The UPS Store

Be very cautious dealing with this merchant, Unilocalers.
Employee working there rang me up for the wrong insurance amount, adding $ 200 to my shipment bill. Employee insisted he was right after I said there was a mistake. It took a few minutes, but I was finally able to see what I had been rung up for — $ 11,000 in insurance.
Came in one week later with a box to ship. I said I would get this box shipped that day and missed the USPS cutoff time, so I found myself at this UPS Store again. It was an item which I was returning which had not been opened. The sender sent the wrong item. Got the same guy at the UPS Store. He rang me up and said it would cost $ 30 to ship. This was 5 oz package going to a neighboring state (NY). The package was about the size of a pint glass. He insisted that $ 30 was the right price. I questioned the price and I pointed out that USPS shipped the package to me from the sender for $ 3.02, pointing to the label still on the box. The employee insisted he was right and refused to show me what I was being charged for. I walked out and went to USPS the next day — USPS delivered it for $ 3.02.
I’ve had good service in the past at this shop, but recently it’s been a frustrating waste of time. Unilocalers, verify you are being rung up correctly and use the estimate tool* at
to get a good idea of the actual shipping costs. If you do not, you may end up paying tens or hundreds more than it should cost you.
*The estimation tool is approximate

overpriced. impolite. don’t go. stay away.
they do not deserve your time or money.

I have no words for how disgraceful the service is at this store but I will attempt to gather some so that others don’t make the mistake of using this store for any of their needs. First, I decided to use this store to buy boxes and then also for my shipping needs to New York where I have just moved. When I bought the boxes I realized after I reached home that I had paid 41 $ for three boxes costing 9.95 each. I called the store only to be snapped at by the man who picked up the Phone, told me it must be tax (worth 10 $?!) and that it was unlikely I would get a refund (because I didn’t have the receipt– even though I had the entry on my credit card balance) and finally that he didn’t have the time because he had other customers. Of course this ended in me, frustrated, mumbling a thank you and putting the phone down. Fast forward to the end of the week and I had now packed all my stuff into three ups shipping boxes and was waiting. I had arranged earlier in the week for them to do a pick up between 3:45& 4:00 pm and finally decided to call the store at 4:25 when no one had shown up. The girl who answered insisted that I must be mistaken because their store doesn’t do pick ups and that no one was on their way. I kept telling her I had spoken more than once to someone from their store and this couldn’t possibly be true– at the point at which I thought I had lost my mind, I receive a call (it is now 4:30) from the man who had come to pick up my boxes. I go down and to my shock it is what I understand to be the store owner– a man in his 40s/​50s, thin and clearly not capable of picking up 3 20 cube boxes. I asked upon seeing him if he had help to which he promptly said no, and I confirmed that he was aware of what he was picking up. He reaches my floor, looks at my box and says– these are moving not Shipping boxes and they are not strong enough, only to be corrected by me and told they were indeed shipping boxes and I had bought them at his store. He then tries to pick up the first box and is obviously struggling and refuses my help. By the time we reach the ground floor the brand new box is now ripping down the side and in bad shape. At this point, extremely concerned about how this process was taking place, I told him that this was not working out– that he should have brought help knowing the size of my boxes. He began to argue with me, telling me he had done me a favor and that should never have done it in the first place. He also told me that he has never seen two men irrespective of how many or how heavy the boxes are– that ups always just has 1 person to drop or pick up boxes. That it was my problem for living on the 3^rd floor and finally screamed at me saying «I’ll give you a refund for this box, what more do you want? Then I’m going to leave this box at the door and I’m going». I was left stranded on a Friday evening, at 4:50 pm having no way of knowing how to get my stuff to a new city. To my absolute luck, I called the other UPS store on Somerville Ave who said that they had their van for another 10 minutes. No surprise there were two men when they arrived and I was able to ship my boxes just in time. I urge residents in the area to not ever use this store, they are a disgrace.

Some of the reviews here are really old. Whatever the service was like in 2014 and 2013, it certainly seems quite good now, in 2015. I’ve been there twice and each time I got the best, most friendly service. I’m back looking for their site because I wanted to verify something about what they sell, and I just clicked this page by mistake.
It’s a fine place to do business — and they make KEYS!!!

Come on dudes. It’s a UPS store. It’s not evil, like Fedex. It’s not crippled by federal bureaucracy, like USPS. You tape your Amazon return label on your box, drop it off on the counter with a nod and continue wherever else you were going. They even sell some basic shipping supplies if you are unable to make it to Staples. If the carrier destroyed your package, it’s not these guys’ fault. If they fail at accomplishing some crazy nonsense you demanded (i.e. anything taking more than 5 minutes in the store) that’s your own fault.

A lot of the reviews here seem to be from people unfamiliar with the process of shipping. Overall it’s a pain, and I think for the most part going to a shipping store or the post office is a generally unpleasant experience. That said, I ship things at least once a week for my business and I’ve been coming here for years. The staff varies in experience but I’ve found them consistently eager to help and often quite friendly.

Stay Away! These Idiots are Rude and Incompetent, I had them pack and ship three items and they arrived Broken because of Bad Packaging! THEN recently had them pick up, pack and Ship two items, after 35 days without any update OR contact They tell me they Lost the items Inside their Store! Now its a Battle to receive my Reimbursement Check. I contracted them to ship on 9÷25÷2014 and to this Day have not received any compensation… Now Kamal (owner) is saying they are still charging me the pickup fee of 25.00 After All For the items They Lost!!!
This is Pure Robbery and these Crooks should have their Franchise Revoked after reading all the other Reviews.
STAY AWAY From these Crooks!

I’ve been using Unilocal for years to read other people’s reviews, but only after my most recent experience at this UPS store was I compelled to create an account and write one of my own.
I was issued a return label by an online vendor and went by this store with a package to have it labeled and shipped. Right when I walk in, one of the employees was berating the other as he was struggling to figure out a transaction from the counter. Not loudly or aggressively, but in an obnoxious, belittling, know it all kind of way. I could feel my blood pressure rising before I was even being helped.
When he was done proving his intelligence, the alpha male of this UPS store came to «help» me. I explained my situation, told him I had an email containing the shipping slip, and asked if he could print it for me. «No no no, I can’t print that for you. But if you email it to the store then I can print it out.» Uhhh, ok. So I go ahead and email it to the store’s email address from my phone, he confirms that he got the message, and prints off the label. He then turns around and says «I’m going to have to charge you 40 cents for the label». What dude? I start to explain that I was making a return (albeit not to them) and obviously wasn’t expecting to assume any of the cost. Not to mention I wasn’t informed of the cost until after the print had been made.
The guy rolls his eyes and starts to talk to me like he did to his unfortunate coworker. He seems confused why I don’t understand there would be a cost associated with printing the label. His defeated minion even chimes in and they both continue to «explain» to me that the fee covers the ink, paper, printing, labor etc. No guys, I get that it costs something, I’m just incredulous that it’s not included in the cost of shipping and handling, and I’m expected to be totally cool with being nickel and dimed as a customer making a return. Since when do shipping companies expect you to print your own labels out at home, and charge you if you don’t? I try to explain my point of view, but there isn’t enough time to cover topics like opportunity cost, customer retention, business ethics, etc. They just keep giving me the run around about how it «costs» something.
The only reason I’m giving these guys two stars is because when I took my credit card out of my wallet, the guy said there was a $ 5 minimum and gave up on charging me. Honestly, I would have felt the same leaving the store whether or not I had paid. These guys don’t know jack about running a customer facing business, and I would only recommend them if you don’t mind feeling anxious and stressed after dropping off a package.

A great place to drop off prepaid packages! Unlike the Somerville Ave UPS Store, this location will provide a receipt for your drop-​off.
Don’t go here to get items packed for shipping! They charge $ 40 just to pack an item, which the Somerville Ave UPS store will do for much less (or even just the cost of the box).

I have been here 4 – 5 times in the past year. The staff (an older maybe Indian woman and younger maybe Indian man) are incredibly rude. They essentially treat you like you are an idiot and they are experienced brain surgeons or rocket scientists or something… instead they actually work at UPS and should not act like such a$$holes. Customer service is essentially non-​existent and I fear the concept is lost upon them. UPS would do well to revoke this franchise because it is seriously tarnishing their otherwise good image. If you simply need to drop off a package and can handle the rude treatment it is OK but I would definitely go to another location if you need anything more than that. Actually, I think I might just schedule pickups in the future so I don’t have to deal with these people.

I just came back from The UPS Store on Highland Avenue in Somerville, MA.
I was having difficulties in trying to print an Excel file so I asked an employee for assistance. She told me what to do, but this still did not work so she took over and tried a few things. Eventually we were able to print correctly, but in the meantime many test pages had been printed that I could not use. She told me to not worry because she would refund me. Her help and customer service was greatly appreciated by me.
After I was finished, I approached the counter for the refund. The store manager explained that since it was a separate kiosk I was responsible for any printings on there. The employee who assisted me approached and explained that she had printed the documents. He said to her, in front of all of the customers in the store, «Don’t help anyone any more.» I was flabbergasted. I asked him what kind of manager would suggest that his employee refrain from helping anyone. He tried to backpedal with some excuse, but I asked again why he would tell an employee to not help anyone any more. She was offering good customer service.
Also, he asked the customer before me for ID for a package. When told the ID was in the car, the manager just waived it. So the manager shows poor customer service and poor knowledge of UPS policies.
I would avoid this location at all costs if I were you. Unless, of course, you don’t mind the manager’s policy of «don’t help anyone any more».
By the way, I believe the picture on Unilocal is of the manager in question.

This specific UPS store is not to be trusted. I shipped a package that was too long to ship with USPS and in a rush, I did not check the price on the official
website first. HUGE MISTAKE!
I brought in my package all ready to go. Just needed to pay for shipping… I asked for the cheapest option which was UPS Ground. It should have been $ 30. However, the owner and staff purposefully DO NOT tell you what exactly goes into the «Additional Services» upcharge they automatically tack on to the actual shipping cost another $ 39. These «additional services» that I did not ask for, more than doubled the cost and they hope you are dumb enough to not ask about them. Super shady.
Make sure you check the price on the official UPS site before paying this store any money. Or better yet go to a different location; use USPS or FedEx if possible.
Never going back.

This store is so convenient and offers multiple valuable services. And yet the staff (owners?) are so rude, I don’t think I will go back. There is a US Post Office just down the street.
I tried to purchase something and was rudely told I was getting the wrong product (I did not ask). Then, when I asked for a nicer pen than the ones on the chain, the request was met with a scowl and reluctance. Then, I requested information about different mailing options, and was only told about one. I thought maybe there was a communication problem, but whatever the reason, the transaction was uncrossable and I just walked out without getting my needs met.
Perhaps some lessons in customer service and communication would benefit this business.

I end up coming here sometimes because it’s the only place in Davis to print or fax something. Occasionally I’ve mailed things from here and the whole process is extremely slow with numerous errors and mistakes. No queuing system for handling different customers either. I don’t think I’ve ever had a smooth transaction here, seriously.
Go to The UPS Store on Somerville Ave. They have much better customer service, printing equipment and if you email them something, they print it immediately. UPS Stores are often independently owned, so there’s a lot of variation between them.

Note that this review is for passport photo services only. Went here for passport photos for my renewal and ended up with the most hideous mug shots you’ve ever seen. I’m not really that ugly — not a 10, but certainly not a 2.5! The store has terrible lighting and they use an old digital camera that they probably got for free with the last order of office supplies — worse than most cell phone cameras. Combine all that with the required white background and you’ve got a hideous photo that you have to live with and try to enter foreign countries with for the next ten years. Also, staff was clueless about passport photo requirements, i.e., number of photos needed, etc.
On the plus side, they’re cheap — $ 10ish for two hideous photos.
There’s a place around the corner that sounds like it might be better. I’m going to suck it up and have them done over.
Also, I’ve used this place for shipping and printing and they’re fine, so I’m adding a star for that.

These people are completely useless unless you have some extra money to give them that they don’t deserve. They will happily take your money, mess up your prints/​copies and do nothing to resolve it. Don’t ever go here. Go to the one on Somerville Ave. They actually read their emails and will have it waiting for you.

Came here looking to use their USAA money depositing services and was not disappointed. Even though there wasn’t a parking lot, I went there during a busy time and found parking pretty fast all over the street.
The attendants were super nice people, everything I needed to get done got done fast and pleasantly.

I’ve been using this place for years and it was fine. Yesterday, however, I met with some of the most rude and incompetent people. Perhaps they’ve fallen under new management,
I came in with a package to return to amazon, I followed amazons instructions as I always do. Usually they just take it, no questions asked.
But for some reason, this clerk told me this was not a UPS label. No other explanation. Even though the label said beneath it «cut this out and affix it to your package» I told him that maybe I mixed up the labels and asked if he would open up the package. He said he wasn’t allowed to do that.
I was recently in a car accident and injured my back. I tried to open the package and it hurt my back. I asked for scissors and the clerk insolently said he had already offered me them. He hadn’t.
I open the package myself and pull out the other paper. The clerk examines it and says, as though it matters, «this is the same as on the outside of the package.» I called amazon later and they said that’s how they do it — one label on the outside and one on the inside.
Who I think might be the manager came over and she was also completely insolent and repeated like a robot, «this is not a ups label.» Well it is because I called amazon and they told me so!
The interesting thing is she said she could ship it but couldn’t guarantee delivery or I could pay for it and she could guarantee delivery.
WAAA??? If its not a UPS label, then how could she ship it?
I also agree that they should help you put tape on packages. I now have to retape this package and try another UPS store because I will never go into this one again.
It really sucks because its a great location.

I miss Phil, the old owner of this store. I started using this place shortly after moving to the Boston area over a decade ago, and Phil was great. He understood that you can’t run a business well with unhappy customers.
This place? Not so much.
They replaced the copiers Phil had had for a while with new ones. The new ones are terrible to use, and I’m speaking as someone who used to copy things regularly for past jobs, both with on-​site copiers and at copy stores. It’s so easy to accidentally hit the «copy» button on the model they have now — all you have to do is brush past it lightly with your hand or elbow and it activates — and they charge you for every single copy, even ones you didn’t intend to make. And the charge for color copies is *outrageous*.
But what really got me was what happened today, on the last Saturday before Christmas. Someone went in to mail a package for me this afternoon, and after dealing with the staff for half an hour, someone abruptly told her that the last shipment had gone out for the day and they would no longer be able to get it there for Christmas. So she simply left without shipping it at all.
When she took the box to another UPS Store, they were up-​front about the last Saturday pick-​up at UPS Stores being at 3 p.m. — which was just before she had arrived at the Davis Square location. So the entire half-​hour she spent at the Davis Square location was an attempt to do something that was literally impossible.
After this incident, I plan to never use this location again. I’d rather take copies along on one of my trips downtown and copy them at one of the copy shops down there, where the staff is professional, the owner doesn’t try to nickel-​and-​dime customers, the copiers work like proper copiers, and the people know that you can’t run a successful business without having a base of loyal customers. Goodbye and good riddance, Davis Square UPS Store.

There are new owners now that dime you. 2 stars cause at least they mailed my package.
So, I went in the other day to mail a dress back to an online store and I needed something to mail it back in. He hands me this very large plastic envelope (say, about 12“x20″), has me lays the dress out in a flat square, measures this square and charges me $ 12 shipping. I could have folded the dress over, ya know. And saved myself $ 4. I’d never been into a UPS store that did that before. I might be wrong but I thought they used to price things by weight?
Old owners never charged for printing either.
I think I’ll just walk across the street to the USPS from now on. Mail things there where they don’t try and maximize every cent they could charge, and chat with the loopy and sweet desk clerk about her cousin, Ralph Lauren.