Is it that I blogged about poor customer service or is it just my fate? I had 3 packages to mail today. I don't have boxes or stuffing, or anything like that at my house, (I'm not the Post Office) so I just haul all the items in the trunk of my car. Of course my dear son is along for the ride too. Don't get me wrong it's not that I don't have boxes at my house. There's always a ton in the recycle bin. But the problem is they're never the right size. Never. Anyhow I arrive at Fed-Ex Office and load my son in the stroller, the items over-flowing from the bin below and head on in. I am quickly greeted by the delivery truck driver - hands full of packages - and he asks if I need help. I say "Yes" loud enough for the two ladies behind the counter to hear and continue "but I'm sure one of them can help me." as I look down at his full hands. He understands that I don't want to slow him down from his responsibility when there are employees there to help me. He says "Oh yeah, Sarah in the back there can help you." Maybe I should have stopped him then, or perhaps followed him out and gone someplace else. I walk over to the boxes, expecting one of the girls in the back to come help. Yeah right. My mistake. A few minutes there and I've found a box about the right size (for 2 of the packages, I'm still not sure what I need for the bigger one though). Then my son starts fussing. I check on him, and another customer walks in and walks up to the counter. One of the girls in the back drops everything she's doing and comes to help the other customer. Umm... Hello? So - I grab the boxes and a few labels and go stand behind the other customer in hopes I'll get some service. The other girl in the back continues her activities back there oblivious to the third customer now standing behind me hoping to get some assistance as well. He finally goes and works on a computer. I pull out the address I am shipping to. Finally the employee assisting the customer notices me, looks at my boxes and says: "If you're shipping express you need the air bill, not ground." I reply I didn't plan to ship express. She says "Oh, well to ship ground you have to use a brown box or one from home." OK that was about it. There's not a brown box in the store that is the size I want. At least not that I could see AND for goodness sakes - do you think I'd load up my child and all those items into his stroller and haul it all to the store without having checked at home for a freaking box?! Whatever. I stand there for a minute and look at the boxes. There's not one the size I want. I look back, she's still taking her sweet time with the customer (who came in with packaged boxes - shouldn't be too hard) and now she's eyeing me like I'm a nut. I give up. I look back at her and ask where the nearest UPS is. She answers and I leave.
At UPS the employee got up from the computer she was working at as I walked in the door, got behind the counter, let me quickly explain everything, pull out all the items I had and divide them into piles for each package. She hands me a shipping bill, tells me I only need one because I have three packages, and starts measuring and weighing as I fill it out. Once I'm finished she says "So the cheapest shipping is $$. I am assuming you want the cheapest method, is that right?" Yup, she was right. So I pay. As I finish the filling out the addresses and a quick note for one of the packages she's in the back wrapping up one of the packages. As I leave, number two is about to be wrapped up. Oh, and did I mention she squeezed in some help to another customer who had his box ready, and another one with a question her co-worker couldn't answer? I know it's not rocket science, not even advanced math. But for me, it makes a world of difference when an employee does their job! I've seen what Brown can do for me! Thanks UPS!