I live in a world with this kind of thinking; when a store closes at 6pm, it means it closes at 6pm. At The UPS Store on 1127 High Ridge Road, in Stamford, CT, this is not the case. Stepping into this store at 5:45pm on April 1, 2013 was like stepping into another planet completely. As I begin to take my first steps inside, the bell sounded at the door and I saw a man standing, waiting to be assisted in front of me. After ensuring that the door was closed behind me, I heard a loud heavy grunt in the back packing area. I thought to myself, "Is there an animal here?" No, in fact, it was an employee. This employee began speaking to another in the back and said abruptly "Oh my God you've got to be kidding me, here is another one." She quickly stole a glance in my direction looking at the items I was looking to ship. Could this be the woman that my cousin warned me about? The same one who treated him with an incredible amount of disrespect? "No way," I thought to myself, she must have been dealt with for her behavior some time ago.
Well, I was wrong. Before I could even place the items down on the counter, I heard a yell from the back of the room as she began to shuffle to the front. "What do you want?" She said. I felt very awkward. "What do you want?" Was she speaking to me? I felt as though she was speaking a different language. In my 21 years of existence, I was never approached by a store employee in this manner. I calmly responded and let her know that the other man was there before me. "I know, I already took care of him, what do you want?" she replied. As if hearing her comments in the back room weren't enough, was I supposed to tolerate this behavior? I explained to her that I needed to have my two items packed and shipped to their destinations. The only response I received was heavy breathing as if she had anger issues. I began to feel a bit of anxiety, unsure of what I had done to make her treat me in this manner.
Had I been someone else, they would have made a scene and/or left...but this was only the beginning. She suddenly walked away, and began speaking to the man that had been in the store first, completing his transaction. Soon after, she returned while pulling out her cell phone and exhaled deeply again. Once again she spoke with her demanding voice, "These won't be sent out tonight." is what she said. I replied that it was not a problem and attempted to be kind by making some small talk to ease the tension. I asked how things were at the store and she replied "Well, it's almost 6pm and people are still coming in." It was obvious to me that she was speaking about my presence since I was the only one left. I felt disrespected and like my business was unappreciated. I have worked in a retail setting before, and I was always under the understanding that if someone is in the store before closing, you must be completely respectful of them regardless of the time. I do not know if this is a matter of an employee hating her job, or hating me coming in before closing. Either way, there is no excuse. There is no reason an employee of any kind should ever treat a customer in this way. I should have taken my cousin's advice and left this place a long time ago, but now my choice is concrete. I will gladly go to another shipping company that actually appreciates my business. Goodbye UPS, it was great up until the not so fairy tale ending.
-Mr. Bronson read more