The UPS Store — Local services in Town of Hamburg

I went to The UPS Store this afternoon to return items from Amazon.com, and I provided the QR code that clearly stated "No Box No Label". Instructions on Amazon.com state "Show the return code below on your mobile device to an associate at THE UPS STORE, who will scan the QR code, pack, and ship your return."

The associate, Eric, said "you're supposed to have this boxed and taped, but I'll do it for you this time". I stated that was not what the instructions stated. He demanded to see my phone to see the instructions, and I advised him he could either process the return or return the items.

Eric continued to insist on my phone, and I reiterated that I wasn't handing over my phone, and he could not hold me hostage in the store, and to either process the return or return the items.

Another employee claiming to be the owner, Sue, approached and also insisted to see my phone. I again reiterated that I'm not handing my phone over.

They processed the return. However, both Eric and Sue were needlessly hostile and aggressive in demanding my phone. Upon checking reviews, it appears other individuals have experienced similar issues at this location.

Even if they were right (which they were not), why not refuse to take the return? Why initiate an argument with a customer and demand the customer's phone?

This is unacceptable behavior. Shout out to the woman who parked her SUV in front of the "NO PARKING FIRE LANE" sign who said I should have handed over my phone.

Absolutely ridiculous.

2025-02-12 Edit (responding to owner):

"No" is a complete sentence. I provided the QR Code, it was scanned, and your employee made an unnecessary remark. I noted that I was following the instructions provided by Amazon.com, and that should have been the end of an already unnecessary conversation.

I had to say "no" at least five more times when my phone was demanded. Either take "no" or return the items and refuse the transaction. It's worth noting that I did bring all of the items in the Amazon.com shipping box.

I'll play devil's advocate and pretend your employee was right (which he wasn't). Box was present; no cost to you.

A roll of 2" x 800" packing tape costs approximately $4.14 at full retail price. You purchase tape in bulk at a lower price, but I'll give you the benefit for this calculation. Let's assume you had to use 20" of packing tape to tape the box really well. That's 0.025% of the full price tape. That is 10 cents.

You operate a business poorly. You should "insure" yourself against liability from potentially damaging customer's phones, because you seem to have no intention of ensuring that transactions proceed smoothly.

I promise you, you've cost yourself more...

This may come as a complete surprise to you, but The UPS Store isn't "Unwanted Parcels and Stuff" that goes back to Amazon. They were around long before Amazon's free returns. And God bless 'em, these people probably spend half (or more) of their day processing the pants that were too big or the purse you decided you didn't want.

The staff at the South Park Ave store has always been friendly and cheerful even when the line is a bit long and the customers are less than happy. They are also pretty efficient, so a long line never takes as long as you might think from first look.

Only one time did I have a less than 5-star experience at the store, and it really worked out okay in the end, so I'm not docking them. I believe I was working with a new employee who charged me for packaging materials that were not used. The recipient sent me a picture of the box after it was opened and there was literally NO packing materials inside. Fortunately the item I sent was not damaged in shipment, so it turned out okay. However, I showed the picture to the manager and asked for a refund of the packing materials. He actually refunded the cost of shipping, too. In my opinion, that was more than he needed to do, and he apologized several times in the process.

An added tip if you do a lot of shipping - join a third party site like Pirate Ship and you can save a small percentage on the cost of shipping, print your label at home, and drop it off at the UPS store for them to mail out. It saves you time and a...

I checked their website before heading there for a notary. Under notary services (on the website), it says “Make an appointment OR stop by.” Then on the appointment page, it states, “Appointments are for your convenience, but not required for any services.” So it states it twice on the UPS Hamburg page that you can just show up for a notary. The guy there refused to help me and said I needed an appointment. When I showed him the website and referenced that no appointment was needed, he said it wasn’t true for their store and that I needed an appointment because they were too busy. I was the only person in the store. The next appointment time was two hours later. I explained that I had a newborn at home and needed my paper notarized for going back to college and not only did they refuse, but they were not very nice about it. It just feels like the world is calloused now and doesn’t see the humanity in people. Like I’m a full-time mom recovering from a c-section, who is trying to go back to school - and I got the unlucky draw to prove my identity for financial aid (they do random ID audits). I did my due diligence of checking their website before securing childcare and heading to their store. I ended up going nearby to a bank and a nice woman did it in five minutes for free. Just be nice to people! You never know what they may be...