Wasilla postman's reputation of excellent customer services continues to precede him

WASILLA — Michael Jackson is a window clerk at the United States Postal Service office on Main Street. The holiday season is the busiest time of the year in his line of work and he thrives off the seemingly endless stream of customers.

“It’s harder for me when Christmas dies off because all of a sudden it goes from a bazillion customers to nothing. It slows down,” Jackson said.

Jackson said that he’s worked at the downtown Wasilla post office for 34 years and he’s been with USPS for 38 years total. He’s said that he’s been through several positions, performing various duties. He started working at the window 15 years ago. He spends most of his hours at his counter helping customers with shipments, buying stamps, package pickup and other postal services.

“I can control my counter,” Jackson said. “I spend the time and it makes the customer feel welcome.”

Of all the roles he’s taken on at USPS, he said this is his favorite because it’s where he wants to be the most — assisting customers, talking to person after person and sharing meaningful encounters with faces both familiar and new.

“I’ve made truckloads of friends at the window,” Jackson said.

Many of these customers, in turn, have shared their positive experiences over the years, prompting highly circulated posts on Facebook and continuous talk around town.

“Michael’s not even on Facebook and he’s got people coming up to him, telling him there’s 322 likes and he’s like, ‘that’s good isn’t it? What does that mean?’” Alaska District (A) USPS Acting Marketing Manager Melissa Medeiros said with a laugh.

Jackson said that he’s a people-person. He said that he had a few other jobs before starting his postal career but he found his niche and this is the career for him.

“I don’t think I’d be happy anyplace else; I really don’t. I’ve been here long enough,” Jackson said. “We’re like family around here.”

Jackson said he maintains his continuous flow of customer with a specific mindset. When the lines start piling up, he said that it’s important not to panic and rush through customers because that can lead to mistakes. He said consistency is key and he takes each day “one customer at a time,” staying mindful of the person in front of him and what they need.

“Every customer knows they’ll be treated the same at our window,” Jackson said.

On a given day, Jackson said he works with about 25 colleagues at the Wasilla Post office, coordinating with other local carriers like the Annex off the Palmer-Wasilla Highway. As someone in the customer service field, he said that not all encounters with patrons go as he would hope.

“Believe it or not, there’s a 2 percent average per year that you get somebody that you can’t help and you have to go get a supervisor or somebody else who can help move them through,” Jackson said.

Medeiros said Jackson has a positive attitude that helps diffuse tense situations. She credited Jackson and the rest of her crew. She said they all excel at their jobs and make lasting impressions in the community.

“I’ve been in customer service most of my life. I find that you just never know what people are going through,” Medeiros said. “You never know what happened to them today. You just don’t know so you just keep that positive attitude with everybody. You don’t know the difference you made… maybe you turned their whole day around.”

Below are some recent posts by customers, thanking Jackson for his customer service:

Teresa Shaw‎ posted the Facebook group “Mat-Su Valley Who To Use” on Nov. 27:

“I was at the Wasilla Main Street post office yesterday around 1pm. I would like to give a big gold star to Michael for excellent customer service. When I got there he was waiting on a customer with a bit of a language barrier. It was obvious that not only did she struggle to understand she was not willing to spend an extra penny on stamps. She kept asking the same question over and over. He explained it over and over. He used every customer service technique under the sun while watching the line grow. We all stood there and watched him help her marveling at his patience. When she left it was obvious that she appreciated his help. We often complain about government services but forget about how hard the job can be. I always get great customer service from the Wasilla post office but yesterday Michael's was above and beyond excellent.”

Robert Hall shared an anecdote via email on Nov. 20:

“Longtime Wasilla postman gets my nomination for postman of the year. A young mother with a young child in her arms picks up a large package and her regular mail. 35 year Wasilla post office employee Michael slips her mail in the box and adds tape handles so the mother can carry it all. Fantastic thoughtful act of kindness. People in line clapped.”

Medeiros said that the week from Dec. 17th to the 23rd is typically the busiest time of the year. This of course is because so many people are sending and receiving holiday related letters and packages.

“When we spotlight someone, that’s what we want to see. Just some random person in town that says, ‘Hey, he’s doing a really good job.’ You hear the bad things so often it’s really nice to see the good things, especially this time of year,” Medeiros said.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com