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#Post#: 46438--------------------------------------------------
Re: Was I rude? AKA Did I cut in line?
By: AnnNottingham Date: January 30, 2020, 9:29 am
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In my city, passports are handled at the main post office.
There's one line for mailing things, and a separate waiting area
for the passport person. I was in the OP's shoes, and the
regular mail people directed me to passports even for a small
question. So OP was correct to go to the passport area even if
it was after 3PM.
I do see how it is "cutting", just like the grocery store
example. I'm a cashier, and when I get those questions while
I'm dealing with a customer, it's distracting. However, you
were following Dave's example. So I say you both were slightly
at fault.
I hope you got your passport, but all the documentation you need
and even the applications are online.
#Post#: 46452--------------------------------------------------
Re: Was I rude? AKA Did I cut in line?
By: TootsNYC Date: January 30, 2020, 11:07 am
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[quote author=Chez Miriam link=topic=1610.msg46418#msg46418
date=1580379656]
I think doing what two members of staff had told you to do means
that you were "following instructions" rather than "rude".
As lakey said, Dave could (would?) have told you if you needed
to be in the general queue.
[/quote]
Especially since you DID go to the regular queue, and Dave told
you to come show him your form.
[quote]
I vote 'not rude' when a customer is doing exactly what a member
of staff has told them to do.
[/quote]
#Post#: 46454--------------------------------------------------
Re: Was I rude? AKA Did I cut in line?
By: TootsNYC Date: January 30, 2020, 11:09 am
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[quote author=Rose Red link=topic=1610.msg46435#msg46435
date=1580397450]
[quote author=lowspark link=topic=1610.msg46431#msg46431
date=1580395700]
I'm fairly confident that if you were doing anything wrong, Dave
would have instructed you on what to do. So the fact that he
helped you and didn't say, "get in line and I'll help you in
turn" means you didn't cut.
[/quote]
I don't think it's about policy. Dave answered a quick question
because it's easy, but my opinion is she did cut. It's like the
customer at the grocery store who walks up to the cashier to ask
a quick question (how much is this? where's the sugar?) even
though there's a long line. It takes less than 5 seconds to
answer so it's no big deal in the big scheme of life, but the
customer still cut in line.
[/quote]
But Dave and his superiors may have decided that THEIR jobs were
easier if they built in the capacity to answer quick questions
like this. Doing so means that when the OP comes back, THAT
exchange will go more smoothly and the people on THAT day will
be less inconvenienced.
#Post#: 46457--------------------------------------------------
Re: Was I rude? AKA Did I cut in line?
By: Rose Red Date: January 30, 2020, 12:07 pm
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[quote author=TootsNYC link=topic=1610.msg46454#msg46454
date=1580404150]
[quote author=Rose Red link=topic=1610.msg46435#msg46435
date=1580397450]
[quote author=lowspark link=topic=1610.msg46431#msg46431
date=1580395700]
I'm fairly confident that if you were doing anything wrong, Dave
would have instructed you on what to do. So the fact that he
helped you and didn't say, "get in line and I'll help you in
turn" means you didn't cut.
[/quote]
I don't think it's about policy. Dave answered a quick question
because it's easy, but my opinion is she did cut. It's like the
customer at the grocery store who walks up to the cashier to ask
a quick question (how much is this? where's the sugar?) even
though there's a long line. It takes less than 5 seconds to
answer so it's no big deal in the big scheme of life, but the
customer still cut in line.
[/quote]
But Dave and his superiors may have decided that THEIR jobs were
easier if they built in the capacity to answer quick questions
like this. Doing so means that when the OP comes back, THAT
exchange will go more smoothly and the people on THAT day will
be less inconvenienced.
[/quote]
This isn't about a customer who didn't have enough money and
took a few minutes to run out to the car. The OP came back the
next day. We don't know what the policy is. Of course the clerks
will ask the OP if she needed help since she was standing an
area that was closed. When he found out it was a simple
question, he answered.
The issue is if the OP should have stood in line, or if she was
OK to stand in a closed area just because her question is
regarding passports. Her instructions were to ask for Dave; not
to wait for him in the closed area. Even she thought about it
and wondered if she should have stood in line in the first
place. If I walked in to ask the price of a book of stamps, I
will stand in line even though that's a quick 2 second question.
YMMV
#Post#: 46458--------------------------------------------------
Re: Was I rude? AKA Did I cut in line?
By: TootsNYC Date: January 30, 2020, 12:28 pm
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Dave drove the entire interaction.
Why would you get in a regular postal line when you have
passport questions? You just slow down the people who are
actually mailing things, because not every clerk in that line
will have an answer.
Dave could have said, "Wait for me in the line." He didn't.
#Post#: 46459--------------------------------------------------
Re: Was I rude? AKA Did I cut in line?
By: Rose Red Date: January 30, 2020, 12:40 pm
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[quote author=TootsNYC link=topic=1610.msg46458#msg46458
date=1580408911]
Dave drove the entire interaction.
Why would you get in a regular postal line when you have
passport questions? You just slow down the people who are
actually mailing things, because not every clerk in that line
will have an answer.
Dave could have said, "Wait for me in the line." He didn't.
[/quote]
Because the passport line closed at 3pm. Dave didn't ask her to
wait because the OP had a quick question after the fact.
#Post#: 46461--------------------------------------------------
Re: Was I rude? AKA Did I cut in line?
By: lakey Date: January 30, 2020, 1:21 pm
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[quote]And by the way, going to the post office is always a pain
and you should never be in a hurry. You're going to wait. Just
resign yourself to it and don't worry about who gets helped in
front of you and how long they take. At least, that's my
experience![/quote]
Yes! I was in a situation where I had to go to the post office
for a lot of specialized mailings every week or so. Even when
the line is relatively short, it takes longer than you expect.
There are always people ahead of you who have to ask questions
before deciding which kind of specialized mailing they want to
use.
Not as bad as the DMV though. I go to the DMV assuming it will
take half a day.
#Post#: 46464--------------------------------------------------
Re: Was I rude? AKA Did I cut in line?
By: lowspark Date: January 30, 2020, 2:22 pm
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At my PO, the line can be anywhere from completely empty to
snaking out the door. I wouldn't want to wait 20 minutes or who
knows how long, just to ask one quick question. And I would
never begrudge someone skipping the line for that purpose.
I suppose it could be called cutting. I wouldn't call it that
but I see that other people might. I might be wrong but I always
just figured it was generally agreed that it was ok to do that.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
#Post#: 46466--------------------------------------------------
Re: Was I rude? AKA Did I cut in line?
By: TootsNYC Date: January 30, 2020, 2:47 pm
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I think it's also important to note that Dave didn't stop doing
the things he was doing, and nobody had to wait.
This is all on Dave. He gets to decide, and he did.
The customers don't decide how the business manages its tasks
and its timing.
The post office folks by me will absolutely tell you to get in
line if THEY think you're cutting.
#Post#: 46470--------------------------------------------------
Re: Was I rude? AKA Did I cut in line?
By: lisastitch Date: January 30, 2020, 4:20 pm
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I'm a librarian. There are times that I'm helping someone with
a long question, and there are other people waiting. Before I
go to the shelves to help the first patron, I'll ask if anyone
has a quick question. I can answer "Where's the restroom?" as
I'm getting up. A question of "Do you have [title]?" gets the
response, "That's not a quick question. I'll help you as soon
as I get back".
I see this question as something that Dave can answer quickly,
while still taking care of other people in line.
You were told to ask for Dave. You did, and Dave helped you.
If he felt that you needed more help than he could do "on the
side", he would have told you that you needed to get in line.
And, yes, there are probably people in line with "quick
questions" but sometimes what one person thinks is going to be
quick really isn't. And the clerks have no way of sorting them
out.
I think you were fine.
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