Love for the UPS Store: Or, What Brown Did for Me
My colleague Amber needed a book; a book I had on my shelf and she could not get otherwise until much after she needed it. It was Thursday, the day of the 4″ disabling snowstorm in Charlottesville, darn near 5p.m. I was determined to get it to her but I needed a little help from my friends in brown.
I work from home so have established a “professional address” by using a box at my local UPS store, just over a mile from my house. Because my business mail comes there and because I use their services to send packages to the home office in St. Louis, I’m in there pretty often. The staff treats me very well, sometimes pulling my mail and packages from my box when they see me pull up outside. They know me, and I appreciate the extra attention. When I got Amber’s urgent request, I called my friends at the UPS store. The pick up driver hadn’t arrived yet and the assistant manager said she’d hold him there if I could get there right away.
A piece of cake under normal circumstances. I bolted upstairs calling out my dilemma to my family — my husband leaped into action. “I’ll drive you!” The roads were icy and dangerous so I was more than delighted to take him up on the offer. We got outside and tried to get out of the driveway. Spin, spin went the tires on the icy driveway. We were stuck. My son, the high school senior and his friend, (ironically named Brown) came bounding outside and began pushing the car until we were out on the road. If it weren’t for them, I don’t know that we would have made it.
When we got to the UPS store, the assistant manager had my account information pulled up and the store all but shut down. She held the door for me as I jumped out of the car. The driver showed up just as we finished the transaction. I wished her well as I knew she’d have a treacherous drive home clear out to another county. She saved the day, just like the boys and my husband did.
Amber recognized me with a “Standing Ovation” — our firm’s way of recognizing one another for great moments in our work lives and with this blog post, which made me grin from ear to ear. But I wasn’t the hero here, it took a team — and that book wouldn’t have gotten to her by Friday morning without UPS.
Good customer service is about relationships and the UPS store gets that. That’s why they will continue to have my business and why I share the story of what Brown did for me.
January 19th, 2008 at 9:51 am
As a SAHM, I love UPS. When that man stops his truck in front of my house, I get all giddy! Glad to know they make people happy on the other end as well!
January 21st, 2008 at 9:50 am
That driver was late because she got stuck in front of my house. She delivered a package only to spend the next 1/2 hour to 45 minutes spinning her tires. Where was I? I was oohing and ahhing over my package of course. I realized there was a problem when the rest of the neighbors were out with shovels and sand. Shamefaced, I went out to help and she finally got on her way. Sorry about that!
January 21st, 2008 at 2:58 pm
Hello, I work for the PR Department for The UPS Store home office. I came across your posting. I was wondering if you could provide me with the address of The UPS Store, so I could congratulate them on their excellent customer service. Thanks!
January 27th, 2008 at 7:52 pm
As a fellow The UPS Store owner I never get tired of reading great post like this. We are in the business of serving families and business around the world. Thank you for sharing your comments.
April 6th, 2008 at 2:52 am
I’ve had an opportunity to speak to a few hundred UPS Store owners in Missouri and Colorado and they are wonderful people dedicated to customer service. The men and women who run these stores are special people. It’s always great to read about (and have an opportunity to talk about) another fantastic UPS Store customer experience. Thank you for making the time to write about your experience.