I had a very unsafe and deeply concerning experience at this UPS Store location involving an employee named Mike.
Before helping me, I witnessed Mike being rude, visibly irritated, and openly frustrated with the customer ahead of me. The customer was an older woman who was soft-spoken and polite, so I initially tried to give him the benefit of the doubt and assumed he may have simply been having a difficult day. Unfortunately, his behavior toward me quickly became equally disrespectful and hostile for no apparent reason.
I was shipping a baby gift package to a friend. The package was already prepared, weighed under 2.5 pounds, and I had previously shipped the exact same package from another UPS location in Scottsdale for around $30, so I reasonably expected something in that same general range. However, Mike only quoted me one shipping option at approximately $88 through USPS Priority Mail. Since I was shipping within Arizona to Prescott and there was absolutely no rush, I politely asked whether UPS Ground was available instead. He abruptly stated that it was “not an option.”
Confused, I calmly asked, “Hey Mike, could you maybe check again?” He sighed dramatically and responded, “Welp, I have to start over.” He then aggressively stated that I needed to provide a “specific description” of the package contents and value. I calmly explained that it was a “baby book gift set” with an approximate value of $35. Mike responded in an aggressive tone, saying, “That’s not good enough. I need it to be fing specific for this system.”*
His tone, language, and overall demeanor were unnecessarily hostile and deeply unprofessional. At that point, I no longer felt comfortable continuing the interaction and said, “Mike, I’m not sure what’s going on, but you’re making this really uncomfortable for me. Could you please get a manager or another employee to help complete the transaction instead?”
Mike responded in an agitated tone that he was the only employee who ever seems to know how to work at this store. As a woman who was alone in the store now with him, the hostility throughout y entire time in the store combined with that statement made me feel genuinely uncomfortable and unsafe. I decided it was best to remove myself from the situation and said, “It’s fine, I’ll just ship it another time.” After I picked up my package, his final response was simply, “Whatever.”
What concerned me most was not just my own interaction, but the fact that he had already been openly displaying anger and frustration toward the previous female customer before I even approached the counter. The environment in the store felt tense, hostile, and uncomfortable and I unfortunately got his wrath.
I have been shipping with multiple UPS stores for over 10 years and currently manage a mailbox at another UPS Store location for our company. In all that time, I have never encountered an employee who behaved with this level of hostility toward customers.
I want to be very clear that I do not wish Mike ill in any way, and I am not writing this out of anger or malice. I am generally a very understanding person, and I recognize that people can have difficult days. However, regardless of the reason behind the behavior, no customer should be made to feel intimidated, unsafe, or verbally disrespected during a routine transaction. I genuinely believe Mike may need additional customer service training, better support, or supervision when handling customer interactions independently.
I also understand that UPS Store locations are independently owned and operated, and I know this experience is not representative of UPS as a whole. However, because of this interaction, I will not be returning to this specific location unless the issue is properly addressed for the safety and comfort of future customers.
I hope this feedback is taken seriously so other customers do not ever have a similar experience.