Going postal

Current mood: irritated

We are fortunate to live near a small rural post office just a few blocks away from our neighborhood. We frequent it often as it is much easier than navigating through the large city post offices. Through the years, we have become acquainted with the ladies working at the small office as there are only two of them.

Yesterday, K and I went to the post office to send off a couple of packages. K was taking packing materials off the shelf and I was trying to keep them picked up (without success). In the meantime, I laid a $20 on the counter and asked the teller to send the packages the cheapest rate available. The total was $13 and change and I watched her take the $20 and place it in the drawer. Then I turned back to K, asked her to please put the boxes back on the shelf. When I turned back to the teller, she handed me a receipt and then asked if she could give K a coloring book. I said sure, that would be geat and she bent down to pick up the book. She handed it to me and I handed it to K. Then, I turned to the teller and said, "Oh! My change..." She said, "I gave it to you already."

Now it was chaotic due to my trying to keep K behaving within reason, etc, and I do have pg brain. But I was certain she had not given me the $6 and change she owed me. I told her I didn't think she did, but I'd look. She said she handed me a $5 and a $1. I pulled out my wallet and showed her I had three $1 bills in it...no fives. I emptied my pockets, and practically emptied my entire purse on the counter and said, "I'm sorry, I don't think you gave me the change."

She was clearly irritated and said, "Well, I've never done that before so that is hard to believe. Perhaps you gave it to your daughter with the coloring book." I checked the book and all around the floor and found nothing. I said, "Nope, I don't think so...besides, you owed me some coins right, and I definitely would have noticed handing K those."

She clearly did not believe me. I was feeling all embarrassed and unsure of what to do, but was also certain she did not give me the change I was owed. And it was SIX DOLLARS. If it were a buck or two, I would have just been like "Oh, okay" and went on. I just stood there and looked at her, waiting for her to give me the change. She said "Well, if you do find it, please return it to me as this has NEVER happened to me before" and she handed me the money she owed me. I reminded her that I come into this office all the time and would never try to short change them and that certainly, if I found it somewhere, I would happily return the money. She clearly did not care.

As I drove away, I got pretty mad. I mean, how dare she accuse me like that. I wasn't angry that she thought she gave it to me, b/c clearly she thought she did. But after I EMPTIED my pockets, purse, shook out K's coloring book, and showed her I had no coins or $5 in my wallet, I think she should have been a little more gracious about HER MISTAKE. Instead, I was left feeling defensive and accused.

As my husband put it, "They know us better than that! It's not as if you were trying to scam them by making money...six dollars at a time!" ha ha. Like I was heading up to Wendy's next, to try and score another buck off a poor sucker selling me a diet Coke. It makes me not want to return to my little post office around the corner. It also makes me want to return to the post office today and say, "Your drawer came out even last night, didn't it?" or suggest she check the footage on her security camera.

Ugh. Things like that make me sooo mad!!!