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Post by zoesam on Nov 29, 2016 2:47:03 GMT
I was at the Postal Annex today. I was in a hurry & happened to be in their parking lot, so rather than go to the PO, I tried to do business there. First they refused to do an acceptance scan & take my pkgs b/c 'they drive their own cars down to the PO to drop off & don't have room'.
Ok whatever. So, then I have a small item to mail, it weighs about 2oz in a bubble envelope, but it's >1" thick, so a pkg. She quotes me $4.28. I say that can't be right & she's like, "well it's a parcel". I told her I knew it was a parcel but a FC parcel between 3-9oz is $2.60, so no way is that right. Then she says "well we have an upcharge". I'm like "what"? "Yeah, we have a franchise fee to pay". That's my problem how? It's a fee for the "convenience", she tells me. It was almost 50% more!
Maybe you all know this, but I had no idea those places charged an upcharge on postage itself. We have little shops like that here & some are contract stations for the USPS & they will scan a pkg & do all that stuff except I think Int'l postage. But apparently the ones that are their own business, not associated with the USPS have their own charges for postage!
What's weird is that that's the place I always take postage paid FEDEX & UPS boxes & they couldn't be more accommodating. I just took a DirecTV receiver box there (FEDEX) the other day & the same woman was falling all over herself helping me & giving me all sorts of helpful, but not solicited advice (apparently a lot of her customers have had problems w/DTV not receiving the pkgs). Her helpfulness is what made me think of them, since I was in the same parking lot.
Needless to say, I drove the 1 more mile to the PO. I realize they have to make a profit, but I didn't think that's how they made it & it makes me mad for the little old ladies & men who go there & think it costs $4.28 to mail a 2oz parcel. I mean postage is expensive enough as it is!
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Post by jandsknight on Nov 29, 2016 3:03:19 GMT
I knew UPS Stores charged a lot more than the UPS shipping centers. I used to send large packages to family when we lived thousands of miles apart. I always drove several miles to the shipping center. I haven't used the Postal Annexes.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 29, 2016 3:35:40 GMT
I would guess nine out of ten customers need the handholding we see at the po and stand there with their unboxed widget having no idea what to do - they should be paying the upcharge not someone who is ready to roll.
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Post by zoesam on Nov 29, 2016 7:03:37 GMT
I knew UPS Stores charged a lot more than the UPS shipping centers. I used to send large packages to family when we lived thousands of miles apart. I always drove several miles to the shipping center. I haven't used the Postal Annexes. I guess you're right, I knew that too. I guess that it's just that we have so many Postal Annex type stores, but most of them are considered a contract USPS location, so they're affiliated with the PO & can't upcharge, so I just figured they made their $$ in other ways. They def won't be getting my business again. |
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Post by SA on Nov 29, 2016 10:48:12 GMT
Let me guess, it's the one in the Albertsons parking lot on the gas station side?
I tried that once too. I had 2 packages and figured that I was right there and I was driving the opposite way of the PO. Went in they were rude "You can drop it here if you want but don't expect it to be scanned and there's no guarantees it'll make it to the PO". UGH!
But I understand. They are a franchise and they need to make their $$ somewhere I suppose. I'm sure online shipping has killed their business some.
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Post by denise15601 on Nov 29, 2016 16:08:28 GMT
My local Staples is great-they scan with no problem. And the USPS truck picks up the packages.
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Post by zoesam on Nov 29, 2016 18:47:06 GMT
Let me guess, it's the one in the Albertsons parking lot on the gas station side? I tried that once too. I had 2 packages and figured that I was right there and I was driving the opposite way of the PO. Went in they were rude "You can drop it here if you want but don't expect it to be scanned and there's no guarantees it'll make it to the PO". UGH! But I understand. They are a franchise and they need to make their $$ somewhere I suppose. I'm sure online shipping has killed their business some. Yup, that's the one LOL. I assumed they had a USPS pick up, b/c I occasionally use the Copy It store & the little place by Duca's up on Voyager & DH told me there's now a new place in the Sprouts parking lot on Voyager. I sometimes use them if I'm headed to Denver or if I'm by that Copy It store near the N GW & I believe all those places have USPS pick up. They are all (except IDK abt the new one by Sprouts) actually contracted with USPS, so are always happy to take pkgs. Like you, I just happened to be at the dry cleaners there & was headed to the other dry cleaner, in the other direction, so just thought I'd stop in. Funny b/c what made me stop in was how helpful they were with my DTV receiver return last week. They were bending over backwards to be helpful. They must get credit from Fedex for the shipping. No biggie, I hate their parking lot anyway. Lesson learned. Actually, I don't like the fact that employees drive it in their own cars to the PO either, that doesn't sound very 'safe' to me. |
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kritter
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Post by kritter on Nov 29, 2016 21:47:00 GMT
That part is way beyond my comfort zone too.
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Post by SA on Nov 29, 2016 22:42:18 GMT
HAHA! How did I know that was the one?
I've dropped pkgs off at the one annex at the GW near Academy/Austin Bluffs. But they just told me to line them up on the wall. I was desperate as the other POs were already closed and I didn't feel like going out the next day.
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Post by chapeaunoir on Dec 3, 2016 6:48:57 GMT
The UPS store here used to have the manager yell at you in bad English if you tried to drop off pre-paid, then they put up a big sign saying that people with pre-paid packages had to WAIT IN LINE (yes, caps) to drop them off. She had a loud, penetrating voice and would go off like a siren "NO LEAVE IT HERE! NO NO! YOU STAND IN LINE!!"
Another one of those Annex or whatever mailing places told me "well, then take your package to the post office" when I tried to hand them a pre-paid package - I had two others that I was paying for them to mail and I was in there regularly paying THEM to mail packages. I just gave a dirty look and plunked the package down - his colleague just grabbed it and put it in back. I quit using their service after that so they lost all my business, but they've closed, anyway.
We don't even have any more of those official USPS franchises anymore - the high rents have driven them all out. We still have those mail-it places or whatever, charging you 30% surcharge to buy a danged book of stamps. Geez, I don't mind 10% for the convenience but 30% is a little high. There may be or two franchises in big supermarkets - maybe Staples might but that store is so confused - they can't find their backside with a flashlight, so I don't trust them.
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Post by denise15601 on Dec 3, 2016 13:56:51 GMT
Staples used to really love me, and still do sort of. I used to set my pre-paid on the counter and leave. But now that I realized that the PO pick-up guys never scanned them, I have to wait to get them scanned.
At least Staples people don't have to weigh all of them.
And they are all so nice.
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