Mailbox service here is *pricey* - leaps and bounds more than mom & pop offerings. When I was filling out the forms, I wanted to do it as the nonprofit (acting as an authorized agent of the business), but I was instructed to fill out the form with my individual information as the boxholder, since I was presenting a passport as a form of identification. This move turned out to be calculated, I later realized. More on that in a bit.
The employees here are super nice. Like greet-you-by-name nice, and in a genuine way. It was almost always a pleasure to pop into the store to pick up my mail and packages.
At times, this store can be overrun and busy. Definitely around the holidays, but even randomly at other times, the line will be out the door. Scheduling is a mess and leaves these poor employees short-staffed at times.
Speaking of management, the owner is *wholly unreasonable*.
Yes, I'll leave that sentence all by itself there for emphasis. Getting back to the putting *my* name on the contract. . . As I mentioned, I intended to rent the service in the name of the nonprofit. I'm not the only one who gets mail or receives packages. The first time another member of the organization received a package, the little slip in our box had a question mark on it, and when I brought it to the counter, they told me the person's name wasn't on the list. They told me it was an additional $10 per month to add additional names. What?! I'm not going to add everyone's name and pay $10 per month per person. That's insane. I was then informed that that was the only way, unless any package was addressed to both the organization AND bore the correct box number. OK, that's a bit of a pain to make sure you always get it right (and that shippers always get it right - because sometimes they address gets jacked up on the sender's end). That's a pain, but it's (somewhat) reasonable.
Fast forward a few months later, and two packages arrive for our Communications Director, over two consecutive days. We didn't get a notice, but we were expecting it, so I knew to ask. That's a symptom that either the box number was missing, or the company name was missing, and they're about to give me grief about it. Sometimes, even though you put a business name in your order, the shipper will neglect to include that, or they'll munge the unit number etc. This was one of those times, and the business name wasn't there. The few times that's happened, I was reminded of the requirements, and then they formally log in the package and print the slip and have me sign it. On this occasion, the gal just gave me the package and told me to just take it without logging it. I thought that was odd, but I later figured out that she probably didn't want to get in trouble with the raging boss.
When the second package arrived the next day, I got a call from said raging boss going on about how too many exceptions have been made, and that I needed to formally add our other names to the box. I went to the store, and long story short, the woman basically held that package hostage, and insisted I pay $10 on the spot to add other names to the account (and $10 each month), in order to release the package.
She was being entirely unreasonable and unaccommodating, insisting that I was never told something that I was - and something significant enough that we (as an organization) made changes to the way we order things. What I found even more astounding was that this woman (who it turns out is the Franchise owner), would rather bicker about $10 than have the actual business. When I told her that she was being unreasonable, and that we weren't inclined to renew our contract, she still stayed her course. Yes, that $10 was more important to her than the $600 for the renewal. I guess math is different for some people.
When I relayed this story to our team, one of them tried to call the next day to have a conversation with the manager/owner. When she finally got hold of her two days later, the owner ranted a bit and then hung up. My teammate turned to me and said, "Holy S---! That woman is completely psycho!"
Oh, what happened to the hostage package? The crazy owner refused to release it and returned it to the sender.
I could not be more relieved to disassociate with this business. When I turned in my key a few days later, I said goodbye to all the cool employees and apologized if they saw the frustrated side of me. They reassured me that it was fine, and that they completely understood. I added, "If she's like that with paying customers, I can't imagine how poorly she might treat her employees." One person whispered, "It's not easy", but the forlorn looks I got back said it all, and I knew that it must be a toxic environment. I was awash with even more gratitude for the pleasant demeanor they had all shared with me each time I came in.
If I pass by this store, I may wave to the employees to say hi, but there is no way I would ever spend another penny at this business. read more