Back When I was living in Kent I had this theory about Post Offices. Everytime I would go down to the local post office to mail something or buy stamps or what ever other things I do at the post office, I always noticed how dreary the place was. Now it wasn’t like it was an old run down building, it was just dreary… You were always stuck in a long line and the people at the counter always seemed like the most depressing people in the world. This wasn’t once in a while this was every time I went. I’ve always heard that working for the post offics was a good job. Hell it was a Govt job and those tend to have good pay and benefits. I always feard that these “tellers” were going to go crazy one day and bring down everyone in the building… In fact that happened several times… I remember hearing about it on the news etc. Isn’t that where the term “going Postal” came from? Anyway. I figured it was just that one office in Kent that was like that. that was until i had to go to the Ravenna Branch to sign up for an expedited Pass Port. ( i was leaving fro Ireland in a month) Same Thing! Everyone looked depressed and made it very unwelcoming. One thing i realized…. with the exception of the people discussing the transaction, the place was very silent. Public places like these you just tend to be used to some sort of ambient noise, whether its the hustle and bustle of the people or some sort of piped in music. That was it! There was no music playing at all! And from that day on would go into the post office and just wonder what a difference it would make if there was some music playing in the Back ground. When i moved to Cuyahoga Falls from Kent I was introduced to a new post office.. In fact the place was brand new and super modern but… No music and that same unwelcome feeling. Why is that? Why is there no music in post offices anyway. Is it against the law, is it some sort of security measure? Who knows, Things didn’t change when I moved to Denver. There was a local office a few blocks from my place. Another different post office yet the same dreary aura. Then several months ago, again needing to send some mail I had to head down to the Post Office. I was at work so the closest branch was yet a different one. I remember walking into the place i felt like I was heading into a dungeon. The place was located on the 16th Street mall in teh basment of some old office building. looking through the door windows I could see a line… hm nothing different. I walked in and merged into the line. After about a minute or two I was bored of looking at the displays and othe rpeople in line, I then turned my attention to the two tellers. “Mamn, your much better off using this rate you’ll save money and it should get there the same time.” “Thank you I will do that” “No problem and it’s beautiful outside or so I ve heard.. Enjoy the rest of the day Mamn.” What was going on here. This was the most cheerful post office teller I have ever encountered. that is except the teller next to him! They were both seeming to have the best day of their lives and doing what ever they could to pass the cheer on. He then started whistling… at that moment i realized the music on! He was whistling to the music being played out of a boombox behind the tellers. Next to the boom box looked to be a stack of about 30 or so cds. I couldn’t believe it! I wonder if they snuck the boombox in or if they asked to have in or what? None the less it was amazing. My transaction went smoothly (though the teller informed me to be careful when writing “see ID” on the back of my credit card because technically thats illegal. the card says authorized signature only.) Whqat a good thing to know…. Since then Ive been back probably 5 or 6 times each time music playing and each time the teller was extremely pleasant.. Does that Prove my theory? probably not but its a good start to proving it.
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