Today I had to pick up a package from the post office. Unfortunately for me, the post office where my wayward packages are kept is ALWAYS busy and ALWAYS understaffed. As I stood in line today, I realized that the experience at the Castro Post Office is quite similar to the experience of going to the Bank of China. Please see my analysis below.
How is the Castro USPS similar to the Bank of China?
1. Regardless of what time you walk in, there is always a line of at least 15 people.
2. Even if there are less than 15 people, don't expect to get out of there in under 45 minutes.
3. Despite the fact that there are numerous stations, there are always no more than 2 people working at a time.
3.a. Should you see more than 2 people, the 3rd person is not seeing customers and will completely ignore you should you make the mistake of approaching them.
4. The employees are slow, slow, slow. This may be due to the amount of bureaucratic paperwork involved in every transaction.
5. Every person in line ahead of you has some ridiculously involved transaction that will take at least 15 minutes to complete.
6. Even though there is a constant line of at least 15 people and only 2 people working, one of the workers will go on break or just randomly disappear.
7. Everyone is surly, and the workers are not sympathetic when it comes to your wait time (or the fact that you may need to be somewhere else (like say catching a train) since you've been waiting for an hour to either exchange money or mail something).
8. There's usually at least one customer that falls asleep while waiting their turn.
How are they different, you ask?
1. The BOC requires that you take a number and wait for it to be called, but you just stand in line at the post office. The number system enables you to sit down and watch the numbers change on the light board above the tellers, so there's some built-in entertainment.
2. The BOC has a "VIP" system, so some people get to skip ahead in line.
3. The BOC has far more paperwork that requires at least 17 stamps to complete.
4. There are always at least 2 heavy breathers or grunters surrounding you at the post office.
5. At the post office, there is also some disgruntled customer who is very vocal about their needs.
6. Sometimes, at the post office, the manager comes out and tries to expedite things by pulling those of us with pickup slips out of line (no luck today).
7. Customers at the BOC have no issue pushing you away and placing their paperwork on top of your money within seconds of being called for their turn. For that matter, customers of the BOC (specifically the Agriculture and Industry Bank) have no qualms about bellying up to you and watching your entire transaction. (But that just bothers the middle-American in me, liking her space and false sense of privacy.)
I'm sure there's more, but that's all I could think of while I stood in line in front of a heavy breather, listening to the homeless guy complain about how difficult it is to get a PO Box without proper ID and making "100 grand a year" (regardless of the fact that the woman was making a real effort to help him).
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