Woden Post Office: Useless and Rude

vg said :

“How do you know that I don’t suffer from medium-term memory loss?”
You have to have a brain to have memory loss. Your rantings demonstrate a lacking in that regard

As I thought. I’d get a more original and less predictable response from a drunk in the Ettamogah pub.

@ant – thanks, I will. I’m walking away from this.

@Mael – either you’re p!ssed, or vg is your midnight 1900 fantasy.

ant said :

vg is one of those annoying little men who scuttle around public bars, offering to fight everyone for being there.

And are you talking about Queenslanders and their propensity for picking fights with 18 stone maori whilst full of Bundaberg rum ?

actually, its not that bad a one-liner. I’d rate it up there slightly under a Winston Churchill number. Definetly better than a Lincoln or a Stalin quote.

vg is one of those annoying little men who scuttle around public bars, offering to fight everyone for being there.

Most people ignore people like that.

“How do you know that I don’t suffer from medium-term memory loss?”
You have to have a brain to have memory loss. Your rantings demonstrate a lacking in that regard

vg said :

Not being able to keep up with a debate is hardly a good platform to boast about your abilities to win one.

vg, your pathetic little one-liners are boring me to kingdom come. They just prove one thing; your main objective is to try to run people down.

Who said anything about trying to keep up with a debate?
How does not remembering tap’s name have ANY bearing on my ability to “win” a “debate”?
How do you know that I don’t suffer from medium-term memory loss? Maybe I do, maybe I don’t. Point being, you have no idea, and if you are going to pass judgement, then at least try to think outside the square. Is “predictable” your middle name?

Oh, and do try to remove that TunnelVisionScope that’s firmly implanted up your ar@e … the lenses need cleaning …

The surveys on policing in the ACT also dictate differently as well, but Tap only chooses to use the stats he likes, or turns to ‘anecdotal’ things when its his argument, not others.

Tap the Flap

tap said :

.. so many people distrust and dislike the police force.

A bit of a generalization there tap. Speaking on behalf of myself and the people I hang out with, we have don’t have these issues.

Not being able to keep up with a debate is hardly a good platform to boast about your abilities to win one.

CanberraResident: Nah i really was being serious… I agree with you… about vg anyway, possibly about nothing else :p

But definately about vg.

tap said :

CanberraResident: Agreed. He is the personification of the reason so many people distrust and dislike the police force. He is a bully, and seems to think fighting someone is a legitimate way of resolving a conflict of opinion. Like somehow who ever wins the fights point must be correct? Ridiculous.

HHmm. Not sure if you’re being serious, or having a dig at our little tete-a-tete a while back. From memory, I think you won that battle, because I backed out without answering any of your questions, which as far as I’m concerned, is an admittance of defeat. Tap-1, CR-0, but it never got nasty. Can’t wait until the next protest. Go China! That was you wasn’t it tap? Or have I had one too many Milo’s this afternoon and mixed you up with another rioter? It couldn’t have been vg, surely not! I would have remembered that tussle coz I would’ve won standing on my head, blind-folded, doing the alien tango. Not-so-ridiculous.

hate everyone and love a good old abusive ad hom attack

STFU, fatty.

lmfao

Pandanus Street , the place of many crazy street parties back in the day ..

Personally, I think Pandanus77 is an address.

Jesus, it took you all how many days to pick that one up?

vg

21! ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha…………………

I wish!

i hate everyone and love a good old abusive ad hom attack

STFU, fatty.

I hate you too. Burn, all of you.

i hate everyone and love a good old abusive ad hom attack.. not when I am trying to win argument either (i do that without even trying). just for the sake of being offensive. its about pushing boundaries and shi!.as you can tell I am pretty on the edge and out there:p not too mention good looking, intelligent, rich, witty and modest :p 😛

F-k you Hingo.

I’m buddies with everybody on RiotACT, the problem is that they aren’t buddies with me 🙂

I’m buddies with whoever can discuss an issue without trying to fight everyone (or anyone). Extra buddy points if they can be amusing.

There are police in the ACT now? Where? Prove it!

CanberraResident: Agreed. He is the personification of the reason so many people distrust and dislike the police force. He is a bully, and seems to think fighting someone is a legitimate way of resolving a conflict of opinion. Like somehow who ever wins the fights point must be correct? Ridiculous.

vg, I’m nobody’s buddy on this site – never have been and never will be. You have tunnel vision; by choosing number 85 as an example of my “debating skills”, all you’ve done is proven that you choose to see what YOU want to see, and nothing else matters.

By the way, to the person who pointed out that vg was, or is, a cop, I couldn’t care if he was an alien from the other side of jupiter … the guy has a chip the size of Tasmania sitting on his left shoulder.

He’s a know-it-all who likes to put people in their place; I suspect that’s a “side-effect” from his days on the beat … oh, and vg, having the title of “veteran rioter” does not give you the right to belittle newcomers to this site.

Just once, it would be nice to see a “veteran rioter” be welcoming to newbies on this site. Do you think there’s an ounce of flesh in your brain that will allow you to do that, or are you so damaged that your hardened crust cannot be broken through?

Go on. Give it a go. You might just like it.

21 years old and can’t comprehend

2008 – 1977 = 31, not 21.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled beating.

And do, pray tell, inform us all of ‘the type’. With all your worldly knowledge and all. I’m guessing its chock full of stereotypes (probably American)

If you’d like to pick CR as your little buddy in this fight please refer to post 85 for their ‘brilliant’ debating skills you so laud

Ari said :

Guys, FYI VG is a cop.

vg is an ex-cop. He’s alluded to it in the past. Quite a good score by Canberra Resident, he actually picked the type quite well. There’s a few ex and current here, they don’t hide it at all well.

That aside, it’s always a shame to see how some people here think an argument is a fight. they can’t see the difference between slinging insults and attacking, and disputing a point. They also don’t understand why they always lose. Ad-hominem attacks always see the attacker losing.

Pandanus

Welcome to the site. You are off to a flying start. 21 years old and can’t comprehend. I think the posting was stupid as his own foibles were self-evident. I said it was shit service. No weaseling, just pointing out the obvious. But at 21 (at the most) and a newbie to the site I guess you know it all. To put it a way you might understand, lol, my bad.

When I receive shit service I confront the source of it and, if necessary, the thing that controls the source. I don’t whinge online about it. You would be surprised how productive that can be outside the virtual world.

But keep the hits coming, as I said, flying start

99 comments and vg hasn’t threatened to beat the shit out of anyone at the Charnwood PCYC yet. The times they are a changin’…

Oh and Circus, if when I came into your shop and you smiled, greeted me, asked me if I needed any help, you would find me to be a delightful customer – because that’s where my sense of entitlement begins, at being treated like a customer.

@Circusmind – I have no issue about being a difficult customer when it comes to bad service. The nature of retail generally seems to be that the boss employs somebody young, inxeperienced and above all, cheap – which would be fine if they actually gave them some training and told them to smile. Retail courtesy is dead – start a thread on that subject an see how many hits you get.

For the record I did not abuse anybody. I requested, pursuaded, cajoled, pleaded, conquered!

vg, No stupidity in my comment. The attitude you have displayed to h1ngo for having the gall to comment on the bad servce he has received is not acurately represented by your last post. In previous posts you’ve played both ‘good cop’ and ‘bad cop’ in the same posts,……yes, you agree that the service was bad, but then you infer that h1ngo is a loser for complaining about it (This entire ‘complaint’ is a load of tripe.
Harden up or plan your lift better.). Sorry pal, don’t even try and weasel out of it. If you are happy to receive lousy service and not complain or comment on it fine, just pull your head in when someone else is less excepting of it.

Hilarious

Just get netted in a big bust? Compimentary 😛

(Disclaimer, that’s a joke. I don’t honestly think that was you).

Duke said :

The service at Woden DJs is generally pretty bad but I had a great experience there last week. After watching an episode of Today Tonight (hey, none of that uppity 7.30 Report wankery for me) which suggested you ask for a discount whenever you go shopping, I decided to try it out on some unsmiling newbie at DJs Woden.

Well guess what? I hassled this newbie and his boss into giving me 25 pecent off a rather expensive jacket – they weren’t happy about it, I think they just wanted me the hell outta there, but what a deal!

Way to be a dickhead to the poor kid behind the counter. I never quite understand the sense of entitlement customers feel in retail, and the way they think it’s okay to abuse the poor bastard uni student behind the register just trying to get by.

Come by my register and try that and I’ll ask you to leave.

Ari said :

Guys, FYI VG is a cop.

Are you 100% positive I am Ari? Am or was?

Pandanus, it may pain you to read this but here are a few quotes of mine from the above thread

“All in all though, the service you received was piss poor. I’m not disputing that”

“I have some empathy with what happened to you”

“I would consider what was done to you poor service”

Care you re-assess the stupidity of your comment? I’m guessing 77 is your year of birth

Guys, FYI VG is a cop.

Oh come on folks, Australia Post is like any other store, they advertise a service, they advertise opening times, as a consumer I expect that whatever service they say they provide it will be provided in the advertised times. I couldn’t give a toss whether it is a franchise or company office its all the same to me. Why the hell should I phone ahead to make an appointment for a passport, I don’t have to do so if I have a stack of registered mail or a heap of bills to pay or any other service thay they say they will provide. I suspect that vg must work in the services sector and is one of those really painful people that really has no idea of what customer service really is……..”Did you make an appointment to order your latte, if not stand over there untill I could give a f*&k…….”

Maybe the lady that directed Hingo to stand in the other line didn’t realise at first what the time was and then when she did work it out told him it was too late.

vg, Einstein wouldn’t berate people.

CanberraResident said :

realityskin said :

i so want Katies babies

go right ahead, but I wouldn’t expect any little Einsteins, a few Paris Hilton wannabes maybe, but no Einsteins

Einstein would have gotten to the PO earlier

<3 Paris ..

realityskin said :

i so want Katies babies

go right ahead, but I wouldn’t expect any little Einsteins, a few Paris Hilton wannabes maybe, but no Einsteins

Why would you call Gunghalin but not the Woden Post Office if you were planning on going there?

i so want Katies babies

Ian – The reason they have to complete the interviews by 4pm is because the manager then has to double check every inch of every form, then have it in that days mail, because if it doesn’t reach the passport office by the day after the interview, they will come down like a tonne of bricks.

If you have ever had to stand in line at lunchtime behind some incompetent moron who can’t sign in the box and didn’t realise that they’d need more than their medicare card to get a passport then you’d understand why they don’t tie up all of the counter staff with passport interviews.

Every post office has different times that they will do passports (probably because of customer traffic and staffing levels), some require bookings, some don’t, so just bloody call first! Perhaps even call one of the places open on a Saturday and make a booking!

Yeah, it’s Australia Post’s fault you work funny hours, can’t read a website, can’t make a phone call, just can’t get your act together generally. Still waiting for you to point out where you said you called them first and they said you could come at 4pm and they’d serve you right up until 5. Just what the country needs – more whingers who lie when they’re called out. You should have your own category of Australia Day medal – what’s Latin for ‘clueless and gutless’?

“Passports are over there” and “it’s now after 4pm, and so you’re too late” isn’t bad customer service – it’s somebody telling you how it is. Nobody told you anything you couldn’t have found out for yourself in two seconds on Google.

I hope to Jeebus you’re not in IT support. Be careful you don’t type ‘google’ into Google, or you’ll break the Internet.

Ah great. Im glad we came to some kind of agreement in the end. And look at the time! Katie would probaby call it “three forty one” but I’ll call it “twenty to four”. Almost time for me to get the hell out of here for the day. Thanks to all for entertaining my day 🙂

Katie, I was under the impression that gen X had the smiley face (except we had it for the irony). And even gen X stole it from the gen before. Anyway, maybe Duke’s pot smoking neighbors work at the post office.

H1NG0 said :

vg said :

This entire ‘complaint’ is a load of tripe.

Harden up or plan your lift better. Don’t turn up at the death knell of service time and get the shits when things don’t go your way. Lack of planning on your part doesn’t justify an exception on their part. If I knew 1600 was the end time then I would plan to be there well before then.

If its that much of a drama why don’t you approach your boss during the day and ask if its OK if you duck out of the office quickly mid afternoon to get it done. If no is the answer you work in a shitty, inflexible environment. On the other hand is its such a priority then plan. Chuck a sickie, take some ‘make up’ time or just get a grip on what is or isn’t a genuine wrongdoing in life.

Life must be terrible when you can’t get your own shit together.

As an aside why, after you muttered your profanities under your breath, didn’t you do what a rational person might do when confronted with a situation that aggrieves them. Say to the ‘cranky old lady’, ‘excuse me, I’m not happy with your service, could you get your manager for me please’, then discuss it with them. Oh no, you’d rather get all uppity and pissy and bleat on the internet about it. I have some empathy with what happened to you but no sympathy. If that’s what you came here looking for you opened the wrong door my friend

Yes my job does suck. I have not have any kind of flexibility. I think chucking a sickie is one of my better options. Being a contractor, that means I don’t get paid. I know my job sucks, but it pays the bills and it is good money.

I would have tried turn up even earlier if I knew that they finished at 4, but really, 4 is about the best I can manage on my shift. I checked the Australia Post site but could not find any seperate times for passport applications. I thought I was ok until they closed at 5pm. As highlighted about a hundred times already, this was not the case. My bad.

I am quite capable of organising my life, but organising an interview with such a tight schedule is damn near impossible. My only chance is on the weekends and when I called up my nearest post office, I was told I could not do it on the weekends, thats why I went to Woden. I’m not one for making a scene in public, but I knew as soon as I walked out, thats what I should have done because I have already wasted so much time trying to get to a post office in my free time. Its great to know there are people here with the same experiences, it makes me feel much better about it actually.

And Katie, I still don’t understand why you think I didn’t turn up on time.

You know when you phrase it like that, rather than the way you had previously, it makes me come back over to your side a little more. All in all though, the service you received was piss poor. I’m not disputing that

Canberra resident, like, whatever!

I’m one the special cases where I get issued two Aussie passports due to working in nice places throughout West Africa and frequently need one passport for travel while the other is off getting a Visa with the appropriate bribe for the next lovely place of work.

The thing is the 2nd passport use to be the same as the first one with 10 year validity. Now for some reason known only by the public servants in DEFAT the 2nd passport is now only valid for 3 years yet costs the same. Id love to know the reason why some bureaucrat came up with this silly amendment to what was a perfectly sensible arrangement.

vg said :

This entire ‘complaint’ is a load of tripe.

Harden up or plan your lift better. Don’t turn up at the death knell of service time and get the shits when things don’t go your way. Lack of planning on your part doesn’t justify an exception on their part. If I knew 1600 was the end time then I would plan to be there well before then.

If its that much of a drama why don’t you approach your boss during the day and ask if its OK if you duck out of the office quickly mid afternoon to get it done. If no is the answer you work in a shitty, inflexible environment. On the other hand is its such a priority then plan. Chuck a sickie, take some ‘make up’ time or just get a grip on what is or isn’t a genuine wrongdoing in life.

Life must be terrible when you can’t get your own shit together.

As an aside why, after you muttered your profanities under your breath, didn’t you do what a rational person might do when confronted with a situation that aggrieves them. Say to the ‘cranky old lady’, ‘excuse me, I’m not happy with your service, could you get your manager for me please’, then discuss it with them. Oh no, you’d rather get all uppity and pissy and bleat on the internet about it. I have some empathy with what happened to you but no sympathy. If that’s what you came here looking for you opened the wrong door my friend

Yes my job does suck. I have not have any kind of flexibility. I think chucking a sickie is one of my better options. Being a contractor, that means I don’t get paid. I know my job sucks, but it pays the bills and it is good money.

I would have tried turn up even earlier if I knew that they finished at 4, but really, 4 is about the best I can manage on my shift. I checked the Australia Post site but could not find any seperate times for passport applications. I thought I was ok until they closed at 5pm. As highlighted about a hundred times already, this was not the case. My bad.

I am quite capable of organising my life, but organising an interview with such a tight schedule is damn near impossible. My only chance is on the weekends and when I called up my nearest post office, I was told I could not do it on the weekends, thats why I went to Woden. I’m not one for making a scene in public, but I knew as soon as I walked out, thats what I should have done because I have already wasted so much time trying to get to a post office in my free time. Its great to know there are people here with the same experiences, it makes me feel much better about it actually.

And Katie, I still don’t understand why you think I didn’t turn up on time.

vg, without even asking, it’s very obvious you’re ex military, paramilitary or something similar. The “I’m right – nothing else matters” attitude, bloody dead giveaway every time. Oh, and 1600 hrs – pfft.

At one end, you’ve got a deadset know-it-all, and on the other end you’ve got an 18 year old chick who can’t read.

Heaven help the day you two experience bad service from anyone and dare post it on RiotACT. I can’t wait to pounce on you two like a hungry dog ready to savage and tear apart anything you do or say.

Shame on the both of you.

*SHOCK HORROR*
I am from Gen Y… I even have the smily face to prove it!
;o)

Katie

How dare you throw logic into it!
How will Gen Y cope when you remove the ‘me, me, me’ out of it?

I’ve no doubt you’ll get your passport done, it’d be a bit silly to give up trying just from this bad experience. And yes, I understand the underlying problem but find myself growing ever frustrated “when people like you” think the world (or the post offices) should change the rules because you think you’re different (more important?) than everyone else.
If you turned up on time, they would have helped you. You didn’t turn up on time and they didn’t help you… Makes perfect sense to me!

and yes, I meant ‘life’ instead of ‘lift’.

This entire ‘complaint’ is a load of tripe.

Harden up or plan your lift better. Don’t turn up at the death knell of service time and get the shits when things don’t go your way. Lack of planning on your part doesn’t justify an exception on their part. If I knew 1600 was the end time then I would plan to be there well before then.

If its that much of a drama why don’t you approach your boss during the day and ask if its OK if you duck out of the office quickly mid afternoon to get it done. If no is the answer you work in a shitty, inflexible environment. On the other hand is its such a priority then plan. Chuck a sickie, take some ‘make up’ time or just get a grip on what is or isn’t a genuine wrongdoing in life.

Life must be terrible when you can’t get your own shit together.

As an aside why, after you muttered your profanities under your breath, didn’t you do what a rational person might do when confronted with a situation that aggrieves them. Say to the ‘cranky old lady’, ‘excuse me, I’m not happy with your service, could you get your manager for me please’, then discuss it with them. Oh no, you’d rather get all uppity and pissy and bleat on the internet about it. I have some empathy with what happened to you but no sympathy. If that’s what you came here looking for you opened the wrong door my friend

hk0reduck said :

This sort of reminds me of the time I went to get a haircut, the hair-dresser advertised time of opening (for the sake of argument) was 9:00 to 4:00. I rocked up at 3:50pm to get a hair-cut and they wouldn’t serve me because it was too close to closing time. I find this to be misleading and annoying.

I can feel your pain Hingo.

Btw, make sure you filled the application form for a passport out in black pen, my brother got turned away for having his identifying person signing their signature and perhaps filling in a few boxes in blue pen.

Hmm thats interesting. Thanks for that. The witness signed the back of my photo in blue pen but I filled in the application with black pen. Hope its all good.

This sort of reminds me of the time I went to get a haircut, the hair-dresser advertised time of opening (for the sake of argument) was 9:00 to 4:00. I rocked up at 3:50pm to get a hair-cut and they wouldn’t serve me because it was too close to closing time. I find this to be misleading and annoying.

I can feel your pain Hingo.

Btw, make sure you filled the application form for a passport out in black pen, my brother got turned away for having his identifying person signing their signature and perhaps filling in a few boxes in blue pen.

Nice attempt to back out of that one Katie. I’ll get my passport done regardless, it makes no difference. The aim of the story is to avoid the shitty customer service that is provided at Woden Post Office. But when people like you are arguing over 2 minutes, I find it a bit pathetic that you can’t see the overall problem for a technicality. I wouldn’t have to explain to such depth if only you understood the underlying problem. I never said I worked in retail either. I work in IT Support and have to deal with all kinds of people with different levels of IT experience, but at least I know how to provide a service to them. Maybe I am expecting too much from Australia Post.

Someone posts an article complaining about poor service. Suddenly others start complaining about his article and abuse him. Seems a tad hypocritical.

Hilarious indeed, Canberra resident, and exactly my point! My line of questioning is merely to see how far you (Hingo) are willing to go on about something which is so insignificant. And before you get all upitty about me dismissing your frustration, yes I have had experiencesd similar to this but honestly, get over it.
Hingo, from watching your prior posts I get the impression you think you’re a bit clever and know it all (or most of ‘it’ anyway) and yet instead of getting on with it – you whinge in online forums about the “old bats with dementia” who work at the post office. I’d be willing to bet they became like that from dealing with people like you all day everyday for 30 years… You work in retail, as you say, you must know what it’s like!
And just for the record, yes, I would say it was three fifty eight! “What the hell difference does 2 minutes make?” you ask… If you were there two minutes earlier, you would have got there first and would have your passport already! Instead you’ve spent all day whinging about it!

Can’t see what Hingo’s done to deserve all the shit being flung his way.

Regardless of whether he was in the PO at 3.58, 4.00 or 4.01, its still shit customer service to not serve him. Someone with even an ounce of customer service sense would surely show a smidgeon of flexibility to keep the customer happy, rather than piss them off for the sake of being a minute or two late.

I’ve done 3 passports at Hawker PO and found them to be good. I recall when I rang for a time they basically tell you any time except x, y and z (eg last thing Friday afternoon).

hingo, give up… you lose.

I don’t understand. When someone saks you the time and its 3:58, do you say “its three fifty eight” or do you just say “its four o’clock”. I know I would just say four o’clock because what the hell difference does 2 minutes make? It didn’t make a difference for the people in front of me who got served and arrived at the same time.

I start work at about 7:25, so I finished at about 3:55. I work near the post office, so I walked straight there. Took roughly 3 minutes. Hope that puts your mind to rest officer Katie.

Katie – would you like to call a Royal Commission? Are you an ASIO or ASIS officer? Crime Commission perhaps (Heaven help us if you are)?

This line of questioning reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where Jerry recites the Grassy Knoll JFK assassination … hilarious …

The guy has no reason to lie about the sequence of events. Geez.

Non-comprende, because you say:
a. so I stand in the line for about 2 minutes until the lady suddenly says “Oh, we only do passport applications between 2:00 and 4:00?. I look at my watch which is displaying 4:04

then you say

b.I arrived there at 4:00

then

c.The fact that I was actually there before 4…

Make up your mind… is it A, b or c?

I’ll map it out to you:

3:58 – Arrived at post office and waited in line
4:01 – Reached front of line, told to stand in passport line
4:02 – Standing in line
4:04 – Lady tells me that they can’t do passport interview over phone.

Comprende?

Hingo, which is it?
You got there and stood in line for two minutes and looked at your watch when it read 4.04 (meaning you actually turned up at 4.02) or you got there before 4 like you said in post #54.
My friend, it seems to me you are somewhat confused…

CanberraResident said :

vg said :

Been issued 3 passports in my life. Each time I went to the passport office to sort them out. Each time I was in/out in 5 mins.

Can’t you read?

Three times I have said that I called the passport office number this morning – you know – the one advertised under Foreign Affairs and Trade in the white pages, and I was told that the passport office in the DFAT building only do urgent passports these days – those needed for emergency travel, within 24 hours, that kind of thing. They do not do regular passports with no urgency about them anymore. Only urgent ones. Get it?

Learn to read or shut the firk up.

Next time you get shite service from Australia Post, I hope you get treated like crap.

I’m only sticking up for hingo because the bloke doesn’t deserve all this venom.

Good luck hingo, hope your holiday is a good one.

Cheers mate 🙂 Diamond in the rough 😉

Given your communication and people skills, I am going to take a shot in the dark – Telstra call centre? 🙂

Katie said :

“This week I am on the early shift. I finish at 4:00. I thought “Great! That will give me time to do it after work”, so yesterday I wandered over to Woden Post Office. As I walked up to the counter, a lady with thick glasses witnesses the form in my hand an says “You will have to stand over there!” and points to a family of three getting their passport applications done. Fair enough then, so I stand in the line for about 2 minutes until the lady suddenly says “Oh, we only do passport applications between 2:00 and 4:00?. I look at my watch which is displaying 4:04 and said “Are you serious?” and she said “Yes”. Meanwhile the family in front were handing in their forms at the same time. I could have done a thousand things but I simply cursed and walked out. I arrived there at 4:00. Maybe this old bat has dementia. Why didn’t she tell me that I wasn’t going to be able to get this done before sending me to the other line?”

“The point is I turned up on time”

Technically you didn’t turn up on time, you turned up at 4 and they only process the applications until 4 not 4.04 as you said… Sorry Hingo, but I must agree that you’re a bit of a whinger. If this is the worst thing that happened to you that day, I’d think yourself lucky!

Which brings me to the point again, why would I be told to stand in the line? Why not just tell me that they are not doing anymore interviews today? I would have been fine with that. The fact that I was actually there before 4, told to stand in line, then turned away at 4:04 is what irritates me. I’m not a whinger, I work in customer service and I know if I take a call just before my shift ends and it runs over, I don’t just hang up, I complete the call.

“This week I am on the early shift. I finish at 4:00. I thought “Great! That will give me time to do it after work”, so yesterday I wandered over to Woden Post Office. As I walked up to the counter, a lady with thick glasses witnesses the form in my hand an says “You will have to stand over there!” and points to a family of three getting their passport applications done. Fair enough then, so I stand in the line for about 2 minutes until the lady suddenly says “Oh, we only do passport applications between 2:00 and 4:00?. I look at my watch which is displaying 4:04 and said “Are you serious?” and she said “Yes”. Meanwhile the family in front were handing in their forms at the same time. I could have done a thousand things but I simply cursed and walked out. I arrived there at 4:00. Maybe this old bat has dementia. Why didn’t she tell me that I wasn’t going to be able to get this done before sending me to the other line?”

“The point is I turned up on time”

Technically you didn’t turn up on time, you turned up at 4 and they only process the applications until 4 not 4.04 as you said… Sorry Hingo, but I must agree that you’re a bit of a whinger. If this is the worst thing that happened to you that day, I’d think yourself lucky!

vg said :

Been issued 3 passports in my life. Each time I went to the passport office to sort them out. Each time I was in/out in 5 mins.

Can’t you read?

Three times I have said that I called the passport office number this morning – you know – the one advertised under Foreign Affairs and Trade in the white pages, and I was told that the passport office in the DFAT building only do urgent passports these days – those needed for emergency travel, within 24 hours, that kind of thing. They do not do regular passports with no urgency about them anymore. Only urgent ones. Get it?

Learn to read or shut the firk up.

Next time you get shite service from Australia Post, I hope you get treated like crap.

I’m only sticking up for hingo because the bloke doesn’t deserve all this venom.

Good luck hingo, hope your holiday is a good one.

Now who’s doing the ‘abusing’?

Flappity, flap, flap (c) Maelinar, 2008

jcf said :

And this whole thing could have been avoided if you had bothered to call Woden and ask what time they do passport interviews. Funnily enough, that is exactly what I did when I got mine, and they told me to come between ten and four.

But unlike you, I didnt turn up at 3.59 and demand to be served.

I’m almost suprised that your little sookylala rant didnt include yelling that your taxes pay their wages, or about how this one time you bought a stamp and you should be treated like a valued customer.

But hey, keep complaining to the internet. Maybe you should organise some kind of boycott?

See the post above.

And this whole thing could have been avoided if you had bothered to call Woden and ask what time they do passport interviews. Funnily enough, that is exactly what I did when I got mine, and they told me to come between ten and four.

But unlike you, I didnt turn up at 3.59 and demand to be served.

I’m almost suprised that your little sookylala rant didnt include yelling that your taxes pay their wages, or about how this one time you bought a stamp and you should be treated like a valued customer.

But hey, keep complaining to the internet. Maybe you should organise some kind of boycott?

Woody Mann-Caruso said :

Really? Show me where exactly in your p.ssant sooky-la-la extravaganza you said you tried to make an appointment at Woden, and were told you could just rock up any time. You say you called Gunghalin, and they said no – no mention of calling Woden. To save you the hassle of making up another lie, here’s what you really said:

so yesterday I wandered over to Woden Post Office…I wonder where this window of time is advertised, because I’m damn sure it says 9:00 to 5:00 on their website.

‘Wandered over’ is very, very different from ‘called ahead to see if I could come and when I should do so’. It also says no cuch thing anywhere on their website as you can see from my cut and paste above. To make it even easier for mouthbreathers like you, they even say that you should make an appointment multiple times on the same page, like this:

Remember…Not all Australia Post outlets conduct passport Interviews on request, so please check beforehand.

I guess it’s better for your ego to lash out at the world when you’re the one who’s thick. Seconding you needing a nice hot cup of HTFU.

You are moving away from the point. The point is I turned up on time, was told to stand in line to get my passport done, then turned away. Why would I be told the stand in a line if they weren’t able to help me out with the application? I don’t know what kind of jobs you guys have, but I have sweet F.A chance of getting it done at any other time. Thanks to some helpful folk on here, I have since been made aware of other options. If you think I’m an asshole because I thought I was doing the right thing, then thats your problem.

jcf said :

jesus christ, old people will whine about anything.

I GOT LESS THAN STELLAR SERVICE AT THIS ESTABLISHMENT. I AM OFF TO TELL THE INTERNET I WAS RAPED AND ABUSED.

Honestly, you didnt bother calling beforehand to find out the times they interview, and then when you were too late you want to complain? I suspect that Heath Franklin/Chopper Reid wants to have a word with you.

Hey douche, read the post and try again. I was on time. The people in front of me arrive at the same time and they got their passports done. Why would I be told to stand in a line for passports if they weren’t capable of helping me out? Maybe if I turned up at quarter past, fair enough, but I didn’t. I don’t have flexible work hours and its difficult to arrange appointments due to my work demands. As I have said many times, I did call the number, spoke to an operator and I was told that I do not need an appointment, just rock up, hand over the docments, swipe my card and leave. Simple.

Abuse: 7. harshly or coarsely insulting language: “The officer heaped abuse on his men.”

Whinge: to complain; whine.

Been issued 3 passports in my life. Each time I went to the passport office to sort them out. Each time I was in/out in 5 mins.

And yes, you might have to explain again what abuse is in your world. Poor wittle bwoy

Really? Show me where exactly in your p.ssant sooky-la-la extravaganza you said you tried to make an appointment at Woden, and were told you could just rock up any time. You say you called Gunghalin, and they said no – no mention of calling Woden. To save you the hassle of making up another lie, here’s what you really said:

so yesterday I wandered over to Woden Post Office…I wonder where this window of time is advertised, because I’m damn sure it says 9:00 to 5:00 on their website.

‘Wandered over’ is very, very different from ‘called ahead to see if I could come and when I should do so’. It also says no cuch thing anywhere on their website as you can see from my cut and paste above. To make it even easier for mouthbreathers like you, they even say that you should make an appointment multiple times on the same page, like this:

Remember…Not all Australia Post outlets conduct passport Interviews on request, so please check beforehand.

I guess it’s better for your ego to lash out at the world when you’re the one who’s thick. Seconding you needing a nice hot cup of HTFU.

jesus christ, old people will whine about anything.

I GOT LESS THAN STELLAR SERVICE AT THIS ESTABLISHMENT. I AM OFF TO TELL THE INTERNET I WAS RAPED AND ABUSED.

Honestly, you didnt bother calling beforehand to find out the times they interview, and then when you were too late you want to complain? I suspect that Heath Franklin/Chopper Reid wants to have a word with you.

Woody Mann-Caruso said :

Sounds like a whinge to me. Anybody who knows anything knows you can’t just stroll into a post office and get a passport interview – you can only do so at particular times.

Here’s what two seconds on the Aussie Post website turned up. I’ve bolded the important bit to make it easy for you to find:

To apply for a passport:

– pick up the application form from selected postal outlets (refer to Post Office Locator/passport interview option)
– gather the relevant documentation as per the application form
– make an appointment at the post office for your interview

If you’re going to try a different post office, try actually calling first to find out when you can get your passport interview instead of just rocking up with an attitude and without a clue.

Maybe before shooting your mouth off, you should see that I did cal and was told that I was able to turn up without an appointment. The application I have also states that is recommended that you book an appointment but not necessary. I have also had friends and relatives submit their applications over teh counter without appointments. I never had an attitude, I was trying to submit the application. I have a right to be pissed off for being turned away when I arrived within the designated time anyway.

I hear the word “abused” used quite often. It’s become quite commonplace.

“The bloke at the ATM abused me for taking too long …”
“The old lady abused me for taking her parking spot” … (oops)
“I abused the call centre operator for stuffing me around …”

Don’t take it so literally vg. Sheesh. Good chance you’ve used it.

Sounds like a whinge to me. Anybody who knows anything knows you can’t just stroll into a post office and get a passport interview – you can only do so at particular times.

Here’s what two seconds on the Aussie Post website turned up. I’ve bolded the important bit to make it easy for you to find:

To apply for a passport:

– pick up the application form from selected postal outlets (refer to Post Office Locator/passport interview option)
– gather the relevant documentation as per the application form
– make an appointment at the post office for your interview

If you’re going to try a different post office, try actually calling first to find out when you can get your passport interview instead of just rocking up with an attitude and without a clue.

hingo said :

And beforee the english nazi grabs me again, thats Worthwhile…

Just as well you sorted that one out, they would have abused you for sure.

And beforee the english nazi grabs me again, thats Worthwhile…

Oh mate jesus christ give it a rest. Do I need to explain it to you again? Unless you have something worthwile to add to the conversation rather than giving english lessons, please bugger off. I don’t care if you think its the right word or not, its written, its done, move on.

Abuse?
Oh my hat!
Did the wittle scarewy wady make you all sooky sooky?

I would consider what was done to you poor service. Trying to ramp up the story saying you were abused is a little on the nose. Would I do it to someone, no. Is it abuse? Not by a long shot.

You got shitty service. That is piss poor and I feel your pain

To say you got abused, when clearly the worst thing that happened was an old lady used a nasty tone, is a bit Today Tonight. If that’s abuse in your world then maybe don’t venture out of the lounge room. Its a scary place

PBO said :

As a former employee of the Passport Office, I recommend going to them as oppossed to going to a post office. Althought PO staff do get adequate training, it is not one of their constant jobs. You are better off going to DFAT and getting it done there as the staff know what to do and they do it quickly. I made the mistake of going to Yarralumla PO to get a photo and they could not do it and then to Deakin PO to get a second rate photo for 13$. Stick with the people who do passport for a job.

sorry, I called the passports number 131 232 this morning and was told the passport office in canberra DFAST building no longer do passports for regular travellers – unless it is an emergency – ie, 24 hour travel, urgent stuff. You can call and check – I did.

Things have changed.

As a former employee of the Passport Office, I recommend going to them as oppossed to going to a post office. Althought PO staff do get adequate training, it is not one of their constant jobs. You are better off going to DFAT and getting it done there as the staff know what to do and they do it quickly. I made the mistake of going to Yarralumla PO to get a photo and they could not do it and then to Deakin PO to get a second rate photo for 13$. Stick with the people who do passport for a job.

justbands said :

> Hingo you could try the post office at Cooleman Court. I found the guy there to be very friendly and efficient (but I still had to book).

Seconded. I’ve never renewed a passport there, but generally they’ve always provided good service.

Thirded. Even when picking up parcels pre-9am the service is quick and friendly.

vg said :

I’m failing to see where you were ‘abused’ here (“Its a license to be abused apparently.”)

You were told to stand in a certain place, then found out the service was unavailable, then you (by your own admission) cursed and walked out.

Shit service, yes
Abused?
No

Thanks for the english lesson. The nasty tone the crabby lady used I would consider abusive. I felt like as soon as I was walking in that she had already marked me as some kind of trouble maker. I also think being told to wait in a line and then later on tell me that this service isn’t available is something close to abuse. Why would you do that to someone? I knew there would have to be someone who would somehow find a way to fault me, so thanks, you are the nitpicker.

@ northside, 131 232 is the Passports Office advertised number, not Australia Post – see white pages under foreign affairs

I wrongly assumed that was the Australia Post number. It does seem to be crucial to actually call and book ahead of time if you’re going through the post office for your passport.

The post office at the Jamison Centre is the worst for any kind of service; they’re helpful but slow at the ANU post office (they do passports too, but only on weekdays). The tiny post office in Hawker is open on Saturdays, you could try get an appointment there too hingo.

Deregulation of the postal industry will sort them out.

I’m failing to see where you were ‘abused’ here (“Its a license to be abused apparently.”)

You were told to stand in a certain place, then found out the service was unavailable, then you (by your own admission) cursed and walked out.

Shit service, yes
Abused?
No

CanberraResident said :

oops, it was

option 3
and then option 4

sorry mate – my bad

Hahaha sweet. Thanks mate 🙂

The service at Woden DJs is generally pretty bad but I had a great experience there last week. After watching an episode of Today Tonight (hey, none of that uppity 7.30 Report wankery for me) which suggested you ask for a discount whenever you go shopping, I decided to try it out on some unsmiling newbie at DJs Woden.

Well guess what? I hassled this newbie and his boss into giving me 25 pecent off a rather expensive jacket – they weren’t happy about it, I think they just wanted me the hell outta there, but what a deal!

I’ve noticed that at Woden DJs. I’ve often wondered why don’t just give up and move the whole mess to Civic where it fits better anyway. No doubt the missing checkout staff are all lurking at the doors to catch people walking out with stuff.

oops, it was

option 3
and then option 4

sorry mate – my bad

To change the subject slightly but still staying within the theme – have you ever tried to buy something at David Jones in Woden? I have been there on several occasions and there are NEVER any staff at the cash registers to serve you. You have walk through 3 different departments to find someone at a cash register and when you get there they look at you like a tard for taking a shirt to the electronics register to pay. There was one time when there were two old ladies behind the register bitching about DJ’s and they continued their bitching session for a further 3 minutes before serving me – God forbid they had to serve a customer – someone call the Human Rights Organisation, these ladies had to work for a living.

There’s no other store like David Jones – Thank F&*K for that!!

no worries mate, just don’t lose your damn passport when you finally get it! 😉

maaate, listen to each option very carefully – trust me – one option comes up as passports – I’m sure it was 1 and then 4 – but you call and listen to all of the options, and then choose accordingly – it is there

good luck

I the post office number but it only gave me the post office opening hours. Maybe I’m doing something wrong here. Nevermind. At least now I have a few options.

Ah cool! Excellent work CanberraResident! I’ll give that ago. When I called on the weekend I had bugger all options. Maybe they swtich the line on weekends.

> Hingo you could try the post office at Cooleman Court. I found the guy there to be very friendly and efficient (but I still had to book).

Seconded. I’ve never renewed a passport there, but generally they’ve always provided good service.

ok, just called the passport hotline 131 232 – ant was right – i was wrong – passport office in DFAT building only do emergency or urgent passports these days – things have changed

i was told to call australia post on 13 13 18 which i did – option 1 then option 4 for passports – enter your postcode and it will tell you when they are available for passports, then select operator and it’ll put you straight through to THAT post office to speak to them

good luck

I recommend the post office at Kippax. There’s a lady there (Diane, I think), she used to be at Charnwood, she’s excellent.

I know a couple of people who had trouble, only this time it was at Jamison. After being sent home to get their original birth certificates, they spent another hour there being served(!) by some stupid Asian who could barely speak a word of English and plainly didn’t know what she was doing. They said it was verging on being painful watching her study their birth certificates knowing full well she didn’t have a clue what she was looking at. What’s the point??

Agree with many of the comments about Australia Post. You get the impression they work there because no other organisation would give them a job.

Also after Centerlink gets tired of some loser bludging off the dole for years they will often set them up with a job at AP.

Hingo you could try the post office at Cooleman Court. I found the guy there to be very friendly and efficient (but I still had to book).

The Passport Dept. in Barton is also great – overstaffed and underworked!

Ant the delivery contractors are hired on the basis of lowest tender. Pay peanuts get monkeys. With the rise in fuel costs these guys are probably running at a loss. We had a young guy one down South that went bankrupt whilst delivering mail as a contractor. Made for some interesting service.

Cool. I might give Belco a try on the weekend. Thanks guys!

Lost a passport once, filled out the forms and DFAT passport office re-issued a new one within 24 hours – forget the post office

DFAT have stopped doing regular passport interviews at their office in Barton. They do the hard cases and curly ones. And you have to make an appointment. You could call and try to make an appointment though, you never know your luck. Maybe tell them about all the horrible experiences at the PO.

Best post office I’ve found is the one in parliament house! There’s usually a queue of staff, waiting for something to do. I wandered up there with my passport renewal in lunchtime (when they aern’t supposed to do them) but there was no one for miles. And they didn’t ask any questions, just went through the form to ensure I’d filled it all out, processed my eftpos payment, and stuck it all in an envelope.

I use this PO for all my general PO stuff too. It’s so quick.

Australia Post have been going to the dogs though. In rural areas we have postal contractors delivering our mail, the quality of which can be variable.

@ northside, 131 232 is the Passports Office advertised number, not Australia Post – see white pages under foreign affairs

You need to ring them on 131 232 and make an appointment first.

I rang that number so I could try to get an appointment at Belconnen and they told me I didn’t need to book an appointment as it was done over the counter. Can’t win.

The person at the thirteen hundred number lied, you have to call the actual post office at Belco and they will schedule and appointment with you. Conveniently they will process passport applications on a Saturday morning, at least that was the case about eight months ago when my husband needed a new passport.

ring foreign affairs switchboard on 6261 1111 and ask to be put straight through to the passport office in the DFAT building as you are having problems with the 131 232 number

maaaate, why are you putting yourself through this???? stuff Oz post – they are garbage

Go to the official Passport office in the public area of the foreign affairs building at barton. You won’t have this problem, you will be certain it will be processed properly, and you sleep well afterwards.

sorry, but if i encounter a problem with one service, i immediately look for an alternative and give the first one the flick instead or torturing myself

Doctor Evil said :

You need to ring them on 131 232 and make an appointment first.

I rang that number so I could try to get an appointment at Belconnen and they told me I didn’t need to book an appointment as it was done over the counter. Can’t win.

The more and more traffic that gets sent electronically is a bloody good thing. It must be a prerequisite to land a customer service job at Australia Post to be old, rude, and enjoy being a pain in the arse.

I asked for a stamp the other day, and then produced a $20 note. Holy smoke, you would have thought I had just asked this old cow for a bj! So much hassle to produce $19.50 change.

If the old cows can not be stuffed doing the job with a smile on their faces, then piss off and let someone who needs a job have a go.

Because they have a monopoly on the service they provide it will never change. I try to avoid using their service as much as possible.

hingo,
Since you reside (presumably) in the ACT, why not try the Foreign Affairs office in Gareth’s Gazebo – glamorous surroundings and hardly anyone in the queue. Good luck.

You need to ring them on 131 232 and make an appointment first.

Cool. Thanks for the tip Ari!

I had a similar run-around at Curtin Post Office.

But a mate of mine recently went straight to the passport isssuing shopfront at DFAT. He had no problems at all with them.