Broccoli Slaw Salad
Today’s meal included a delicious salad comprised of:
- Broccoli slaw
- Leftover pork
- Carrots
- Celery
- Balsamic vinaigrette dressing
Ready for Eatin'
This salad was good, but not great. It needed a little something… like cheese or apples or… cheese.
On to story time!
It’s Just Tape!
Please let me preface this post by saying that I love UPS. Ryan and I are both slightly obsessed with our UPS guy because he leaves Sadie dog treats every time he delivers a package to our apartment. Plus, he’s super friendly and even asked me what the “Peanut Butter Fingers” packages we receive are all about. I told him that my first name is Peanut because I was four pounds when I was born. My middle name is Butter because it is delicious and I just married Ryan whose last name is Fingers. Can you imagine if that were true? Awful. That name is even worse than Hawk!
Anyway, my love for UPS was tested around the holidays.
As you may know, I buy a lot of stuff from RueLaLa.com, like the dress I wore for my bachelorette party and the funky shirt I wore for a fun night out downtown recently. Practically every pair of jeans that I own comes from RueLala.
With me ordering much of my wardrobe online, I inevitably have to return a bunch of stuff because certain items don’t fit the way I imagined. (Side note: Will someone please make dresses with two sizes… one for the top and one for the bottom? I have yet to meet a woman that is the same size everywhere.) To make my returns, I simply drop off a box at UPS.
I stuff the clothing I don’t want back into the original box, stick the return address label to the top of the box and hand it over to the person behind the counter at UPS. Easy peasy. I have never once taped up the box and, until last December, they have never said anything to me about it.
My Typical Return
Last December I made the mistake of taking my RueLaLa return to a different UPS location. I was running errands and came upon a random UPS store, so I headed inside with my box prepared as it normally is: Clothing inside, label stuck on top, box open.
“Thank you!” I said as I handed my box over, turning around to exit the store.
“Um, this isn’t taped up,” said the manager of the store. (I know he was the manager because his name tag said so. He’s important!)
“Yes, I know. Is that okay? I’ve never taped up a box before and didn’t have any trouble in the past.”
“I’m going to have to charge you for the tape.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes. That will be $1.15.”
“You’re going to charge me $1.15 for a tiny strip of tape?”
“Well, if I don’t charge you, I have to eat the cost.”
“Is this a new policy?” I asked, thinking to myself that an entire ROLL of tape doesn’t even cost $3!
“No.”
“Do all locations do this?”
“I don’t know about other locations but I charge for tape.”
“Wow. Okay,” I said, handing over my credit card.
“I can’t charge such a small amount to a credit card.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
“Well, I don’t have cash.”
*Blank look*
“Um, let me go check my change holder in my car.”
“No. Just forget it, okay. I’ll just tape it up.”
My goodness, I would hope so, I thought.
“Aw, thanks! Happy holidays,” I said, smiling as I left and vowing never to visit that particular UPS location again.
Flippin’ tape crazies!
My desire to share this whole story with you was inspired by a stop I made at my favorite UPS store on my way to work this morning to return another RueLaLa purchase.
The Good UPS
I haven’t returned anything to UPS since the tape debacle and was a little nervous. As usual, my return box wasn‘t taped up and I headed into the store with my fingers crossed.
Good news! They didn’t care in the least. My favorite UPS store lives on! The woman at the counter smiled at me and before I knew it, I was back in my car, driving to work and happily eating a stick of string cheese.
Yay Cheese!
Tape-free returns make me happy. It’s the little things in life. 
(P.S. The Fashion page was updated today!)
You are so lucky! Never in a million years would my post office even think about accepting an untaped box! Just out of curiosity why not just tape it yourself? Then again if mine accepted a box without tape I probably wouldn’t either!
JJ
b/c i don’t own packing tape. i should probably change that…
Julie @ Peanut Butter Fingers
Hahaha, gotta love it. I hate packing tape…so messy and sticky! And I hear you on the sizes. I’m always bigger on top than on bottom…and unfortunately, it’s not even my boobs, it’s my ribs haha.
Gabriela @ Une Vie Saine
hahahaha great story!
1.50 for some tape is outrageous!!
The thing about when we get boxes here is that sometimes the post office workers slit the tape and steal stuff. We’ve had hats, a skirt, an umbrella and some shirts taken before. oh and earrings. So my parents went to the Correios (post office) headquarters in our city and complained. The manager then proceeded to tell them that they don’t pay their employees very much, which means that they steal things that they need. So now our friends put boxes inside of boxes!
Gen
I would be scared that someone might be interested in the contents inside the box. I have shopped on RueLaLa a few times and looooove the deals!!! I need to be more consistent because I get such great things from there
kristen
I buy about 90% of my clothing online… esp. now that we live in Alaska and the shopping is more limited than where I used to live! But having said that I receive/return a lot of packages.
I normally tape up my returns, but when we still lived in Charleston, SC I had one guy give me a hard time about not taping it up at a PakMail. He was the owner and I was like “oh, I’m so sorry – I can buy some tape, I just ran out” (which was true), and I started looking at the tape rolls he had on the wall, and then he said “nevermind, I’ll just tape it this time”. Since then I’m always paranoid about making sure they’re taped!
mm
haha i thought it was obvious that you’re supposed to tape up your own packages before taking it over to the UPS
Michelle
That is so weird! I’ve never had that problem!
Katy (The Singing Runner)
haha crazy story I hate mailing things such a hassle.
kate@ahealthypassion
I think USPS charges too! At least once when mailing something, the woman behind the counter acted like she was doing me a HUGE favor by not making me pay for tape…I mean HELLO, you’re already charging me an arm and a leg to send something!
Jessie @ Tasty Fare, Pretty Wear
That’s so funny!!! I’ve never brought a package in that’s not taped up….maybe I should give it a try?
Melissa (MelissaLikesToEat)
That’s crazy! 1.15? I guess I can see like 50 cents or something but cmon
Jess@atasteofconfidence
It never ceases to amaze me how one location of any store can be so different from another location. it really is about customer service. some people “just dont get it”
Kathie
hilarious! i hate sending packages because they’re so ridiculously expensive!
Sarah K. @ The Pajama Chef
I worked at an ups store after highschool. Horrible. The owner was so rude when people would bring in pre-labeled boxes. He would hrow them across the store into the back where we kept all the pick ups. I don’t remember if he charged for tape but it honestly wouldn’t surprise me. He was horrible. If you are ever in clermont, never go to the ups store by kings ridge!!!
Jena
Charging is definitely crazy but I have never been able to just take it in and they do it for me. Ive had to go home before just to tape it up etc. You are lucky for having such a nice ups.
SaraRM
Boo. That is tragic customer service. Tragic.
Runeatrepeat
Awww Julie you’re the cutest! Your face at the end at not having to pay for tape made me laugh.
Primrose
I am ALWAYS at the UPS store to mail out my glasses, and I know both locations I use charge for tape! they have signs that say so.
however.. I’m a smartypants and tape my own boxes.
Alyssa @ Life of bLyss
I would never think to attempt to mail an opened box! I think it’s actually funny that there is a store that will tape it for you.
The cost the other store quoted is insane, but that’s what buying packing tape from a cheap store is for! So much cheaper and you can have the confidence that they aren’t taking the clothes out of the opened box to keep for themselves!
Amber K
This is because every UPS Store is individually owned and operated. Like a Subway or Dunkin Donuts.
But you know what’s really special…if you take a box to the store and haven’t prepped a label…the “shipping charge” will actually be more than if you print your own label. And each store has different charges. (as evidenced by the $42.00 it cost my friend to ship me an envelope from SLC to LA).
Moral of the story: Print your own label so you can just drop and go. Or schedule a pick up.
emptypocketgrad
Oh my goodness… i had no idea that they charged for tape, either! (but then again, I hardly ever visit the UPS store..) Now I know! And i’ll make sure to come prepared with my own tape
Allison@ Happy Tales
I had used the post office a lot the past few years to mail out sold school books, and one random time – the guy working decided that he absolutely could NOT process my order unless my credit card was signed. ID? Not good enough. I purposely don’t sign my credit cards in case it gets lost (and it’s never been a problem), but he was dead set on not sending my package otherwise. WTH.
Katie
First and foremost, I just came across your blog, and I LOVE IT! Secondly, I just wanted to comment on your UPS debacle. I work at a UPS Store in Wisconsin (I am also a big, bad manager, hehe.) They are all independently owned and operated, so each owner can really make their own “rules.” As crazy as it sounds, our location charges $1 to tape drop-off packages as well. While I’m not supporting or opposing that decision, let me explain why. We do not make any money by accepting drop-off packages with pre-paid labels on them. We simply take them as a courtesy to our customers. Therefore, if we taped every single drop off that came into our store (and there are a LOT), we would be losing money — especially since we always try to tape packages well (including all edges, etc.) so that they make it successfully through the shipping process. However, if the customer is a regular customer or also does other paying business with us, we are happy to tape their package for free. Does this make sense?
I can totally understand your frustration, because it seems silly to pay $1 for tape, but I was hoping that this might explain it a little better. However, the “manager” at the store could have done a much better job explaining this to you.
Thanks for listening!
Katie