The Kindness of A Stranger

Last week, I stopped at a post office on my way to work. I needed a couple of stamps to send out some actual snail mail. It's rare to see another person besides the postal employee, but today there was a line. When I walked in, there was an older person (guessing because of the hair peeking out under their winter hat) engaged in a conversation with the postal worker. 

The customer's arms were full of mail: boxes, parcels, and envelopes, large and small. From the sounds of it, there was some confusion about a post office box and a forwarding address. The customer was struggling to understand something about the process. From what I could hear, the customer needed to close a current PO Box, fill out some paperwork and ensure that their mail would make it to the forwarding address. 

Now, I was on my way to work, and I only had two envelopes that needed two stamps. Honestly, I did not want to be standing there since my business would take less than a minute, at the most. I'm not good at waiting. 

So I did what everyone else does when they're waiting in 2022: I pulled out my phone. I distracted myself while the postal employee took the time to answer every single question the customer had. If the expression is that the customer is always right, then this postal employee exhibited this to the fullest. From the look on the face of the departing customer, everything was more than OK. 

This person had a smile on her face, and even though her arms were full of items, the expression she gave was one of relief. Whatever concerns or questions this person entered the post office with did not appear to be on her mind as she was leaving. The postal employee had addressed every worry this individual had before entering. 

I stepped up with my two envelopes, asking for my two stamps. I was right. My interaction at the counter took less than one minute. When I was done, I started to leave but turned back. I told the postal worker how kind I observed her interactions with the previous customer. I shared how patient I thought she was and how happy the person ahead of me seemed as they were leaving. The response was beautiful: 

"Honey, I could have lost my patience with her. She had a lot of questions. But at the end of the day, I need to answer them. All of them." 

I hope that I can emulate this postal employee this week. I know there will be a lot of questions. I need to answer them. All of them. 

With patience. 

Photo courtesy of www.quotefancy.com