Customer Service At Its Best

Try standing on the other side of the counter

- Roberta Messner, Huntington, West Virginia

FEDEX was supposed to be known for its speedy delivery.

I shot a look at the clock on the wall. Again. It was almost 4 p.m. What is taking so long? I thought.

“Found it!” the clerk said, holding up the mailing label he’d been digging for. Did he expect a reward? The clerk had warned me this wasn’t going to be easy. As soon as I walked in he announced, “I’m a newbie.” He also told me his name, which I’d already forgotten in the long while I’d been standing there watching him search for the right label. And price. And the right box.

He slipped the books I was sending inside and turned the box over. The books thunked to the other end. It took everything I had not to roll my eyes. “Maybe put a piece of cardboard in there. To stabilize them.”

“Oh! Good idea,” he said. He went off to find a piece of cardboard. I tapped my foot on the floor. Drummed my fingers on the counter. Finally, I just crossed my arms across my chest and leaned on the counter with a heavy sigh. If that doesn’t give him the message, nothing will, I thought.

The March sun was practically setting when I finally got to my car. My cell phone buzzed. It was my friend Faye, who ran one of my favorite local clothing shops.

“Roberta,” she said, “I was hoping you could help me out this Saturday. Ed and I have a chance to take a weekend trip. It was really last minute, so I don’t have much time to find someone to mind the store. You were the first person who came to mind.”

How could I say no? Faye had done so much for me. When I lost weight a few years back she built me a new wardrobe practically single-handedly—and helped me sell my old clothes for extra cash. “Sure, Faye,” I said. “I’d love to.”