The Stanford Post Office brings to mind endless lines, inefficiency and lots of impatient foot tapping. Stanford students are more likely to complain about Stanford’s post office services than praise them. But after a meeting with a customer service employee, I now view Stanford’s post office with a new perspective.
The postal worker met with me in the office, where a television with a split screen of the different counters and rooms of the post office were displayed. Not three minutes into our interview, the postal employee stopped mid-sentence and pointed at the screen.
He looked at the screen and then back at me.
“See, three customers in line,” he said.
There were zero customers when I first walked in. He then explained that the traffic in the post office is hard to gauge. Within minutes, the amount of people in need of a service can fluctuate significantly, and it varies daily.
Because of this variance, the post office at Stanford is not at liberty to hire more employees. Think about it from a corporate standpoint: You can’t just hire more employees to help during the few rushes of the day. What would they do the rest of the time? Sit in the back? That’s not cost-effective. The postal worker explained it’s the same with any business model. If you “go to a restaurant, you’re not going to have a cook paid to sit back there.”
Yet, students still complain. They’re not pleased with the amount of time they have to spend waiting in line. Post office branches across the nation have a goal of a five-minute wait time or less. But my question is, would Stanford students really be satisfied with a wait time of four, three or even two minutes? It’s no secret that nobody likes to wait, but it’s time to stop blaming the postal workers themselves.
The postal employee explained to me that Stanford has about 9,000 P.O. boxes, more than most universities in the nation. At the Stanford Post Office, there are currently six post office employees. Since the post office’s primary responsibility is mail service, they are mainly responsible for sending, receiving and distributing mail (for all 9,000 P. O. boxes).
But their work doesn’t end there; they also offer retail services in the front of the store and passport services. Just then, the postal worker pointed to the screen again. This time at a bottom left panel. He explained that the three people who just walked in were there for passport services. He then showed me a record book of passport appointments. The appointment slots were fully booked all day.
After taking a call, checking in on an employee and finally rushing back to his office, the postal employee says simply about his fellow employees: “They work hard. They aren’t just playing around…twiddling their thumbs.” We both look back up at the TV monitor and see a new influx of people at the post office…
So, next time you are picking up a package, imagine the perspective of the postal workers before you roll your eyes, grumble and impatiently tap your foot. The postal workers at Stanford work hard to serve Stanford’s population. Solutions we find simple may not be as realistic as we think. Instead, take a deep breath, send a Snapchat, take a Buzzfeed quiz or catch up on your emails. However you choose to pass the time, above all, try to patiently wait your turn at the post office.
Contact Taylor Chambers at tchamber ‘at’ stanford.edu.