Tuesday
Jun242008
A brush with ridiculousness
Tuesday, June 24, 2008 at 8:42PM
Yesterday I waited a very long time in a very long line in the very hot post office. (Occupational hazard of the job.)
Finally, there was only one person in front of me. She approached the counter and said she needed to buy some one cent stamps. The postal worker asked how many she needed, and she said, "How many can I get with twenty-five cents?"
The postal worker stared at her mutely for a second and said, "Twenty five."
She said, "Ohhh, OK. How many can I get for fourteen cents? I have a quarter plus another fourteen cents in my wallet."
The postal worker replied, "Fourteen. You can get fourteen one cent stamps for fourteen cents."
She said, "Wait a minute, you told me a minute ago I could get twenty-five one cent stamps for a quarter, now suddenly the price has gone up?" She was clearly becoming agitated.
The postal worker was trying to hold it together. He said, "No ma'am. Each once cent stamp costs one cent. If you give me twenty five cents, I will give you twenty five stamps. If you give me fourteen cents, I will give you fourteen stamps."
The woman sniffed huffily. "Fine then, I will take twenty one cent stamps."
To which the postal worker replied, "OK, that will be twenty-one cents."
Do you see where this is going? I will spare you the rest of that conversation. Let us jump ahead to after they have finally agreed on a price and a quantity of one cent stamps.
The woman departed from the counter, and I stepped up, holding my large box and my myriad of smaller packages. She immediately turned around and said, "Wait, I have one more question." How many of these one cent stamps will I need to put on a letter?
The postal worker said, "That depends on the value of the other stamps, and how much the letter weighs. Which stamps do you have, the flags, or the Liberty Bells?"
She replied, "The Liberty Bell."
I could see the postal worker desperately wanted to bang his head against the scale.
Those of you in the US who use stamps may be familiar with the Liberty Bell "Forever" stamp. When you purchase them, they will be good for First Class postage forever, no matter how much the price may increase over time. This woman didn't need any one cent stamps after all.
She now wished to return the one cent stamps she just purchased.
I'll give you the condensed version of the rest of the story. To save you time. Because I am looking out for you.
Noma'amwedon'tacceptreturnsonstamps.
ButIjustboughtthesethey'reperfectlygoodIdidn'tevenleavethepostoffice.
I'msorryma'amthat'spostofficepolicy.
Butyoudidn'ttellmeIdidn'tneedtheseIjustwastedmymoneyandIwantmy
moneyback.
I'msorryma'amIcan'thelpyou.
Letmespeaktoyourmanager.
WhatcanIhelpyouwithma'am?
Iwanttoreturnthesestampsthismanjustsoldmehetriedtotakeadvantage
ofmeandsoldmestampsIdon'tneed.
I'msorrythere'snothingwecando.
Iwanttofileacomplaint.
Yesma'amhere'sthenumebryoucancalltocomplainaboutthefactthatthis
evilevilpersonjustsoldyoutwentyone-centstamps.
ThisisridiculousIamnevercominghereagain!!!!
This all happened while I am waitingpatiently very impatiently to conduct my transaction. Brushes with ridiculousness. Just part of being a Yarnista. Or at least that's what I'm telling myself today.
Finally, there was only one person in front of me. She approached the counter and said she needed to buy some one cent stamps. The postal worker asked how many she needed, and she said, "How many can I get with twenty-five cents?"
The postal worker stared at her mutely for a second and said, "Twenty five."
She said, "Ohhh, OK. How many can I get for fourteen cents? I have a quarter plus another fourteen cents in my wallet."
The postal worker replied, "Fourteen. You can get fourteen one cent stamps for fourteen cents."
She said, "Wait a minute, you told me a minute ago I could get twenty-five one cent stamps for a quarter, now suddenly the price has gone up?" She was clearly becoming agitated.
The postal worker was trying to hold it together. He said, "No ma'am. Each once cent stamp costs one cent. If you give me twenty five cents, I will give you twenty five stamps. If you give me fourteen cents, I will give you fourteen stamps."
The woman sniffed huffily. "Fine then, I will take twenty one cent stamps."
To which the postal worker replied, "OK, that will be twenty-one cents."
Do you see where this is going? I will spare you the rest of that conversation. Let us jump ahead to after they have finally agreed on a price and a quantity of one cent stamps.
The woman departed from the counter, and I stepped up, holding my large box and my myriad of smaller packages. She immediately turned around and said, "Wait, I have one more question." How many of these one cent stamps will I need to put on a letter?
The postal worker said, "That depends on the value of the other stamps, and how much the letter weighs. Which stamps do you have, the flags, or the Liberty Bells?"
She replied, "The Liberty Bell."
I could see the postal worker desperately wanted to bang his head against the scale.
Those of you in the US who use stamps may be familiar with the Liberty Bell "Forever" stamp. When you purchase them, they will be good for First Class postage forever, no matter how much the price may increase over time. This woman didn't need any one cent stamps after all.
She now wished to return the one cent stamps she just purchased.
I'll give you the condensed version of the rest of the story. To save you time. Because I am looking out for you.
Noma'amwedon'tacceptreturnsonstamps.
ButIjustboughtthesethey'reperfectlygoodIdidn'tevenleavethepostoffice.
I'msorryma'amthat'spostofficepolicy.
Butyoudidn'ttellmeIdidn'tneedtheseIjustwastedmymoneyandIwantmy
moneyback.
I'msorryma'amIcan'thelpyou.
Letmespeaktoyourmanager.
WhatcanIhelpyouwithma'am?
Iwanttoreturnthesestampsthismanjustsoldmehetriedtotakeadvantage
ofmeandsoldmestampsIdon'tneed.
I'msorrythere'snothingwecando.
Iwanttofileacomplaint.
Yesma'amhere'sthenumebryoucancalltocomplainaboutthefactthatthis
evilevilpersonjustsoldyoutwentyone-centstamps.
ThisisridiculousIamnevercominghereagain!!!!
This all happened while I am waiting
Reader Comments (18)
Oh, Sharon, you poor thing. I am sure I would have burst out laughing halfway through that transaction!
Do you ever have the post office pick your packages up? I hear that it is a good service but I have never used it.
Be afraid. Be very, very afraid of the morons surrounding us.
Hilarious story though! (sorry you had to live through it and all but thanks for the laugh)
Oh my, that is the simultaneously funniest and scariest thing I've seen in a while. I don't know how you-or the poor postal worker-kept it together through that one!
rotfl! Oh, I'm glad I wasn't in line. I probably would have said something I'd regret later. It's a fun story, though!
Oh goodness! I would have had a hard time not laughing atthe woman myself. But after awhile I would have had to fight the impulse to give a quarter to the teller and say... "Buy 25 and move on!"
You have to embrace moments like these .. they give you stories to tell! It's a good way to make sure you are friends with the "right" people too - if they don't find something like this as pathetic as it is hysterical, you can start to distance yourself from them =)
Thanks so much for the laugh this morning!
don'tcha just love the post office? LOL
oh goodness. i would never have lasted as long as you did!
Is it any wonder why some "go postal"?
Maybe she was drunk?
Well, that's just too funny. And too stupid. ((shakes head)) I'm sorry. LOL!
Sounds remarkably like my job. I'm a CSR for a health insurance company. Why do I have a deductible? I didn't have one last year. Your plan changed January 1, 2008. Did you do this? No, your employer did. Why? You'd have to talk to them. Do I still have to pay this? Yes. Lather rinse repeat.
Cool yarn & comic relief - what a great combo!
Good thing no one is home right now or they would wonder why I am laughing hysterically in a room all by myself! Sorry you went through that, but thanks for the laugh.
How on earth did you not start cracking up halfway through that?
Aw, I feel for this woman. I would have asked for a pencil and paper and drawn out the prices for her, asked her how she was going to use them so I could figure out how to help her, etc. I'm sure you understand being a teacher yourself.
So, how many people were laughing or snickering? And, did the guy/gal manager actually say this "evil evil person?" I think I'd have snickered at that one. Or maybe give the evil postal worker "the eye." heh
To Leanne: good idea, to give the 25 cents and told her to move on.
A well written article. I'm an internet gamer and I'm always looking for stuff like this.