The UPS Store

This is quite literally one of the worst establishments I’ve ever been to. I’ve gone here several times and I’ve never been impressed. On a scale of 1 – 10, customer service is a 0. I avoid this place as much as possible, because in the past they double charged me for a prepaid package (I was in a rush and didn’t ask to check the box since they had already taken it away) and on another occasion gave me an attitude after I told them I had changed my mind about sending a package (they wanted to charge me $ 20 to return a shirt that only cost $ 10). I returned because I had to send background check info to an employer and was told to use UPS or DHL.
This is closest to me, so I came here. I literally had three pieces of paper to mail, and the guy tells me that if I want a tracking number (I did) I have to use their air mail envelopes instead of a generic one. Okay, fine I’ll do it. I ask him for the cheapest shipping option, and he says okay. While he’s inputting the shipping info, another girl comes in trying to return a package. Another man starts serving her, and she keeps asking questions, and he’s getting visibly irritated. Mind you, this girl is obvs not a native English speaker and is just trying to clarify everything, like she’s not arguing with him or anything. Then the person serving me asks me if the zip code on my parcel is correct because he has a different one listed. I double check my stuff and tell him that yes, it is. The other guy starts talking about how me and the girl he was serving are too paranoid and walks away from us all in a huff. My guy tells me that it’ll cost me $ 14.99. Without confirming with me, he had chosen to charge me for next day shipping. I ask him if that’s the cheapest option, and his response (which I can’t confirm because UPS website is a pain in the ass to navigate) was that it was. I doubt that though, given that the envelope he put my things in was valid for two-​day air as well. At the very least, that would’ve been a cheaper option. I’ve gotten into arguments at this establishment before though, and chose to pay and get out as soon as possible.

Avoid this store. I had a prepaid UPS sticker on a box and the store was going to charge me an extra $ 2.50 to mail it. What?! Is this even allowed per UPS policy? I left out of principle and will never return.

I’m so happy to see that this place has 1 star. The most accurate Unilocal rating I’ve ever seen. THIS PLACE IS THE PITS.
I went in a few weeks ago to ship my cable box back to Comcast — they gave me back a Parcel Shipping Order from, with no tracking number or official receipt. I received a call from Comcast saying that they did not receive the cable box, so I went back to the store to ask what happened. As soon as I walked in, an older man (Harry Smith) summoned the other associate (Ana — who was very polite by the way) to assist me. He called her over like she was a dog or something — his tone was offensive, even to me. I should’ve known right then that this was going to be all bad. lol
I told Ana my situation and she asked when I dropped off the box. I told her I didn’t remember. Out of no where, Harry yelled, «You don’t know when you dropped it off! We can’t look it up then.» When I was given the form, I was only told to fill out my name, not the date. I told him that. I also asked, «Why can’t you look it up by my name?» He replied, «Look lady. Because we need the date to look it up! I already told you that.» Apparently, they have an antiquated filing system for bulk shipping orders to Comcast that do not include name; they are only filed by name. I was just trying to understand the record keeping system and where the cable box is and what, if anything, went wrong. He then proceeds to banter back and forth with me for a few minutes. I can’t remember everything he said, but his tone was beyond offensive. He said that was trying to make him miserable and cause problems. LOL. Eventually, I told him he was obviously on his period and that I no longer needed his assistance — Ana would help me. After that, he shut up, but I overheard him get snappy and rude with the next two customers as well.
Ana and I were able to figure out the date I made my purchase and she was able to give me the tracking information I needed to send to Comcast. (Thank you Ana for being such a kind, patient customer service associate.)
As for Harry, I hope whatever it is that is really bothering you gets better. UPS, you really need to do better with your hiring and/​or customer service training. Actually, maybe Harry just needs to be placed on meds… midol helps with PMS. Believe me.

If an option for no stars were available, best believe I’d use it. Some of the worst customer service I’ve ever received. I echo the sentiments of other customers — avoid at all costs. Overpriced and unfriendly to the point of downright rudeness. Simply a disappointment. Go anywhere else BUT this store.

I should have paid attention to the other reviews and not used this service. I’ve had a package delivered to the store with no notification/​slip in my mailbox (I had to ask whether I had a package) and mail from past owners of my mailbox every time I check mail (including bank statements). I discussed the mail sorting process with the owner who commented they are too busy to check the names on the mailboxes, only check the mailbox number. When I attempted to clarify the services they provide (after the owner turned my queries into a personal issue vs business discussion) I was told «Perhaps I should go someplace else». Staff are rude including the owner and I am not confident mail is being properly delivered. I was told that when clients check mail and receive mail that doesn’t belong to them (i.e. from a previous mailbox tenant), most people just give it back. They are counting on the honesty of the mailbox owner to not walk out with someone else’s mail instead of providing the service they are being paid for. I would not recommend this business.

Awful, the customer service was some of the worst I’ve experienced. The woman behind the counter was downright rude and barked at me for not having less than an inch of my box taped. When I asked if they could tape it, they said only if paid $ 2.50. After which, they proceeded to put one small piece of tape on. Definitely would avoid if at all possible.

Avoid at all costs if you can. Some of the employees here are so nasty. Go to UPS across the street if you want better customer service. I usually never complain about service, especially not in front of supervisors, but this was the worst service I’ve ever received.

Unilocalers,
Please listen to the other reviewers. I made the mistake of thinking «it really can’t be this bad». It is much much worse. The women behind the counter was rude, in fact down right hostile and only interested in trying to extract as much money as possible without being helpful.
UPS corporate, if you scan these reviews, this store needs to be investigated.

My first time at this store, the manager attempted for an hour to charge me twice for the same shipment. The entire staff then attacked me for not paying for the order despite the fact that I had the receipt with me at the time. This went on for so long that it forced me to miss my flight. Believe it or not, I went back a second time — I can’t believe it either. This time I simply needed a wardrobe box so that I could ship some suits out from the FedEx down the street. I purchased my item and went home. This morning, as I was packing, I noticed that the bar did not fit the box, and was therefore utterly useless. This would all be fine if, when I asked the manager his hours for today in case I inevitably ran into a problem with their products, he had given me the correct hours. Now I sit here, unable to fully pack until they open 2 hours after they told me they would, wondering if they will cause me to miss yet another flight.
I have to imagine that the only reason this factory of disappointment is still in business is its proximity to a college campus.

Fast, friendly service. Was in and out in a jiffy. This location is not visible from the street. You have to go inside the little shopping center with access points on 20^th Street NW and Pennsylvania Avenue.

Honestly, this was among the worst costumer experiences I’ve ever had — but I was rather surprised to see that my negative experience was the norm among Unilocal users at this (truly miserable) branch of the UPS Store. When I brought in a manuscript to copy several pages, the owner informed me that he would not copy it as it was a copyrighted work — without having any way of knowing what the work was or anything about it!
I informed him that it was a non-​commercial academic piece which I was copying for my boss, who happens to be its author, and it could in any case be copied by anyone under fair use for academic usage. Besides which, I said that if he would not copy it, I would be happy to do the work myself using their machine. He assumed a shockingly insulting tone, acting as though I wanted to commit a crime, and said that my copying it would incur a $ 250,000 penalty for copyrighted works!
He then pointed out the door and said, «There is a FedEx store that way.» I literally could not believe this, but he and his associate stared at me as I backed up and walked out towards the FedEx Office location. For now on I’m going to be taking the owner’s advice and going to FedEx, I think you should too…

Before any politician says we should axe the postal service and let the private market handle things, I think they should come here first.
Sadly we made the mistake of getting a mailbox, thinking that by paying a little more, we would get better customer service and reliability. Oh so wrong. We endured the same grievances that others have reported and some others:
–trying to overcharge on shipping (really, $ 30 to send an envelope to Canada?)
–trying to charge for a piece of tape to seal the end of the box (nevermind that we’re paying mailbox customers, so we left).
–closing earlier than the business hours state (glad I left work early for nothing)
–forgetting to put package slips in our box letting us know our package has arrived
And worse of all is the customer service. I haven’t actually had a problem with the woman who works here. Instead, the owner is incredibly rude and his sons always just give blank stares back. Say what you will about postal employees, but I have actually been to different post offices regularly in the past months for wedding and moving stuff, and every has been at least courteous.
The sad part is that despite all the complaints to the better business bureau and all the 1-​star reviews, people just might not know how horrible this place is… we didn’t. Thankfully our contract is up, and we are out.

I’d rather eat glass than come here again.
Service is slow and unfriendly — bordering on rude at times — and shipping is more expensive than quoted online — WTF? The in-​store products, like boxes and tape, are also costly.
I normally have excellent experiences with UPS, but their brick & mortar stores are franchised, so experiences can vary. Feels like this one is owned by Gaddafi.

They consistently overcharge for packages and lied to me when I asked whether I could use their tape for free over the phone. When I got to the store they said I’d have to buy my own tape.
Terrible customer service, very rude and totally inconsiderate.

I’m not surprised to find negative reviews about this particular store. I’m a professional who does not mind paying extra for certain services. However, to paid $ 2.50 to borrow tape is a bit ridiculous. The guy (probably the owner or manager) in the store pointed to the sign and said that would be considered helping me prepare my package. I only needed the tape to adhere the pre-​printed label to my envelope. Are u kidding me??? I left and borrowed tape from a store in a shop. Fortunately, they didn’t request $ 2.50. The only reason I went back to drop my package was b/​c it was free for me.

ummm, i called just to ask if they had a notary… and the guy on the phone yelled at me, said she (the notary) was sick, and that he doesn’t have time for my question and then hung up on me. are you KIDDING? after the reviews i read on here, and THAT phone call mama really wants to write the corporate office. i think i might.

Let me just add to the chorus about how bad this UPS store is. I rented a mailbox from them for a few months in 2006 until they started misplacing my packages. I wound up writing a letter to UPS about this place… and to UPS’ credit, I actually heard from UPS apologizing for this UPS store… here is the letter/​experience I had with the UPS Store at 2000 Penn…
Dear UPS:
UPS is known for having excellent managers and I have no doubt that you are one of them. That is why I think you might appreciate hearing about the recent experience I had with UPS Store 0404 located at 2000 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, DC.
Earlier this year I founded a small business for which the ability to receive 3 or 4 incoming packages per week is vital. To meet this need I turned to UPS with the expectation that store 0404 mailbox service could be there to accept packages and keep them organized and secure until I picked them up during its business hours, usually on Saturdays.
Though sometimes a little disorganized with handling packages, my experience with store 0404 was fine until about a month ago when store 0404 completely misplaced a particularly valuable package that I knew they had received thru online tracking. Instead of explaining that packages are sometimes temporarily misplaced, which I could understand, store 0404 expressed little sense of care or urgency about finding my package.
Figuring I was dealing with a student worker who just was not equipped to handle the situation, but not knowing whether my item had been lost or stolen or what had happened, I reached out twice by phone to the store manager Harry Smith for help but never received a return call. In the meantime I returned to UPS Store 0404 a few days later and another more competent worker at the store found my missing package with little difficulty.
Yesterday when visiting UPS Store 0404 I saw Mr. Smith in passing and asked him if he had heard about the trouble I experienced. Instead of offering to listen to my problem, he was incredulous that I expected his store to keep my packages organized and secure for «only $ 20/​month» and that I should take my business elsewhere. When I explained that I had just renewed my 6 month contract he stated that the service agreement was not actually binding. Moreover when I pointed out that he was not offering the kind of customer service for which UPS is known, he corrected me in pointing out that he was an independent operator and «did not answer to UPS.» In the end, Mr. Smith made it clear that I had 2 weeks to clear out my account after which I was no longer welcome at UPS.
Though my business now faces the costly problem of completely restructuring our logistics, as a businessman who understands the importance of good customer service my purpose in writing this letter is nothing other than to let you know that UPS Store 0404 is not representing the UPS Brand very well. I note that UPS Store 0404 has 5 complaints logged against it with the DC Better Business Bureau (
), and fear that I may not be the only customer who has run into problems with the service being offered under the UPS name there.
I feel really bad because up till now I have always had very good experiences dealing with UPS and have especially liked the idea of working with a company having union representation. I am a customer who wanted to depend on UPS, but in this situation Brown has done very little for me.
My business now has no choice but to move onto another service provider. But for the sake of future UPS customers, if there is anything you can do to help the situation at UPS Store 0404, please do.

Two different times I’ve sent a package from this UPS store, and both times it’s been oddly expensive. I feel like they’re somehow ripping me off. I don’t know if it’s the employees scamming people, or if this store just has oddly high rates… but sending a package shouldn’t be this much.
Package 1: I had a prepaid box in which I was sending some small electronics back for warranty repair. This UPS store told me that there was a $ 2.50 «drop off fee» for my fully prepaid package!!! Seriously?! As there are no other UPS stores within convenient walking distance to me, I paid this absurd fee.
Package 2: I had a shoebox with two sigg bottles inside. It weighed no more than 2 lbs, and was going from DC to NJ. The UPS site quoted me at $ 7.50, and I printed this quote out. When I brought the package in, the guy told me — without weighing it or entering anything in to the computer — that it would be $ 14.90. I said, «Really? I’ve never sent a basic package for that much. I don’t see how it can be that expensive, the UPS website quoted me at half that.» I showed him printout, and he said he’s «see what he could do,» they said he could do it for $ 10.18. I reluctantly sent the package for that much, as I was in a rush.
Rest assured, I will never return to this UPS store. You should never go there either! They rip you off with suspiciously fluid rates and inventive surcharges.
Though I didn’t notice any nacho cheese aroma (maybe they cleaned the place?), I can confirm the staff’s general rudeness.

Full disclosure: I pay these folks a few hundred dollars a year for myself and a friend to share a mailbox here. So the two stars as opposed to one is probably based on my need to justify spending that much. Alas.
The customer service is certainly inadequate. This sentiment has long been present among colleagues of mine who currently or used to utilize their mail service. I can corroborate that by my own experience with the staff’s dull stares, snarky comments, and general indifference to assisting their clientèle.
As for the rates of these places, you are honestly better off using FedEx or USPS. I frankly feel a little bad keeping this place in business.
What is most memorable about this particular UPS Store is the smell. It has a unusual, nostril-​filling musk that is unlike anything else I’ve run in to before. And its not like there is something spilled on the floor or rotting behind the desk. The very store itself, wall-​to-​wall, ceiling-​to-​ceiling, is permeated by this odor.
I conducted a «describe the smell of the UPS Store» contest with my colleagues some time ago. There were many entries — few positive — but the winner went something like this:
«It smells like nacho cheese, as in nacho friendliest employees, nacho best place to get mail, and nacho kind of place to be.»
(Get it? «Nacho» as in «not your…» There you go.)
Any redeeming factors is probably its convenience for those passing through the 2000 Penn shopping mall around Foggy Bottom. They are open on Saturdays and have slightly more expansive hours than other places, like until 6 I think. But most FedExs are open 24 hours so no big deal with that either.
To this day, I’m still not quite sure what brown can do for me. But I know what it can’t do, and that is run a store that makes people want to come back.

Unilocal, you need to have a ZERO star rating because giving this place one star is too generous.
My cousin tried to send me a payment via Western Union, and I go to this UPS Store to pick it up. They had a problem retrieving the payment, saying it was probably sent to Washington state by accident. Fine. What really sent me over the edge, however, was that the two people who worked there (a fat White man who was redder than Mars, and a middle-​aged Latina woman) proceeded to talk about me as if I weren’t there.
«We didn’t get that payment sent here to DC!» the woman said.
«They were probably drunk when they sent it,» the man said.
I’ve dealt with bad customer service before, but never like this. I’ve gotten eye rolls, neck popping, condescending treatment and have been flat-​out ignored, but never have I dealt with bad customer service where a family member (the cousin who tried to send the money) was insulted like that.
«Excuse me?» I said. «I heard you. That was rude.»
The man stared at me as if I were from outer space. Then he adds, in a mumble, «I meant the Western Union agent.» No «I didn’t mean to say that the person you’re trying to get the money from was a drunk.» No «I’m sorry.» Regardless of who he meant, it was unprofessional.
Did it stop there? Hell no! I tried to call my cousin to see if I could get the mix-​up fixed, then the woman also stares at me funny, and though they both go to their dinky back room, I can still hear them talking.
«What did she say?» the woman said.
«She said she heard me say they were drunk,» the man said.
These people didn’t give a damn about how rude they were. Instead of trying to help me work the situation out or apologize for their comments, they came back out and stared at me. Unable to get in touch with my cousin and not wanting to wait around in that hellhole for her to call back, I packed up and left.
«I’ll go some place else to deal with this, thanks,» I said. I don’t know why I thanked them because they were of no help.
I called the UPS Store’s 800-​number and reported them. That was my first time going there and it will be my last. I feel bad for the GWU kids who live around there who have no choice but to use this store, but I have a choice and I refuse to go to a place that treats me so poorly.