I know better than to post a review when I am in the heat of my frustration, disappointment and the peak of my anger with a particular business.
But alas, here I am...
I shipped two packages from here last week. Excited there was a place open to send packages to family & friends in the States right at the border. It's so much cheaper to send packages from the US than Canada.
It was a Wednesday and they were open until 9pm. We were able to use two priority mailboxes they had on hand. We had our own sharpie marker and packing tape, so we labelled and packaged up the boxes right there. One to California and one to Oregon.
They only take cash as payment, so luckily had $24 US in my travel wallet. They gave us a receipt and I was so thrilled to get those packages out the door (we were a little late in getting them out). The service was friendly. And we learned of their package delivery options ($10 annual membership, $2.50 per package). I was intrigued on the convenience of the location to switch to them, but now I know that I can't and won't.
Fast forward to one week later. I get a call from my sister in California, here is an outline of the convo ....
(1) 'Did I send a package to them?' Yes, yes I did.
(2) 'Did I pay to ship the package?' yes, yes I did.
(3) 'You may want to check your online card statement to see if you were charged because the package is here with the postman and there is no postage on it. They say it will cost $55 for them to deliver it.' WHAT!? NO! I am so sorry! I paid for the shipping at this place at the border. They only take cash, so no record on my online statement. Maybe I have a receipt at home? Refuse it! The package is not worth $55. It is just a care package for your BF's birthday. I am so sorry!
(4) I overhear her say to the postman, 'We are refusing delivery as it was paid for. Send it back.'
(5) 'We refused it,' she says. I am so sorry. I love you and I'll call you later after I get to the bottom of this.
I think there is one area where I may be at fault in this - the return address was our Vancouver, BC address. So the US post office must have seen this and that is why they wanted $55. I have done this tons of times with no issues.
So to sum it up, the packages that we paid for in cash (I have the receipt) were sent without postage. Now my packages are stuck in the postal ether and not sure if we will see them again. They were just thoughtful packages, luckily they weren't anything super valuable or important.
Prior to posting this review, I sent them an email to let them know and left a voicemail. My partner talked with someone there briefly last night, but I personally have yet to hear back from them. I am not sure what they can actually do to rectify this at this time. I am open to suggestions.
***UPDATE (with 10 minutes of posting the original):
Scott, one of the owners at At The Border, just called. He is lovely, sincere and expressed great concern for the issue. He apologized and made it very clear that this is not a usual business practice.
He shared his concern that the package got as far as it did within the US Post. There seems to be a bunch of checks & balances in place to avoid this exact thing. For example: (1) They usually put their label with their address on it, but I guess these packages were set aside to be dealt with later. (2) The person who picks up the package usually scans the package into the system. (3) It then goes to the Blaine Post Office and if there is an issue, it is returned to them. He is amazed the package made it as far as it did.
He has been incredibly generous in his offerings to make up for the issue.
(1) Pay to replace the items: The book & the girl guide cookies can be replaced, but the other was branded schwag from a show my BF worked on, so not replaceable.
(2) If the packages arrive back to our Vancouver address, he has offered to pay whatever the cost is to receive the package. So he encouraged me not to refuse it, if it makes its way back here.
(3) He is diligently working to connect with the postman to see if he can help get the package delivered. Unfortunately there is no tracking on it... So it is highly unlikely. But I did appreciate his determination and eagerness to try to make it right.
(4) He said he would put aside the cash we paid for the packages, so we could pick it up the next time we cross the border.
I am eager to give any and all businesses & humans the benefit of the doubt. And based on this recent call, I think they are eager to right the wrong. If/when the packages do arrive where they are intended, I will update this post again.
The fact remains, that this issue happened and it happened to me. I will however change my 1 star to 3 star as Scott's customer service and humanity is worth it (and maybe then some). Poor guy having to deal with the bureaucracies of the Post Office... Good luck! read more