, and the line moved pretty quickly, considering the volume. At one point, I mentioned to the guy behind me "I am only here because I cannot count - I didn't buy enough "International" stamps, I just need ONE more."

He misunderstood, and said "All this time in line for one stamp? And pulled a book of 39-cent stamps out and said "Here, take one!" I explained I needed a higher denomination, but thanked him anyway.

And the postal workers were friendly and efficient. And I even got to explain to the woman two behind me that no, she didn't see "that old man" behind the counter, because Nathan - Mr. Butner ("Oh, yes, that's his name!" she exclaimed) had retired this summer.

It was, in all, an unexpectedly pleasant experience.

(No postal workers paid me to write this.)