Complaint Review:
The UPS Store Elk River Minnesota
The UPS Store Elk River Minnesota UPS UPS store HORRIBLE NO RESPONSIBILITY, BAD & DECEPTIVE BUSINESS PRACTICIES Elk River, Minnesota
HORRIBLE STAY AWAY!!
I shipped a package from UPS Elk River, MN store and it arrived damaged. This happens. I opened a damage claim with UPS in Elk River and they said they'd handle it. Three days later, I called and asked about the status. They said it was being handled and no problem and was being inspected. I waited over the weekend till the Tuesday following the Friday call, and the UPS store rep told me that it was in their care and being inspected and should have an answer the next day. Only later that night to find out my customer was irate because the package was delivered to HIS customer in Texas!
So I called UPS in Elk River the next day. Talked to the owner. At first, he seemed like things were being handled. But I called Corporate UPS and they gave a different story. When I called back to the UPS store in Elk River, The owner gave me a poor excuse that the employee was new and didn't get it right. THAT EMPLOYEE BLAINTLY LIED! If he would have looked at the tracking number that day (or even days ago) he would have known it was on its way to a different state and WAS NEVER inspected.
The owner of the UPS Store in Elk River, MN was RUDE and unwilling to offer solutions for me especially when my customer is irate at me because he has a loss of use from the product and a run around from me that the UPS store is giving me. My customer claims that I should have used a reliable UPS shipper.
UPS drivers did damage the delivery, but the UPS store in Elk River could care less, nor will they offer any solutions to the problems they created. The owner just defended the employee who did wrong. When I asked what they'd do to make this right with me and my customer, NO solution. Then he got upset and told me that he'd terminate the phone call after I told him that (with no answers), I'd have to take them to court. UPS corporate stated they are a Franchise and NO way associated with UPS corporate, just a third party shipper and can't be held responsible. Do you really want to ship with a company that acts this way?
NOTE: As of this writing, UPS corporate called today and said they have assigned an investigator that over sees UPS franchises to specifically investigate this store and their conduct! UPS advised me to use an official UPS center, NOT this UPS store.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Alyssa L
Pennsburg,Pennsylvania,
USA
Clearing the air
#3UPDATE Employee
Wed, October 17, 2012
I am an employee of The UPS Store...not the one in question, but of one within the network of The UPS Stores.
The previous poster has it correct, The UPS Stores are all franchises. They used to be Mailboxes Etc. if you have ever seen them. Same concepts as FedEx Kinkos & other "Shipping & More" companies.
Damage claims, even for the stores themselves are a NIGHTMARE. When you ship an item through The UPS Store, you are giving The UPS Store, the right to become the "Shipper". The UPS Store acts as a middle man between you and UPS. So, anytime there is a damage, The UPS Store is the one that has to contact UPS and open a damage claim. Therefore, the store deals with the headache of making and settling the claim. UPS performs an investigation on the package to decide what was the cause of damage and put their stake on whether or not it was their fault, or the fault of the person whom packed the item. This takes EIGHT BUSINESS days (for those of you that are not aware of what business days are, use Google. Kidding...it is Monday-Friday.) So, for you, the shipper, they wouldn't have an answer for you in such a "short" period of time. Given, I think 8 business days is a long time, but I'm sure the damage investigations can be time consuming as I'm sure they (as well as ALL other shipping companies), deal with numerous claims on a daily basis. Did the employee that first gave you the information possibly mean that the package was in UPS's care...and not the actual store? Once UPS inspects that package, and it is indeed "damaged", they are to generate a new label to stick over the old one for the item to be returned back to The UPS Store it was shipped from (the Return to Shipper) label...which covers over the barcode of the original label.
The bad thing about these claims is that UPS seems to sometimes work AGAINST The UPS Stores. They like to pass the buck and also claim at times that The UPS Stores pass the buck on them. It's unfortunate when things work like this, but it's the truth.
Back to your particular situation...did the store package your item or did you pack it? If the store did, there is a pack & ship guarantee which guarantees the safe and "on time" delivery of your item. The other part about these claims, is even after the 8 business days, if UPS takes responsibility for the damage of your item...it can still take a bit of time for them to mail the check. Which, The UPS Stores won't pay out a damage claim until they receive the check from UPS for it.
I have no excuse for the store manager/owner or for the employee. With the employee, it seems there was some sort of misunderstanding. With the manager/owner...well, I wouldn't take it lightly if someone told me the next person they would be hearing from would be their lawyer. In which, their lawyer would then have to get involved and have discussions amongst one another. I'm sure you also would not want to continue to speak with someone threatening you with their lawyer.
Another question I have, did you pay The UPS Store to ship your item or did you use The UPS Store as a drop off center with your own pre-paid label?
Raymond M.
Chesapeake,Virginia,
USA
Question.
#3Consumer Comment
Thu, September 13, 2012
A UPS Store is like your local insurance agent for your car or homeowners policies. None of them are corporate. That UPS Store is simply making phone calls for you in attempts to resolve the issue. It doesn't appear that they made the problem happen. Damage is almost always caused by backaging that did not meet industry guidelines, but that is yet to be determined.
A question that may help explain this situation: Why was this shipment forwarded to your customer in TX?