I had a remarkable experience at the Birmingham, MI Post Office on January 5th, 2017. The post office is located at 1221 Bowers street. I am 54 years old and have mailed over 3,500 books. I have never been treated with such insolence and outright nastiness in my life.
I normally mail my books in Royal Oak. This was my second time at the Birmingham Post Office. I had never met Eric before. He was the postal clerk who was supposed to assist me. The only packages I send through the U.S. Postal Service are books. I am used to being asked if there are liquids, flammables, lithium batteries, etc. in my package. Eric did not greet me in any way. In order to save him time asking me the usual questions, I told Eric there was only one book in each package and I would like to send them by way of media mail. Eric told me that I would have to send the books by Priority Mail Express or one or two other options because the packages did not only contain books. I thought that Eric had misunderstood me so I restated that there was only one book in each package and that I wanted to send them via media mail. Eric told me that I was lying about the contents of the packages and I would need to send them using a more expensive shipment method.
It was clear to me that Eric was trying to instigate a fight. I did not take the bait. I stepped away from his station and stood behind a lady who was being helped by Shawn. As I was walking to Shawn's station, Eric said that Shawn would not send them media mail either. When the lady left, I told Shawn that there was only one book in each package and I would like to send them by way of media mail. Eric walked over to Shawn and told him that I was lying about the contents of the packages and he was not to send the packages by way of media mail. Eric told me that he was going to open the packages and return them to me, my eBay customers would not receive their property. He said I was wasting my money trying to ship the packages. When Eric stepped back to his station I told Shawn that I didn't know what was wrong with Eric, but that I was afraid to leave the packages in the Birmingham post office. This was also the first time that I had met Shawn. Shawn seemed to be alright to me. He told me that the packages would be opened and inspected, but the contents would not be damaged.
I did leave the packages with Shawn. I also asked him for a direct phone number for the Post Office. He wrote the number 248-646-0723 on my receipt. Throughout the day I called the number 13 times (yes, really, I just looked at recent calls on my phone). No one ever answered. I called the 800 number at the top of the receipt. They put me in touch with a nice lady named Beverly at 313-234-8823. She called the Birmingham number and no one answered. She called a second number and did get through. They told her the Postmaster had no time to talk with her. They told Barbara that she could hold for Elijah, a supervisor. Barbara and I waited on hold for a while trying to talk over the messages they play while you are on hold. Barbara said that we could wait until the post office closed and no one would answer. We decided to hang up.
At this point I called friends who have a Post Office box at that location. I remembered them telling me that they drive to the Berkley Post Office if they need to see a clerk. They told me that the clerk at the far right station, Eric, was incredibly rude and always upsold them to a higher priced shipping option. He always said they could not ship their items by their preferred method. Eric also handled their package in a rough fashion. My friends have observed Eric hassle many customers. This is why they drive elsewhere to see a postal clerk.
I next talked to Mike at 877-876-2455. He is a very nice employee of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. He asked me a lot of questions. He told me he would look into the incident.
I have never met anyone as aggressive and nasty as Eric. It is a shame that he has a customer service job. Eric would not be able to hold any of the jobs I have had. Wherever I have worked, you need to be polite or at least behave in a professional manner. Eric does not follow U.S. Postal service rules. He sets his own policies and prices and dictates to the customers. He is a bully. Something is very wrong in Birmingham.
If you do go there, please do not let Eric push you around. Be prepared for his bad behavior. You need to stand up for yourself. If You observe Eric demeaning someone else, please help them out. Eric needs to understand that his behavior is not acceptable.
Best Regards,
Tim B. from Royal Oak
***It is the following day and I was able to speak with Elijah, the supervisor. Elijah had not been able to answer the phone the prior day because he was in the middle of a cash count. He is a very professional and courteous man. Elijah was concerned with the interaction I had the prior day. He said he will investigate the matter.
Thank you, Elijah!*** read more