From Sol Stein's "On Writing": The most efficient technique for making minor characters come alive is to select one memorable characteristic that singles them out from the rest of humanity.
The reason a single vivid trait works is that memory loves shorthand. Readers can't hold twelve minor characters in mind, but they can hold twelve tags: the librarian who hums without knowing it, the mailman who calls everyone "chief." That one detail does the work a whole paragraph of description would otherwise attempt, and it does it faster, sticking in the mind long after the scene ends. Try it: instead of describing a shopkeeper's face, give him a habit of polishing the same spot on the counter no matter who's talking to him. The caution is that one trait should suggest a person, not replace one. Pile on quirks and you get a cartoon, not a character. Choose the detail, then let it rest.
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