The UPS Store

Unlike the rest of Port Townsend this is not a friendly business. No matter who is behind the counter I always feel like they’re doing me a favor by waiting on me. Even though Port Townsend is a close-​knit community other businesses in town are hospitable to tourists a lot more than this one is.

The Port Townsend UPS store has been independent and locally owned since 1994. In a town which *detests* chain stores, this independence is an important factoid… Audrey Olner (the manager) is onsite on a daily basis; her smile and creativity in packaging help to make this waterfront store an integral part of the PT business community.
I purchased a large oval framed photograph from the Antique Mall several years ago. I never hung it in our Port Townsend home as it just seemed like it would be much treasured by the inhabitants of our Caifornia digs, Casa Canine. Yep… it was a photo of a dog circa 1920.
So…I took it to Audrey who promptly and carefully packaged it, and placed it in the outgoing UPS shipment. Sure enough… the photograph arrived two days later… the same day that my plane landed at SFO.
The packaging, insurance and postage for my photo was amazingly cheap. And the package arrived in perfect shape, whereas I was pinched, cinched and clinched into one of those commercial commuter flights and did not fare as well.
The next time I’m heading out from PT to SFO, I’m going to have Audrey package *me* in a suitable container. WIll save me a bundle on my own plane fare. Enough to buy yet another bauble for the hounds of Casa Canine!