Customer Service at USPS: ‘Today is Not Your Day’

Want to increase the public’s perception of your agency’s commitment to providing a favorable experience? One Postal Service employee is trying a new approach with a sign: “Today is not your day.”

“Service” is part of the name of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS).

The Postal Service is a public service organization. It is a quasi-governmental organization and providing good service, a good customer experience and a favorable public image is presumably part of what the Postal Service strives to achieve. Most Americans have contact with the folks working at the Post Office and, for the most part, the experience is probably a good one.

Part of providing good service is the perception of the customer. Was the Postal employee that helped the customer friendly, knowledgeable and courteous? If the Postal employee perceives that the service provided met this standard, would the customer agree?

In a Post Office in Miramar Beach, Florida on March 31, a sign was displayed at the service counter that read: “I can only please one person per day. Today is not your day. TOMORROW doesn’t look good EITHER.”

Providing a good customer experience is often an uphill battle. It would seem that posting a sign warning the customer that “Today is not your day” would seem to make the job that much harder. Of course, that assumes that the person displaying the sign wants to provide a favorable experience. One might think that displaying a sign for the public to see is an indication service is not a high priority—or even a concern of the employee or USPS management that, presumably, allowed the sign at a service counter.

About the Author

Ralph Smith has several decades of experience working with federal human resources issues. He has written extensively on a full range of human resources topics in books and newsletters and is a co-founder of two companies and several newsletters on federal human resources. Follow Ralph on Twitter: @RalphSmith47