What are you willing to trade for cheap?
I had two boxes to send across the country. A US Post Office and a UPS Store are equidistant from my home, but I decided to take the cheap route and head to the USPS.
The look on the woman's face behind the counter let me know she wasn't happy I showed up 20 minutes before close.
"Do you take credit cards?"
The last time I visited, they only took cash or a check. She didn't look up as she sorted items around the register but finally told me they now take Visa and Mastercard. "But only if you spend five dollars", she says which is odd since she can see I've placed two decent sized boxes on the counter.
"I'd like to send these", I say as I try to make any connection with this person. She shakes her head, and I'm not sure if I should come back or what.
Maybe she's having a bad day. But I've done a lot of business at this location over the past five years. The older man who used to work here treated me well. My spouse had a similar bad experience the week before, but I still wanted to believe things had changed.
She weighs each box but doesn't ask if I'd like to send them parcel post, Priority or Express Mail. She decided for me and gave me the total: Just over $26 which allows me to use my Mastercard!
I walked out upset at myself. I voted with my wallet.
I voted for cheap.
I voted for poor service.
I could have paid a little more and taken the boxes to the UPS Store. Sometimes they are busy, but they always have two or three people working the front counter.
The UPS Store has helped me look up zip codes. They added a little more tape to a box that was falling apart. They greet me when I walk in the door.
Next time I won't trade cheap for a poor shipping experience.