The UPS Store — Attraction in Port Townsend

I want to give a shout out to Liz (whom I think is manager, not totally sure). I had a tremendously complicated shipping situation involving the mutually incompatible requirements of the bureaucracies of Canada, the United States, and UPS corporate. Unfortunately this was an iterative process where we had to try quite a few different times to get the situation right. Liz stayed with me throughout the process and spent untold hours dealing with UPS international & UPS Canada to make the situation right. I really appreciate her.

And to my fellow Port Townsendites I just want to give a reminder to be kind to your service workers. As you may recall Jefferson County Washington is the elderliest per capita county in the state, and also has a less than 1% vacancy rate. All that is to say it's tremendously difficult to find workers here. The whole employment situation in town is very difficult for both workers and small business people. The problem is compounded if a critical mass of customers are cranky and bully their service workers. Generally the people in these jobs are doing the best they can within the constraints they are in. If customers are toxic and hostile it's just going to lead to more turnover which will result in longer waits and slower and sometimes less trained service staff for everyone.

"Anybody can become angry-that is easy; but to be angry with the right person, and to the right degree, and at the right time, and for the right purpose, and in the right way-that is not within everybody’s power and is not easy."

So be kind, and remember it's probably not the 20-something year old clerk's fault that you are...

I'm starting to write this review while waiting on hold for the main UPS customer service line that I was transferred to when I tried calling the number for this local store. Strike 1. I called because I dropped off an Amazon return with a QR code that they scanned and immediately printed off a label and stuck it on the package.I thought "great! this is so easy!" One problem, they never shipped the package, and I'm still waiting on a $45 refund because of it. I was too trusting and never checked the tracking, I just assumed it would be there in a week or less. When two weeks went by and I still hadn't received my refund I checked the tracking number it said "label created". That's it. Still awaiting shipment. After 19 days now. Strike 2, 3 and 4. It would have been nice if I could have talked to the person I handed the package to, if it hadn't been a 30 minute drive I would have gone there myself. Now I get to wait from a call back from UPS's Investigations Department on Monday (of course, it was Saturday when I called.) I will probably be there at the UPS store on Monday raising hell before "Investigations" gets around to calling me back. If I get my money back by Tuesday I'll give them one more star. I knew I should have gone to Mail Plus, they've never screwed...

Beware - IF there is a problem with your delivery the store has to be the one to make the claim. You have no control over this and the person whom takes care of the claims in the store tells you "I will get back to you this afternoon" a week later when I call for information - she is VERY busy - Too busy to get back to me even though she was the one that made the commitment to when to contact me. I am then told it takes UPS 8 - 10 days to research - still well after this time I call - she takes the call but is too busy to talk to me. She stated " I have the information somewhere but too busy to talk." My recommendation don't use this store - there is no customer service IF something goes wrong. Any place will work if all goes right but you do need to consider if you need them to make a claim it could be months before and IF they get back to you. I was told "this store is NOT UPS" so do keep that in mind. I don't usually write reviews but this is an important one for people to know that they are held hostage by shipping from here and not being able to make a claim themselves. If that seems good to you then go with them. I will find other ways to ship the next time I need to ship UPS. I would have put NO STARS but I don't...