Whether your parcel is large or small, going express or ground, heading to Madrid or Missoula, Angie Williams with the Whitefish post office will take care of it while providing you with excellent customer service. 

“I like greeting my customers by name,” Williams said. “I believe everybody deserves a smile and a friendly face, so I try to give my customers the transaction and the personal interaction that I would want if I was on the opposite side of the counter.” 

Williams said her capacity for patience and kindness comes naturally and she does not become frustrated easily – traits that are key in customer service. She also loves her job and has compassion for her customers. 

“You perform better when you're doing a work of passion,” Williams said. “Take that extra 30 seconds. Spend a little time and make them feel like they actually are a person and that they're seen.” 

While Williams enjoys seeing the regulars at her counter, she welcomes new arrivals and tourists with the same level of quality care. 

"A lot of times you're going to see a lot of faces that you don't know,” she said. "Just be patient with them and help guide them, give them a smooth transaction. I would hope that people would have a positive experience at the post office." 

What makes Williams’ attitude more impressive is that she and the other window clerks spend hours in the morning sorting USPS parcels and Amazon shipments for the day, getting them to the correct carriers for the right routes. 

"Everybody's working together as a team to get that all taken care of,” she said. 

It is a physical workout with lifting, bending and twisting and it all happens before the window clerks begin greeting the public at 8:30 a.m. The sorting also requires clerks to memorize most of the routes and recognize customers’ names and P.O. box numbers. 

"Grandma sent a package and her handwriting wasn't the greatest, but you're like, ‘Oh, I know that number,’” Williams explained. “Instead of having to return it to sender, you can save it and get it to the right person.”  

Williams grew up in a small town in southwest Oregon where most everybody knew everybody, and they each took care of one another. 

She moved to Boulder, Montana, about 20 years ago, and when the opportunity came along to transfer to Whitefish in 2019, she was ready to make the move. She had visited the Flathead Valley in the past and was moved by the beauty of the area. 

“When I first came to Montana, what got me was, you felt like people cared. If you drive down a dirt road, everybody waved at you, and you waved back,” she said. “I wasn't used to that. Where we come from, everybody gives you the bird.” 

It’s that sense of community that made Boulder a great place to raise her daughter, who has since graduated college and works as a veterinary technician in Helena. Williams thinks Whitefish has a similar sense of community and loves living here. 

"I love the hiking trails here. I like the fact that the river is a slower pace, so it's great for paddle boarding,” Williams said. “I spend a lot of my free time rafting on the Flathead. Just anything outdoors because that's how I regroup.”

In some bigger towns, most postal transactions are completed at an unmanned kiosk. In Whitefish, we are lucky to have clerks like Williams. She gives her full attention to each patron and shares her caring nature.  

“I love Whitefish,” Williams added. "It's a beautiful place and there are a lot of beautiful people here."