Behind the Front Line

About the Book

This book is about the funny if not hilarious moments some of us have had at the post office.  Did you ever wonder, what really happens at the Post Office during regular work hours that seems to make everything go so smooth?  It’s not hard to imagine that our customers usually create most incidents at the Post office.  Yes, it’s hard to believe this but if you read this book, you will get the picture I am trying to paint in your mind.  Everything that you will read about in this book is true.  There isn’t any made up stuff to make it sound like a Hollywood picture.  I haven’t doctored any of this, and in most cases the language has been written exactly as it originally was heard at the time of the situation.  I am not trying to create a sense of fear, I just want you, the reader, to see and feel what we feel from our side of the counter.  There isn’t any thing magical about what we do.  We have been trained to perform our duties and in the course of this job we have encountered situations of which you have heard from by someone or even been present yourself.  Many clerks can handle most situations but some are beyond the scope of the training we have received.  Sometimes we have to rely on our fellow workers to get us out of harms way and sometimes we go even higher, the supervisors, to make matters better or even worse.  If you really study us carefully, you might see that we perform our duties like doctors.  Mail Doctors.  You come to us with a mailing need and we supply the cure for your problem.  We have to learn rules, regulations and all kind of rates and classifications for different kinds of countries.  It takes a while for us to digest this information, especially when this information changes constantly.  Next time you approach a clerk, think of the wealth of information we are required to learn in order for you to mail your letter or parcel.  By the time you read this book, my hope is that you will have a better understanding of the human side of the Window Clerk.  To be a little more forgiving and see them with a sense of dignity and respect they deserve.  This job is a position heralded by most as the Front Line of defense.  Not everyone can be a Window Clerk.  Many employees who hold this position have been around for a long time.  They know their stuff, and their good at it.  It makes them proud when customers say “thank you”.  There’s nothing better than a job well done.  If you stop and think for a minute, how can we be so bad, if you just handed over a letter or mailed a package and just walked out trusting your business to us!

About the Author

Thomas Cintron, born in Long Island, New York. Traveled the world as an “Army Brat”, settled in Puerto Rico in 1963 until he joined the U.S. Navy in 1975. Moved to Berkeley, California in 1979. Started with the United States Postal Service in 1985 and has been active in many activities since. His hobbies include; Computers, Home remodeling, fixing stuff and a little of everything. “If it’s broke, I’ll try and fix it”. He is involved with the Scouting movement in his area and is married with three children ranging from 8 years to 22 years of age.