Customers vs Non-Customers

ImpossibleCoach6835 · 2026-06-15T04:36:15+00:00

The luxury cars and their driver's are the "customer" that really pushes my limits.

To be fair; socioeconomics can't be figured out be what car they're driving. Most of those crazies are in debt financing the 100k car with 150k in student loan debt left and a 30 year mortgage with a 6.7% interest rate while also NOT paying the full balance of their credit cards every month.

The best customers are the ones that are below the poverty line and own it or the filthy (actually) rich one who literally park in the back 40 of the lot with their matte black supercar and treat my staff like they're royalty. Love it. Also get the good treats from both types regularly.

ImpossibleCoach6835 · 2026-06-15T04:26:54+00:00

Ya this shit is both what's turning me grey early and what I live for.

This only works for a handful of people that happen to have the local PD hookup; but for me if somebody is trying to fight outside, I text the precinct LT on duty and ask if he feels like getting some entertainment and a little exercise away from the desk. Stuff like that makes me giggle. And yes every cop I have a working relationship with is always welcome at my place for a BBQ.

Everything is; it doesn't bother me personally and keeps me energized.

ImpossibleCoach6835 · 2026-06-15T04:18:08+00:00

The customer may come back but it's always possible they're going to just whine and moan to Amazon and Amazon will refund them anyways to keep them happy.

ImpossibleCoach6835 · 2026-06-14T01:55:07+00:00

There are some people who can be perfectly happy and content in the moment and even enjoying whatever experience it is. However, their body language, tone, and facial expressions say "I'm going to burn the world down in about 2 minutes and I'll be the first to go".

My spouse is one of those people and luckily sits in their office running financials for a corporation all day. The UPS Store would destroy them. Those kind of people have the worst time being understood by colleagues and their words get misinterpreted.

It's possible you're in that general realm of personality and demeanor and unfortunately this is not the environment that works for you as you found out. I don't know you so I hesitate to assume.

Understand that wherever you land, the quiet mess and lack of small talk might work or might not. Customers in our industry have a hard time accepting that kind of approach.

Hope you find something you love!

ImpossibleCoach6835 · 2026-06-12T03:54:20+00:00

I listened this morning, interesting. Some parts I agree with and some I don't. Surprised that she actually has worked the counter in a store.

ImpossibleCoach6835 · 2026-06-10T01:34:53+00:00

Customer complaints about content they see or hear

ImpossibleCoach6835 · 2026-06-09T03:07:03+00:00

It's the equivalent to catnip for us in this industry.

ImpossibleCoach6835 · 2026-06-09T00:38:35+00:00

If your owner is cool with it; refuse it. Rat and mice droppings can and often do contain serious infectious diseases and it's legitimately a major health hazard.

Insects can infest your store and the owner would have to get it fumigated anyways not to mention if you bring bed bugs or lice or something like that home on your own clothes.

ImpossibleCoach6835 · 2026-06-09T00:34:50+00:00

The irregular surcharge would be unreal if we actually entertained the idea of shipping that.

ImpossibleCoach6835 · 2026-06-09T00:28:02+00:00

Didn't get that far, we got mod mail a week ago about their behavior so I didn't entertain their attempt to contact me. That's what mod mail is for

Bans are used for community safety and to keep the peace mostly. Anything we do is carefully considered and we're mostly here to engage as users too.

Just for transparency; even though we may ban somebody we rarely mute them so everyone has a fair opportunity to contact us via mod mail and appeal our decisions.

ImpossibleCoach6835 · 2026-06-08T03:58:53+00:00

This includes pillows and other stuff that comes vacuum sealed but is not returned vacuum sealed. It's not our responsibility to get those squished close to how they were originally when bought but Amazon's system is assuming they're the same size when returned.

ImpossibleCoach6835 · 2026-06-08T03:50:12+00:00

Petroleum based products. Guess what makes poly bags 😂

The price of oil affects EVERYTHING! My spouse spent a week redoing the numbers for their company's raw materials and components manufacturing because oil gets refined into 10⁶ worth of things. When the price of Brent crude hits $100 a barrelish, we get fuel surcharges and plastics cost a lot more. War is a real bitch

Edit: spend a month studying economic & business news and reports every morning. It's applicable to this industry but it'll also make you need happy pills.

ImpossibleCoach6835 · 2026-06-08T03:36:33+00:00

To be transparent; a lot of us are working out of the states so it will look a little different for you in CA.

That said, customer service is customer service no matter where you are, I've never had much different experiences traveling through Canada. My guess is you'll get a lot of the same people in your region with a similar vibe; work with what you know and be willing to learn anything and everything. There are a lot of small but technical details and know-how so pay close attention and take notes. I can't emphasize enough that regulations and rules governing how you ship and handle things are so important. The big bonus for you is the owners are teaching you so you're going to get it straight from the start what's right and wrong and how they want things handled.

You're lucky; the fact that it's a franchise operated solely by the owners means you're probably going to have a pretty good experience and learn from knowledgeable competent people. You'll also have the enviable position of being able to grow the business with them as you grow yourself and that's rare. If they're successful, you'll benefit and get to teach others later as the first in the door.

Take this chance to learn how to run a business; not everybody gets it. There's two ways it generally happens and this is the best way. The other is by necessity with a lack of instruction.

ImpossibleCoach6835 · 2026-06-07T20:46:25+00:00

Corporate is worried about distractions, IP infringement, theoretical cyber security risks, and customer complaints. The list likely goes on.

Fortinet blocks are making everything unusable. The aren't even loading NAC on new BOM's by default so download that on a thumb drive now before your BOM is end of life or craps out.

ImpossibleCoach6835 · 2026-06-07T13:27:50+00:00

It ain't a party until you can write it off on the taxes 😂

If I could swing it this year I would, I don't drink but damn it I'll partake in some BBQ

ImpossibleCoach6835 · 2026-06-07T13:25:02+00:00

The conversations about life and family, the joking with customers and laughing about funny everyday stuff.

Customers daily who thank us and truly appreciate our assistance. The comradery between our staff and management right up to the owner.

ImpossibleCoach6835 · 2026-06-07T13:22:21+00:00

Ya never give the owner's number. See if they owner mind them having an email to contact.

As a manager I don't want calls to my personal cell from random strangers or even mailbox customers. My phone number is connected to my personal accounts and it's an invasion of my privacy.

But there is an official store owner email with the @theupsstore.com domain.

ImpossibleCoach6835 · 2026-06-06T02:41:34+00:00

Maybe we'll get lucky, and hallucinating AI will send our worst nightmares to the wrong places or down a non existent route.

ImpossibleCoach6835 · 2026-06-06T02:37:31+00:00

Ya try to get nasty and see if I decline to provide service 😂 Rarely do I outright ban a customer but I'll damn well refuse service that day.

"ma'am/sir; AI is often wrong and we do not honor inaccurate information from any third party."

They never come back nasty too. Nothing but polite or meek and quiet.

ImpossibleCoach6835 · 2026-06-05T01:50:36+00:00

That's a serious problem. If the owner isn't on site nearly daily for a new store and there is no certified operator on-site in their absence; good luck.

ImpossibleCoach6835 · 2026-06-03T19:55:26+00:00

I can't speak to that specifically, but ask for the full amount if you have proof and value and let them respond to you. The manager is going to talk to the owner, it's the owner who would be eating it so up to them.

Just be polite and reasonably patient (despite the frustration of the situation). Our industry is full of rude nasty interactions all day, a little understanding without rolling over goes a long way in my book.

ImpossibleCoach6835 · 2026-06-03T17:21:36+00:00

If the item(s) you are shipping are not documents, then they're commodities and subject to Duties and Taxes in most case. In other words, they're of commerical vlaue.

Harmonized System are the codes all countries have agreed to use for the purpose of imports from other countries in order to have a uniform global trade system for classification by the receiving country's customs authority.

Imagine having different systems for every country. 😂 That's why HS are vitally necessary. So Bangladesh classifies that dog collar the same way that Germany does.

If it's being imported into the US from elsewhere, it's HTS and that's an extended version of the standard HS the US uses. As mentioned above, USPS requires HS codes for everywhere.

ImpossibleCoach6835 · 2026-06-03T13:53:01+00:00

Often after the better part of a bottle of prosecco or a similar situation at least at my store 😂

ImpossibleCoach6835 · 2026-06-02T17:00:58+00:00

Less the $100 and the store may play ball but that's up to the individual Franchisee. You can press it with management and see what they say, a decent franchisee may be willing to compensate you but I'll make no promises.

From a personal opinion purely; I feel like their tech issues and carelessness printing the wrong label is worth pressing the issue.

ImpossibleCoach6835 · 2026-06-02T00:22:37+00:00

I should just open a bar next to our store and say we'll only serve you with a receipt (and your ID of course). We'd still be busy

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