Dedicated to Empowering and Informing the Burlingame Community

Almost Goin’ Postal

The post office is never a pleasant experience one week before Christmas, but somethings just make it like a Seinfeld episode.  This afternoon was a perfect example:  a guy is hoping to get a passport and needs the photo along with the application.  One of the regular clerks is going take the pic but first needs to figure out how to close the front blinds to get the lighting right.  She apparently had never closed them before and it was entertaining.  The poor guy is on a stool against the wall and she proceeds to take about 15 shots moving closer, then farther, then up a little, then down a little.  People are cutting in front to get to the "windows".  She goes in the back to print it (wait 3 minutes) and the photo turns out too pink, so they want to do it again.  At this point he has to go feed the meter.  The regular line is now out to the lobby and growing by the minute.  Then the supervisor gets involved, looks around for the charger for the batteries in the camera, and takes the guy out into the crowded lobby to take another few photos.

By then I was done with my business as he waited to see if the second set yielded a usable photo.  Only one thought came to mind:  "Dude, go to Walgreen's for the photo."  5 minutes, done right the first time, every time with the secret to success being a proper back screen and a piece of tape on the floor so it comes out in the exact right dimensions every time!  Probably cheaper, too!  I miss the real post office where some of this sausage-making was hidden from view.

Posted in

9 responses to “Almost Goin’ Postal”

  1. Cathy Baylock

    Thanks for the laugh, Guissepe! Hope you bought me the right stamps!

  2. Joe

    That is a good reminder of the other dysfunctional thing I heard. They are out of holiday stamps–a week before Christmas! Talk about poor inventory planning–ugh!

  3. Postage Due

    That supervisor is nasty I’m surprised the nice clerks put up with her all these years
    I think it is even worse now that they are in that sad little hole in the wall. What little majesty the PeeOhh had is gone.

  4. DavefromSF

    When I moved here in 1998 I went to the post office and recall how nasty the staff was. I grew up in SF and never experienced bad attitude from the counter clerks.
    I noticed that most of them were Asian which isn’t a big deal as I have lots of asian friends and lived in their community in the sunset dist of SF, but all of the counter staff looked disturbed.
    So back to my post, I am a small business owner and tried to open a PO box when I moved here from SF. The male asian clerk went nuts and starting yelling at me, that I was going to bad illegal things with the account and wouldn’t open one for me. This was back in 1998 at the 220 Park Road location. I was going to ask to talk with the supervisor but everyone looks so nasty that worked there I couldn’t believe this was Burlingame , and this is coming from a SF native.
    So I drove to the SF airport branch and opened a po box there within a few minutes with no questions asked. Been there almost 20 years, great service, lobby open 24/7 and counter open till midnight during the week and early evening on weekends.
    Whats the story with this, everyone stands well behaved in line and the postal staff is slow and seem to be suffering from various mental disorders.
    If anyone knows why downtown the Burlingame post office is staffed with horrible counter staff would you please share?

  5. Samiselfie

    Last week, I saw someone at the Capuchino post office FLIP OUT because they were out of Christmas stamps.
    Why don’t people realize that nobody gives a rat’s behind what kind of stamp is on the holiday card the receive.
    I feel for these clerks. And, I love the people at the Cap post office. There is always plenty of parking.
    BTW Dave, it is in very poor taste to categorize people by ethnicity.

  6. HMB

    Love the Millbrae PO staff. Line can get a little long because many of the customers are clueless or are so busy with their phones or the kids are causing a ruckus because parents are glued to phone, but the staff stays friendly and does their best to keep things moving. And I agree about SFO PO staff. Just wish counter was still open 24/7. And parking is sometimes a problem.

  7. resident

    The Burlingame PO is a disaster and the fish is rotting from the head. That supervisor needs to go. She is a B&*(^ch. The staff is working pretty hard and doing the best it can with no real directon.

  8. calling it like it is

    DavefreomSF, Calling out the Asian descent of the postal employee is really nothing other than racism. How is that relevant? Your ” I have lots of asian friends and lived in their community in the sunset dist of SF” comment doesn’t really excuse this.

  9. Becca

    I was in there the other day with the line out the door. A family was there wanting to do a passport application & get photos. The clerk was telling them not to go to walgreens as the picture had been rejected! They were told to come back later when the line was gone so they could could be squeezed in to have their picture taken.

Leave a Reply

RECENT COMMENTS

RECENT POSTS

CATEGORIES

ABOUT THE VOICE

The Burlingame Voice is dedicated to informing and empowering the Burlingame community.  Our blog is a public forum for the discussion of issues that relate to Burlingame, California.  Opinions posted on the Burlingame Voice are those of the poster and commenter and not necessarily the opinion of the Editorial Board.  Comments are subject to the Terms of Use.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

All content subject to Copyright 2003-2026

Discover more from The Burlingame Voice

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading