UPS charges to pick up at UPS Store.

!. The UPS Store is a franchise and charges for services.
2. Call the 800 number on the delivery attempt notification.
3. Arrange for re-delivery
4. Tell them you want the driver to leave the package on your
doorstep.
5. Sign the delivery receipt and scotch tape it to your door.

Signing the receipt relieves UPS from indemnity if the package is
stolen.

Hope this will help you in the future.

Holy hell, I am going through this now. I was told that The UPS Store
is a franchise that isn't wholly owned by UPS so they can't deliver
packages to The UPS Store. However, this is still completely
illogical. The convenience of being able to pick up a package from my
local UPS store would make me actually want a delivery from UPS rather
than figure out how the hell i'm getting to a UPS Center that is
40mins away...

I know UPS, like most large companies, runs a dishonest business. Our
business shipped a $5000 stereo receiver via UPS and paid shipping
plus about $60 for "insurance". Insurance that they do what they are
paid to do properly. They didn't. they dropped the package at least
twice, totaling the receiver and then refused to pay for it citing it
was improperly packed. It had bubble wrap like any other shipment. UPS
claimed bubble wrap was not packing material but only "filler". Huh?
If they thought it was improperly packaged, they should never have
accepted it in the first place. since the receiver belonged to a
customer, we had to fork over $5000 worth of new equipment. Think
twice before insuring you UPS shipment. The entire concept of insuring
a delivery is bogus anyway. What you're saying is, "Pay us extra money
to do our job that we are already being paid to do just in case we
screw up". Try that with any other service.

Whatever issues there are with the UPS directly is basically going to
amount to, they are a huge corporation. You are a tiny insignificant
dot on a piece of the map that has a coffee stain over it.

However, with the UPS Store, you have another problem. As a franchise,
they have no responsibilities to keeping the UPS name, including the
part about being clear that they ARE NOT the UPS. I'm going to assume
the writer made this mistake. Of course that's not to say they won't
be very very clear with you about what they are not responsible for as
a NON-UPS entity once you have a problem with their lackluster
service. Then they are VERY clear.

I had a package that needed shipping a certain way. When I told them,
they assured me that it was fine and they just needed the regular
information. The service would have the shipping charge directly paid
for by my client, but it was then that they said I would have to pay
upfront and be reimbursed later. Now this sounds more like a COD which
I expressly told them it had better not be and got the same
reassurances. After that, I was charged a hefty sum, again very
strange for the service I asked and was supposedly given. My client
later complained about that charge, but the UPS Store was not going to
ship my package without that ridiculously high charge so my hands were
tied.

In the end, their manager apologized for the "miscommunication" but
that was about it. No refund, no solution, just a pat on the back and
a too bad.

Luckily I'm no fool so I contested the charge and now they walk away
with nothing at all. The charge is now completely reversed, shipment's
already delivered, and they can cross my company's name off their list
and all my clients as well. We're in wholesale merchandising so that's
A LOT of BIG shipments. It's just a fact of what happens when you try
to cheat your customers though.

I hope the writer's problems with the UPS corporate can be solved as
well.

Hi
The UPS Store is private franchise and THEY CAN nad MAY charge you for
pick up at the store. No one wants to work for free. Would you? Big
misunderstanding on UPS Corporate and The UPS Store being the same
business.

I know it may seem that The UPS Store is part of UPS, but it is
actually a separate entity. The UPS Store is an individually owned
and operated franchise.

Although the franchise system is owned by UPS, it is unfortunate that
UPS has put store owners in the middle. It's not the store owners
fault that policies are different. Corporate made the decision to use
UPS within the name but unfortunately make the stores abide by
different rules than UPS coporate. It is a retail store that ships
via UPS, and offers other business services (that their centers do not
offer). It is a retail business model, and not an extension of UPS
corporate. This is why there are fees for packages to be delivered
there and why UPS account numbers cannot be used.

When account numbers are charged, the store does not make anything on
the package, and would be liable for the cost of that shipment, if by
chance the account number was not valid, or if the account holder did
not authorize the charge. The stores account number would then be
billed back for that shipments cost. That is why the policies were
changed, whereas the stores no longer can accept UPS account numbers.


Each store owner pays ALL expenses necessary in running the
store...NONE of which are paid by UPS corporate. The store needs to
make money to keep their doors open.

Fees being charged for items to be delivered there are part of
convenience services offered by The UPS Stores. I do think you should
have been told this before it got delivered there...so you could have
had this explained to you, and then made the decision at that point,
as to whether or not it was worth the $10 to you. There are a host of
other services the store provides. For example, if you are a mailbox
holder at one of the stores...you could get packages delivered there,
WITHOUT paying any fees. That is part of the mailbox services
provided. You pay for mailbox services, but for those who have many
many packages shipped to them on a regular basis, this pays for
itself. The mailbox services also offers package receipt
notification.

I just feel it's important to educate the public, since this is
something most people do not understand...the difference between UPS
and The UPS Store. I hope this information was helpful.

UPS Doesn't charge the $10 It's The UPS Store. You are useing them as
a delivery point. You are using their time and resources for that
package. The UPS Stores are family owned and operated unlike FedEx
Office which is Corporate owned. You are just lucky that the package
was not refused as many will do that. If you don't want to incur the
carges or have may packages delivered why don't you look at geting a
Personal Mail Box at the local UPS Store. They will sign for you
packages and also recieve you mail.

I hope you don't work for UPS.

If you do, your viciously hostile and abusive attitude toward
customers is the very opposite of customer service.

Why on earth would anyone do business with anyone having your
high-handed, insulting, nasty, elitist attitude? You're better than
everyone else and we're all just whining peasants who should suck it
up and shut up. Well, you know what you can go do to yourself, right?

FedEx leaves packages when people aren't home. In some neighborhoods,
they leave a sticker on the door asking you to sign your approval of
FedEx's leaving the package the following day. Even then that's a rare
exception, and it should be. You pay for delivery, you should get
delivery - not a nanny who holds your package at a center 45 miles
away "for your own good" because "we aren't responsible."

If you want people to take responsibility for their own actions,
first start by taking responsibility for YOUR own actions...like your
business.

Put the package on the doorstep. If the neighborhood is completely
ghetto, consider putting a signature sticker on the door instead.

I have never had a package left by UPS when I am not home. Nor have I
ever gotten the sticker for my signature. ALWAYS with UPS they hold it
at the center "for my own good" because "we aren't responsible."

Huge hassle. That's whining? No. That's a customer telling your
company what to improve. LISTEN. Don't talk. Don't explain. Don't yell
insults and be hypocritical about "personal responsibility" (of which
you have none). LISTEN. LISTEN to the customer. LOOK at your
competition. Try to IMPROVE, not JUSTIFY yourself.

But LISTENING instead of JUSTIFYING would mean that UPS is interested
in having customers. It apparently doesn't give a damn about having
customers. The dumb slobs can look it up themselves, right? In fact -
they can do it ALL themselves! Drive to the vendor, pick up the
package, and drive home themselves! What are these dumb a**holes
bothering us for? - is your attitude.

And, why put your name - "UPS" - on "UPS" Stores...if the stores *have
nothing to do with, aren't owned by, UPS*? I get that the stores are
independent. I get that they really aren't owned by UPS. I understand
that. I get it. My only question is: How smart is it to put "UPS" in
"UPS Store" when the two things (i.e., "UPS" and "UPS" Store) have
absolutely nothing to do with each other? Guess the peasants should
take some gosh-darn personal responsibility and learn the intricate
secrets of your franchise structure - the name on the shingle be
damned, right?

You know what? You are everything that is wrong and objectionable
about corporate America.

Based on your post, I will never deal with UPS again.

I will only do business with FedEx. I get the feeling FedEx would not
treat me disrespectfully for questioning to clearly inconvenient,
unnecessary, and irrational policies.

In my mind, your post is the nail in the coffin of UPS's reputation.

What can Brown do for me?

Apparently nothing.

Anthony,

In case you haven't figured it out yet, UPS DOES NOT OWN THE UPS
STORES! The UPS Stores are individually owned and operated. You used
a UPS Store's service and therefore you have to pay for it. GET A
LIFE!!!

I have had so many problems with UPS myself and will never use them
again if I can help it. I ordered a new computer in August and took
the day off from work to sign for the package (I knew what day it was
coming because I tracked it on the UPS website). THere was no one
else home to sign for it. So, I waited for my computer all day. 7
o'clock came and it still wasn't here. I called UPS and they told me
that a driver just came by at 6:30 and no one was home. Now I was in
the livingroom all day waiting for the door. My car was in the
driveway. There was no note left on the door and my dogs didn't bark.
Either the UPS man came and knocked softly once and left or didn't
show up at all. I asked if they could have him come back that night
and they said no, it was too late. They said they'd redeliver it
tomorrow. I asked if they could tell me around what time it will be
delivered so I can leave work to come home. They said no. I asked if
I could pick it up somewhere...no again. Anyway luckily my mother in
law was able to come over the next day and wait for the package. But
because of their terrible service, I will never use UPS again. I hope
you get your $10 back.

The reason you had to pay to get your package is as follows. A UPS
Store is a franchise which is paid for by an individual owner. UPS
corporate does not pay any of the bills for a UPS Store and in reality
the UPS Store is a customer of UPS. The biggest bill every month for a
store owner is their UPS delivery charges. The store owners are
struggling to make a living as UPS controls many of their resale rates
in addition to what they must pay UPS.
They do not leave much for the store owner, believe me I used to own
one. The store accepts aand handles an incoming package for you for no
payment from UPS at all. We charged non mail box holders a fee also.If
you have a box there, we accepted packages for no fee.

You bought something from Amazon that weighs 65 pounds and requested
home delivery even though you are not home during normal delivery
hours. I'm wondering how you expected to get the package in the first
place.

If you can't arrange to be home during delivery hours, or have someone
be there for you, don't you know anyone who has a car? Can't you rent
one? I know some major metropolitan areas have a service where you can
rent a car by the hour.

UPS can only do so much to get a package to you if you aren't home and
can't get to their drop point to pick it up. What did you think would
happen when you placed the order?

I did not read all comments, but I think many people are missing the
boat.

First - I have made this argument many times. Franchise or not, etc -
If you as a company decide to
put your name on a business, you are "guilty" by association. It is a
UPS Store. While seperate or not from the core package distribution
system, it is under the umbrella of UPS and I find it hard to believe
that they do not have the addresses of the various drop/pickup
locations for UPS Stores as well as any other UPS drop site.

Second, and my main point. From what I can tell, this person had a
package sent to his home and PAID for the shipping originally. It
made it to the distribution center, but could not be delivered because
no one was home. UPS would have delivered it to his house for free.
The UPS Store, I assume, is not far from his house. Why the extra $10
to go there instead of the home where it would have been free had
someone been there? I suppose you could make the argument that it is
for the "labor" and other incidentals of recieving the package at the
UPS store, but that seems a bit extreme for me. And yes, I understand
it is "just $10". However, since the original shipping had been paid
and he was simply changing the final ship to location to one that was
in the same area as the original, I can see how I would also be upset
if I were in this persons shoes.

I pay over $300 a year for a box rental my local UPS store and I have
done so for almost 10 years now. I love the convenience and the added
perks. One of those perks is that I get package deliveries from UPS,
Fedex, DHL, etc "free".

You don't get your $10 back, you don't pass go, you don't collect
$200.

As has been established, UPS Stores are not owned by UPS. So I won't
go into that.

You wanted your package delivered to downtown Washington, DC, right?
It's true that Landover, which is the closest sorting center, is "far"
from the District, especially if you don't have a car.

I wonder if there was an option to sign for the package, prior to its
delivery. I believe UPS can leave a tag at your home address, which
you sign, and that allows them to deliver a "signature required"
package without you needing to be there. In doing so, of course, you
take on the risk for the package. If it disappears, UPS can't be
blamed. So, I wouldn't blame you for not wanting to take this option.
But, in cases where you cannot be home, it is AN option. I don't
know your neighborhood, but a 65 pound package isn't likely to "walk"
without someone noticing, I'd think.

The UPS Store is an individually owned franchise whose parent company
Mailboxes Etc. is owned by UPS. The UPS Stores however are
independent of the UPS centers where your packages come from. They
offer package receiving at there location as a service. As a service,
they can charge for it. In addition, there are several UPS stores in
a metro area and the customer counter could have picked one that did
accept drop offs or that wasn't as convenient to you as you might like
so they asked you to choose the location.

you had absolutely no idea what their policies are. And now you are
blaming them for having policies and a network that aren't what you
expected them to be (based on Lord know what).

I use UPS frequently, and what you have describe is exactly what I
understand UPS' service and policies to be. It is your responsibility
to figure out *before* shipping how you are going to get your package.
You have no car and you are having a 65 pound package delivered. You
had better have a plan. No, they aren't going to provide people to
drive around at all hours of the day. Unreasonable request. Yes, the
UPS store is not owned by UPS, and to request a package be delivered
from a UPS site to the store is going to cost money. That just makes
sense. It is sitting in one place and you are requesting it to be
sent somewhere else. At 65 pounds, $10 is cheap.

Bottom line: UPS has tracking, and you could have determined the exact
day the package would be delivered. You could have arranged for
someone to be home that day. Or, you could have had it shipped to the
depot, which as you mentioned is 45 min from your home. It is
possible (though I am not sure) you could have had it delivered to the
UPS store initially, but it may (probably) have cost more to enlist
their services.

You could have chosen FedEx in the first place, since they can deliver
downtown (which sounds like it would have been more convenient for
you). Plan better next time, but don't blame UPS because you don't
understand their policies and service.

My husband and I both work for companies that do a lot of shipping. I
can never understand customers who complain about not receiving their
packages when they aren't home during the day. You have the option of
shipping your packages to any location. Further, UPS does charge an
address change fee, which is perhaps the $10 you were charged. This is
because they must reroute the package and attempt delivery again. It's
a service that costs them money, so they pass on those costs to the
customer. Companies have expenses to pay, and can't afford to lose
money.

You did have the option of picking up your package at the UPS facility
without additional charge, but you chose not to do so because it is
too far for you to drive.

One more thing: Times are changing. UPS used to just drop off
packages, but they can no longer do so in some locations either
because of theft or because of fraud. They have the option of raising
their rates to cover their losses (which would affect us all), or
choosing to not leave packages in areas (or to homes) where there have
been losses or suspected fraud in the past.

I would suggest this: that it would have been better had you done
this sort of research *prior* to ordering something that weighs too
much to carry home yourself.

"I thought UPS was supposed to deliver it to my home? That's what I
paid for and now I have to pay an additional $10 to get the package?"

UPS tried to deliver it to you on three separate occasions. I
understand that you couldn't be home, but didn't they leave you a slip
to sign, authorizing them to leave it? If they forgot, you could have
left a note with your signature authorizing this, or requested it when
you spoke to them. If you don't want the package left while you're not
home you need to make alternate arrangements beforehand. See if a
neighbor who is home during the day will let you ship it there
instead. It's not UPS's fault that you're not there when they show up.

If I know ahead of time that I want to get packages or mail from a UPS
store I can go down there and pay in advance for the service. (I've
done it with a Mailboxes Etc. store back before they turned brown. It
was a nice service and if I wanted to get mail somewhere other than my
home for any reason I'd head down to the UPS store and ask them
whether they have any available boxes.) I don't see why I would be
able to get the same service for free just because I didn't set it up
in advance.

In any event, paying the store $10 was not your only option. You
could have skipped work on one of the days when they brought it to
your home, left a note explaining how you want them to handle the
package (leave with a neighbor, leave at your door, etc.), taken a bus
to their regional center and a cab back, and so on. Not taking action
until after the third delivery attempt is what got you into a
situation in which there weren't all that many great choices left, and
if you had the tracking number before the package arrived, you could
have taken action before the first delivery attempt.

You're describing an experience that isn't fun and is a lot more
trouble than you had been expecting, and I wouldn't have liked it
either. But having unpleasant experiences doesn't always mean that
other people are responsible for making things better, and this is one
of those occasions when UPS doesn't owe you anything.

My name is Michael J. Rodriguez and I am the Chairman and CEO of an
association of UPS stores, namely the Brown Board Owner's
Association.

Please allow me to clarify certain facts so that there is no confuaion
in the mind of the customer who rightfully complained.

The UPS stores are Independently owned franchises that although
affiliated with UPS through a franchise agreement, ARE NOT UPS.

Our association for some time has been challenging the practices of
UPS in regards to "drop-offs".UPS often treats our stores as if we
were their employees, which we are not. This questionable treatment
has forced many stores to take a rather strong stance relative to
drop-offs, and impose a charge for those customers of UPS that think
that our stores are agents or employees of UPS. UPS stores normally
charge for packages that are dropped off at the stores and who are not
customers of said store. Customers of the store e.g. mailbox customers
can have their packages dropped off at the stores and held for pickup
by the customer at no charge.

I hope this clarifies the situation.

UPS would have delivered it to your home... You said you weren't
there. It's called personal responsibility. You don't have a car,
that's not their problem. You should make arrangements for packages,
or don't order things that have to be shipped.
You don't deserve your $10 back because the store has a right to
charge for their service. They are not a storage facility, nor are
they your personal package receivers.
They tried to deliver... You failed to be there. They took it to a
regional facility. The second fee ($10) was for REdelivering a
package that you failed to receive the first time.

The UPS Store is a franchise owned by an individual not UPS. While it
would be nice if they offered free pick up, they are providing a
service for you and can charge for that service.

I have only been in a UPS store once, and found the prices to
obscenely high. I had to ship 3 computer monitors back to my
corporate office. I bought 3 boxes only. (No packing material, no
tape, no shipping) and they were approx $42. The previous week I had
done the same thing in a different city a paid about $12 at a storage
facility. Maybe the UPS store prices were a fluke, but based on that,
I probably won't be back, especially since there is a UPS facility
near my home.

Just out of curiosity how are you going to get a 65lb box home with
out a car?