I don't want to sound like an insane old person, mainly because that is exactly what I am, but the Shepherd's Bush Post Office hit new levels of inefficiency today. And that is based on its own woeful record. Apparently they are introducing a new computer system which the staff were familiarising themselves with, but I would suggest that the real problem is that the Post Office needs to introduce some new staff.
The queue was practically out of the door when I arrived and I didn't even move for the first 10 minutes. There were maybe 30 people in the queue ahead of me, people who were wanting had come to Ian Post's office to give Ian Post some money, but Ian Post has such disdain and hatred for these good folk that he makes them wait to give him money, rather than maximising his profits by having the staff to deal with them quickly and efficiently. But of course then he wouldn't be able to keep all these people in a line where he can play an endless loop of awful adverts to them advertising all the products he now offers which you would have to be insane to try and get from here, unless you had 45 minutes to waste queuing for them. Maybe Ian Post should be forced to go back to just selling stamps until he proves he can do that efficiently enough to be able to provide other services.
Twenty minutes in, with 15 people in front of me, I became quite impressed by the patience of my fellow queuees. Nobody was making a fuss at all, there was only an occasional sigh or weary look, and some of the weaker and older people sat down or leant against the barrier, but no one shouted, as I wanted to do, "Oh for fuck's sake, sort yourself out!"
It took 45 minutes for me to get to the till and get my one package weighed and then get out of there. By now the Post Office was shut, but maybe 20 more people were waiting to be served. Surely it doesn't have to be this way?
Enjoying the iPad. Not only wrote that first blog on it, but kept up my Fitday page and by doing so only consumed 1850 calories. So it is going to save my life. But I didn't get it out and play with it in the Post Office queue because I didn't want everyone else to think I was a prick. So I used my iPhone instead, which would have made people think was a prick three years ago, but which has now gone over the bump and enough people have them for them to no longer directly confer prickdom upon the owner. Fifteen years ago just having a mobile phone at all would have had the same effect. The world just hates early adopters and probably correctly because generally early adopters are pricks with more money than sense. And the goalhangers can wait for a while to find out if the thing is any good and for the manufacturers to improve the product.
But like I say it has changed my life and there is just no way that I will ever get bored with it. I promise. It's like when I wanted a dog when I was a kid and I knew I would walk it every day, If only I was allowed to have it. Except this time I have actually got it. And you will be able to tell whether I stay good to my rash promise.
