THE UPS STORE Franchise Complaints

52 thoughts on “THE UPS STORE Franchise Complaints”

• I’ve been in this system since before there were The UPS Stores, as a Mailboxes, etc. This business started out promising, but has become a complete scam with our VENDOR (UPS) becoming our franchisor. They take more and more from us every day. In the beginning of my store’s life cycle, things were pretty good. We did a lot of packing and shipping, with other profit centers like copying and mailbox rentals being a sort of icing on the cake.
  Then our vendor began stealing our shipping customers. I’d say about 2004 was when things started to take a turn for the worse. The amount of prepaid packages, which we are paid a pittance for, began increasing at the expense of packages that were actually paid and shipped through our stores at an alarming rate. In 2008, the amount of prepaid packages began to exceed those that folks paid us to ship, and it’s gotten worse.
  Additionally, UPS will be implementing a program whereby people will be able to have things shipped to our stores, again for a pittance, and at the expense of our mailbox holders. We will be held liable for these packages if they are lost for up to $5000 per package. We have no choice but to accept these packages, yet the program is ironically called “My Choice”.
  Basically what UPS has done is turn us into indentured servants. We do all of the work that UPS is supposed to do, like deliver packages to residences instead of my store, so that they can lay off more drivers and pay us next to nothing. There are no benefits like insurance for doing this work for them. In fact, we have to pay royalties back to them on the small amounts they do pay us.
  So what is the response from our franchisor? They think we should concentrate on printing. Has anyone looked at the printing industry’s numbers lately? Do you realize what all this equipment and software costs us, or how ferocious the competition is? Yeah, when you think of printing I’m sure The UPS Store is the first thing that pops into your head.
  There’s more – lots more – but I think you get the idea. Stay away from this franchise at all costs.

• I have been a franchisee for the past 6 years. Initially, I grew sales from 130K per year to 295K last year. However, for the past three years it has been a losing battle. I have seen my house account customers approached by UPS sales agents and offered discounts that I simply could not offer. The lead was provided by my UPS driver based on the high volume of boxes picked up at my store from the same shipper. She even told the agent that she had a house account at the UPS store. What used to be thousands in shipping is now another drop off. The stores lost QVC returns to a first class third party mail vendor costing me at least 15K in annual shipping. The drop offs just keep increasing, and the packing income keeps dropping. Customers are mainfesting their boxes at home and bring the package to me as a drop off and act like they are dong me a favor…..

  Don’t even get me started on printing…Standard Register is 20 years behind in technology and 40% higher in cost than the major trade printers that are available. Don’t get me wrong, I print a lot…I mean a lot. It’s 20% of my business each month. But its sad when you can’t make money shipping when you are a UPS store.

  Coroprate efforts are completly out of touch with the pain of what we are really experiencing in the field. How about the 2500 dollar shredders they keep trying to get us to buy….Oh wait YouShredIT LLC just went under….Or how about the 2000 dollar minipakr air pillow machine that is available to us for a limited time only…Or how about the super special price for Adobe CS5 at 1000 dollars as long as 500 of us agree to buy it. (that will never happen) Anyone who knows print already had Adobe CS something….The most recent effort to get us on board with the post office’s EDDM program is a complete waste of time. A good corporate mailhouse blows the EDDM program out of the water.

  Over the past 6 years I have put 20-50K each year into the store just to keep it afloat. My life’s saving is gone, and we are running out of rope. This month I have made 4100 in sales putting me on track for a 12K month. That is officially 9K short of what we usually do. Before this year I never had a month that was not up compared to the same month the previous year. This year we have seen six (approaching 7) months that have been down compared to last year. So far we have done $9,000 less in sales compared to the same period last year. At that much of a shortage in sales, we will be done before christmas. What makes it even more painful is the knowledge that UPS raised the prices of shipping 8-10 percent in January. So, the cost went up, and our retail sales rate went up, but our revenue is 9K less…Even if we were keeping up with last years sales numbers we would still be at a 10% loss.

  Selling is not an option either considering that the banks are simply not lending. Additionally, if I had a buyer I would owe a 10% sales commission and transfer fees. Since we are more than 6 years old I have to re-carpet the entire store (8K), my computers are now no longer supported either and would require an upgrade, (another 4500). If I hit the 8th year I have to completly recabinet the entire store too (10,000). So, to sell I would be looking at 60,000 in fees and commissions and upgrades.

  It is just easier to shut the doors, strike a flare and walk away…..My best advice, If you have the chance to buy a UPS store…..Don’t.

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• The UPS store in Cape Girardeau Missour- is the biggest rip-off to all customers. The store is poorly handled by the owner-he does not have clue how to run a business and he is no help to customers. The help is very poor and extremely unfdriendly to the customer. There is Never a notary there yet they advertise there is one there. Lou is not a business minded person thus this store is going down. He does not know what is going on in his store . He is very incapable of being a franchise owner and should not be in business. I hope this store goes out of business–he and the store is a huge rip off to the public

• Thanks for this information which explains the terrible ups store in Greenville, NC.

• Lets not forget about the Used car salesman that they call area franchisees, these
  losers have sold there soles to support the scam that is the UPS store. In Buffalo NY they have 2 retards running the show- dumb and dumber- not sure how they sleep at night- I gues easy money does strange things to people

  Unless you need to lose a lot of money Stay away from the Useless Piece of Ship Store

• Donna Chambers: Before making those comments you need to understand what you’re talking about. Unless you’ve owned a UPS Store and been taken advantage of by the Franchisor UPS, who not only financially rapes every store owner with fees upon fees, upon fees, but makes it impossible for a store to make ANY money at all, would you even have a right to an opinion. Until you’ve walked in the shoes of a UPS Store owner who is defeated, warn out, who’s tried everything possible to survive and keep their doors open, you have some nerve leaving those comments. I’m sure, for one moment thinking as a customer, (and being the devils advocate) can understand frustration when it comes to lack of customer service, and how people can be dissatisfied with not being treated how they feel is appropriate when they are coming into a business and spending their hard earned money there. This I do understand. But what I also understand, is how DEVASTATING the experience is, when all you wanted to do is own your own business, make some money, and enjoy working with your customers each day. But then, when you have no idea how you’ll pay the rent each month, or how you’ll cover the money that UPS autodrafts constantly out of your bank account on various dates each month, when there’s no money left for them to take, the stress level is through the roof. This business model was created ONLY for UPS to make money, and has ruined so many lives, of people looking only for the american dream, and nothing more. Most of the quote un-quote customers that come into the store think they are store customers, when they’re shipping pre labelled packages…but they’re actually a UPS customer, and the store makes close to nothing on these prepaid packages. The customer coming in doesn’t know all that goes on behind the scenes…and the store owner is too distraught to provide the very best customer service, which is their initial goal going into the store. After a short time, and many thousands upon thousands of dollars lost, you too I hope can understand why you’ve had the experience you described in your post.

• WOW! There sure a lot of disgruntled store owners who have nobody to blame but themselves. The UPS Store is a VERY successful business. My store pulls in $60k a month! Each and every year for the past 23 years has been better than the previous.

• HappyTUPSSowner: Those have been your sales. The real question is…what is your profit? After all the fees and there are many…no matter how high the sales numbers may go, the fees from UPS corporate rise right up right along with them…and siphen the store owners profitability. You can’t say you make much in shipping, as drop offs far surpass the # of shipping customers who actually pay the store directly. It truly is not the disgruntled owners that are to blame. They’ve tried to make it work. It’s plain and simple a broken business model that gets worse as time goes on. UPS continues to steal the store’s shipping customers…and that’s a known fact. So god bless you if you actually believe in this business….and are happy with being treated as a slave for UPS and not as you’d deserve to be treated…as an owner of your own business.

• HappyTUPSSowner-
  23 consecutive years of growth? What’s your center number? I’d like to see those numbers for myself. 60K per month is terrific, but also very unusual. It’s true, there are a lot of disgruntled store owners out there these days, and some could be spending more time working to expand their potential profit centers and less time complaining about their shrinking ones. But don’t write them off completely and say they have no one to blame but themselves. For example, take this classic underhanded technique currently utilized by UPS:
  UPS owns the shipping program iShip, which most, if not all UPS Stores use to process packages. UPS is alerted when a particular customer is shipping 3 or more times per week on average. (These people are a franchisee’s bread and butter customers.) UPS then contacts that customer and offers them a slight discount per shipment in order to start an account directly with UPS, bypassing the the UPS Store completely. People have every right to get pisssed off by this kind of business practice.

• I own an independent pack and ship store and feel the pain of the UPS store owners. While I don’t have to pay any franchise fees, I do suffer from being a glorified dropoff box for both UPS and FedEx. 75% of outgoing packages in any given day were paid driectly to the carrier. I get NOTHING. Nothing but the liability, the customer questions, the customer expectation to use my supplies for free (“What? You want A DOLLAR for tape????”), the “customer” returning to the store to ask me why something they dropped off didn’t get delivered, etc. This year has been terrible so far. Worse than last year, which was bad. Every day I look at the numbers and want to cry. I am trying so hard to sell mailbox rentals now. Plus I have to do all kinds of stupid stuff like money orders and greeting cards, just in the hopes of getting people in the door who MIGHT rent a mailbox. It is very depressing. The retail shipping business is dead. I will be honest: I hope I can sell this store SOON. I feel sorry for the next owner.

• I remember visiting the area stores and being allowed to ask questions with the area guy standing right there listening. The store owners would not speak freely and would ONLY answer what WE asked. So you had to know what you were looking for. So later, when people came to our store alone and asked about the franchise… we told them the truth and they ran for the hills!

  We were driven to all the top performing stores and were duped into thinking this will be us. Little did we know that few stores make that much. Many owners that do OK only get about $40,000 a year. My wife had a job making 60,000!!! We owned the store for a few years and we made NOTHING, zero, nada!!

  Here are the problems with the franchise…

  They opened way too many stores that have to now compete with each other!

  You are FORCED to buy overpriced equipment from the home office. You could easily buy it elsewhere for way less.

  You are FORCED to obtain color copiers where you lose money each month. There are already businesses dedicated to this service and you cannot compete.

  But here is the biggest dirty little scam!!!

  The royalty fee is 8.5% of the gross sales. You are allowed to deduct the cost of stamps and packaging materials. You get 40% of ground package and 50% of air package costs. Shipments are the bulk of your business income.

  Sounds great, right?

  OK, if you shipped $20,000 in packages you have to pay the UPS 50-60% of that in your next bill so you never earned that money. You really only took in say $10,000.

  But you pay a royalty on….. wait for it… $20,000!!!! So the 8.5% royalty is really 17% and that is nuts!

  The store shipping rates are the same as the counter but they will NOT advertise that EVER! Many people still believe the outside stores charge more and.. they do!! All of those that are not UPS Stores.

  At one point.. UPS was charging people 10% less than the store if they printed their label online. They drop it off at your store and you get… $1.00. But the customer would want YOU to tape their box.. for FREE! So UPS was making out at your expense.

  We sold the store a few years ago and now… they have since been evicted and the store closed!

• We upgraded Former Store Owner’s comment to a full post:
  http://www.unhappyfranchisee.com/how-much-ups-store-franchise-owners-make/

  Comments invited. Thanks.

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• I am completely disgusted with the UPS Store located on Congress Ave in WPB Florida. Firstly, the store is quick to sign you up with a contract and take your money. Second, when finding out that these po boxes are not recognized by the county as a valid PO box the answer from the manager was “we don’t care”. I was stuck with a PO box for one full year (they would not let me out of my contract only after a few days that I signed the contract) and to top it off when it was time to renew I specifically rejected the new contract and would bring the keys back upon arriving back in Florida. BTW I never received one piece of mail within the box. After returning the keys the owner told me that I owe him$28.00 for a month and half and that he was reporting me to a credit agency. ARE THEY KIDDING? How is it possible that this business remain in business???

• I also have been very happy with my franchise. We are currently doing 75K a month. I am able to take home 18-23K per month.
  I have found it is not the franchise system that’s broken, it’s the owners wasting their time complaining about it. Try running your business! Or sell the store..

• I owned a UPS Store and I also made no money. I was working 7days a week. I couldn’t afford to hire help, except for one part time person. Every year I lost more and more shipping to UPS, while I continued to grow only one profit center – DROP OFFS!! The customers that came in for drop offs wanted free tape and to waste your time with all of their questions – “how do I fill out the return form?”, “when will my package arrive?”, “when will I get my credit?”, “where does the label go?”, “is this package taped good enough?”, and on and on. They never wanted to wait in line and would constantly come to the front of the line and interrupt you while you were waiting on a genuine “paying” customer. If you’d ask them to wait – most would get annoyed and make nasty comments.

  When I first began I did my due diligence as I thought I was buying a Mail Boxes Etc. Mail Box Etc had a favorable business model and the stores made money. I signed up and gave my down payment to MBE as a Mail Box Etc. I signed my lease as a Mail Box Etc. I even signed my FOC as a Mail Box Etc. That was in March, 2003. Then when my store was to be built out and the order placed for the fixtures and equpment, I was told there would be no more Mail Box Etc built. That from this point on only The U:PS Stores would be opened. I was told about all the money I would make as The UPS Store. Just the name UPS would bring volumes of business from name recognition! I was told there would be no change in the business model. So I resigned the FOC’s as The UPS Store. In fact, I must have been the first SBA loan for The UPS Store because when I went to pick up my approved SBA loan (which was for Mail Boxes Etc) I was told by SBA that they would not release the loan because they did not know who The UPS Store was or what their business model was. SBA said they had no relation with The UPS Store. So my Area Franchise contacted Coporate office where they contacted SBA and assured them it was only a “name change” from Mail Boxes Etc to The UPS Store.

  It only took a couple of years to realize it was more than a name change and my store would never make the kind of money I was told about. The drop offs increased exponentially and customers who I relied on slowly converted to drop offs. I lost QVC returns, Landsend returns, Home Shopping Network returns, Cabelas, LLBean, and then all kinds of smaller companies began printing their own return labels. If I added the PACE recommendation for add on’s to shipping (like $2.00 for every $100 of insurance – while UPS only charged .40 cents) our shipping became very expensive and customers would print their own labels on-line and then drop them at my store where I received a $1.10 per package instead of $10.00 or $25.00.

  The nightmare continued with the printing. The Area Franchise and Corporate office pushed printing, but you had to invest in so much printing equpment to even compete and there was not the demand for what I needed to make up for the lost shipping revenue. To make matters worse I became an office for UPS – more than half of the phone calls I received were customers calling about a delivery or question for UPS and I acted as glorified answering service for UPS, directing their calls to the appropriate location. People came in the store thinking I was a UPS office and wanted all of their claims, complaints, etc handled. Every year fewer and fewer would come into the store and spend money. They wanted your advice, but they figured out it was cheaper to ship on-line and by pass you.

  Every day I wondered “why am I here?”. All I am doing is servicing UPS customers and making “no money”. UPS acted as thugs. Always threatening you that they would take away your franchise if you were in “non-compliance” for any little deviation. UPS controlled what you did, what you said, they had total access to your computers. They forced you to put all your data from Quick Books into their financial planner. They were always monitoring you – they said to see where improveement was needed. But the reality was they were constantly checking to make sure they weren’t cheated out of a dime of royalties. Royalties were 8.5% of the total price – not on what you made, but the entire amount of what you sold. UPS took almost 40% for cost of goods for ground shipping and about 50% for air shipments. You ended up paying another 8.5% royalties which was 17% of the amount you made. Fees were crazy $400/ month for Co-op advertising, $1200 per year (after tax) for technolgy fees, and you were forced to buy your equipment and upgrades through them at ridiculous prices, when you could find the same item for a lot less elsewhere. They forced you to use their credit card company and the hardware you bought from them was specialized so it only worked with their providers.

  I began to almost immediately despise UPS. The rules were crazy and Nazi like.They had control over every aspect of your business. It wasn’t like owning your own business at all. The harder you worked the more they took. The more they treatened and intimidated you if you resisted. It was an awful nightmare for 10 years. Then try and sell the business – no one wanted to buy such a business even when you showed a profit. These stores were useless except to serve to make UPS money. I finally walked away!

• Deb you and the others are correct as to the Nazi style practices of UPS which by the way are dictated by Wall St…any Franchise with a Wall St corporate overlord will suffer the same fate you did, try reading and comprehending the new Franchise agreements.
  I know a mid level UPS manager (company man 35+ yrs) who was partially in charge of revamping the whole Franchisee system and his (UPS) routine was to put full blame on the struggling Franchisee’s, he also admitted the only Franchisee’s that would make any kind of a decent living had to own multiple stores…
  UPS and Wall st ultimately screwed him on his retirement, went from over 80% to under 30%… And just try to sell your store and watch how you get bent over.
  On the consumer end of things UPS has gone from some of the best price/service in the industry to the absolute worst service and the secret multi-tiered pricing ALL dictated by Wall St and corporate…
  The drivers and Franchisee’s I see are great hard working slaves to the company

• For those UPS Store owners who making $$$$$ good on you; those owners have reason to complaint and feel like they have been abused my Giant Company UPS! I can ASSURE you that all business owner would always want to be successful and make a good $$$$. Unfortunately, with THE UPS STORE no matter how hard to work and how much $$$ you put into your store……the chance to make $$$ just isn’t there for so many reasons (Drop Off # going higher by the day, UPS Online direct Shipping, NOT My Choice, Corp Accounts o…have you heard the latest?????? UPS Standard to Mexico????not to Canada but to Mexico and you can only do it directly via UPS).
  Here’s my prediction: MBE soon will GONE, all the signs are no longer has MBE on it, the Focus is no longer in Shipping but in Printing because they know that UPS direction changed, all these stores will soon be UPS secondary HUB. UPS do not want to hold those packages at their own warehouse so they imposed on the Store Owners to receive packages on their behalf; at the end UPS is going to take over these stores little by little some belong to Private and some belong to Corp just like McDonalds so they can force each store to keep up with their crazy promotions. I can go on and on and on…..but those who owns or owned THE UPS STORE already know all the headache and heartache UPS/MBE caused or imposed on all of us. ……
  I am store owner for so many years…..everytime we feel that our store or business is moving forward UPS/MBE came up with some brilliant ideas (just LIKE ” NO LEFT TURN POLICY”, LOL). So here’s to all those struggling UPS Store Owners….” Hang in There…..and get out of this business…fast. “

• Thanks to everybody for sharing your experiences. You just stopped me from making a BIG mistake. It seems like I’m better off staying on my job than going into this business model. Gracias

• Would like to know if anyone knows about franchise FEDEX Kinko’s store?

• re ups store, florin mall, copy-scan-email job problem

  Store employee tried to help me, however he botched a

  simple copy and scan to pdf job. When I got home, I

  saw totally black unreadable pages, interspersed with

  clear readable pages. Employee sent me the job by

  email without even looking to see if copied ok. He simply

  did not care. I asked him to put it on my sd card and he

  said he would, took my card to back and was gone with

  it for over 20 minutes, then came back and said he could

  not copy job to card, and had to email it. Then he

  re-copied job, again without looking at it, and emailed it.

  To make matters worse, when I complained about having

  to return to ups store, Store Manager refused to make it

  right. Manager wanted me to wait till that employee

  returned from a 1.5 hr lunch. I had to drive about 8 miles

  to return to this location to get copy/scan job redone.

  Manager refused to consider my inconvenience and time

  wasted. This has turned into a disaster of customer

  relations. Moreso as I mentioned my event on a local

  chatroom, and everyone said I should complain in writing

  to UPS proper.

• First off, I have no doubt of it that the positive reviews are UPS plants. I own 2 independent stores that ship FEDEX and I am not making it. I have none of the expenses or fees that franchise owners have. If a franchise owner is saying he is doing really good, I would bet he is lying. Trying to sell and get out.

• I found this website while searching for information about UPS business practices.

  I sent a package through the local UPS Store, not knowing the separation between UPS and franchisees. First the package was delayed by a late truck at a stop in Illinois. It was a few hours late, but it delayed the shipment from Friday till Monday. The package continued to Indiana, and when it was put on the truck for delivery, it had the status, “Your package was damaged in transit. We will notify the sender with details. / All merchandise discarded. UPS will attempt to notify the sender with details of the damage”

  Some hours later, I contacted UPS to see what was happening, which was when I found out that I was not the sender – my local UPS Store was! And that I could not start an investigation – it had to be started by the local UPS Store.

  I do not understand why an investigation was not automatically started, nor do I understand why I, as the customer, could not request an investigation into what happened. It is clear that the damage happened on UPS’ watch – not the local store. I don’t see why the local UPS Store needed to be involved.

• It is not only franchises are bad, the arbitration system is worse. Do not expect to get justice from the arbitration or legal system. Getting in a franchise is like to dig your own grave with your own money. If in Atlanta, GA, avoid Richard M. Asbill as your arbitrator. He does not favor franchisees and is a pro-franchise person. He makes money out of the franchise system. Avoid him if you are a franchisee.

• Hello, Independent Owner, and all other unhappy UPS folks….

  Sorry to hear about your struggles with your franchise.

  My firm, Bridge Management Consulting, helps small business owners, who who are struggling with overwhelming debt resulting from a failing or closed business.

  We’ve handled several franchisees who need to get out of their particular franchise hell, and we’ve successfully fought back on behalf of our clients. Don’t give into them!

  Feel free to contact:

  Ryan Lineham, Director of Client Services
  401-390-3800
  ryan@bridgemgt.com

• I wanted to hear from Franchisee’s about UPS store. I’ve heard enough. I’ll use my in vestment elsewhere.
  Sincerely thank you all for enlightenment! -T.Wayne

• Thanks to all for helping me to decide to take my investment elsewhere.

  Sincerely, TW

• Are there any UPS Store owners out there who have actually had “legal action” taken against them due to non-compliances?? We continue to get threatening letters with no action. What action is taken? Just curious.

• I want to thank everyone that spoke their mind and feelings. You all stop me from making a mistake that I would have regretted . I will look elsewhere to invest my retirement savings.

• avoid the one on main street in galesburg il. go out to staples he is a real dick…

• avoid the one in galesburg illinois on main street! go to the staples on henderson street. the franchiser is one of the rudest people i have ever ecountered!

• As a The UPS Store owner, you need to get as low-down, dirty, and ruthless as UPS corporate is in order to make money. Once you learn their processes and procedures there is plenty of additional money to be made. Then if they challenge your methods you stand a good chance in arbitration to get some money back rather than walking away from your investment with your tail in between your legs.

• I read enough compains.I will not go this business.Thanks peoples who express their honest experiences.
  Manu Patel

• When did they become so expensive? Have been going to the UPS Store at 1385 Hwy 35, Middletown, NJ for years and this year it cost more thabn double to mail the same type of packages. Was also charged $15 for packaging, never done before, and the kid behind the counter didn’t even weigh the packages to be sent. It’s like he picked this number out of his head. Even without the insurance it was double. NEVER going back there again, will mail through the PO.

• I actually have an appointment w/ the consultant to open a store next week. But OMG!!! There is no way I’m keeping that appointment after reading this. And its too bad, i would have been GREAT at it. I will look into some other franchise. Honestly, thanks to all of you for sharing your painful experiences w/ the rest of us. We would have been sitting ducks without you. This is my sincerest appreciation.

• To the person who asked above about Fedex/kinko, all their outlets are corporate. There are no Fedex/Kinko franchises.

• I did own a UPS store for several years and I would highly recommend you avoid this company!!!!
  I do not even know where to begin, so I will just make a few major points why UPS is a terrible franchise:

  1) Shipping is where you make most of your revenues. When I started my store, I only had about 20 percent drop offs ( these are pre-paid shipments) then in more recent years that numbered had skyrocketed to 80 percent!!!

  2)UPS continues to force you to upgrade and buy things all the time and this adds on thousands of dollars every year. Non of the stuff is important to gaining more customers

  3) UPS steals your customers and gives them personal private accounts.

  Trust me unless you want to shell out several hundred thousand dollars to obtain a super store you will barely get by. Do not invest in this franchise or you will pay a heavy price.

• After reading all these complaints, I have nothing but sympathy for the UPS Store owners. It is inconceivable that they charge a royalty on total sales when they give you only 40%. Frankly I find it hard to believe that anyone would sign a contract with that type of situation. Frankly I find it hard to belive that anyone would sign a franchise agreement without having their lawyers check it out. And I find it hard to belive that any lawyer would recommend that his client sign a contract that promises to steal almost everything that you make.
  So what it boils down to is simple buyer beware and o nothing that can have major impact on your financial well being aand that requires major cash outlay without speaking to your attorney.
  I know that people hate going to lawyers, but they may save you from YOURSELF!

• Worst mistake I ever made. After 10 years, to renew my franchise agreement they wanted 80-90,000 for upgrades. I told em where to stick it, locked the doors and walked away with 0. It beat the alternative.

• Good Morning Franchisees

  I am very interesting in speaking to a Franchisee or former Franchisee about their experiences with UPS.

  Thank you.

  David Foster

• Opportunist/investor -William says:
  Your comment is awaiting moderation.
  July 14, 2016 at 9:45 pm
  I looked into buying a few UPS store franchise in Montana, but after meeting with the owner of Montana area ( Brad ) and talking to his franchisees who are not happy with the way that corporate was squishing the profits out of them. I found out that corporate UPS is doing most if not more of what the previous commenters mentioned.
  I’m a very successful experienced franchisee looking for opportunities but a UPS Store in Montana is no win situation. Good luck

• Thank you all the honest comments from the UPS store owners & workers.I was about to invest and purchase 3 franchises which I will definitely not even think about now.
  Again thank you

• The UPS Store business model doesn’t work unless you can buy multiple stores and consolidate your overhead.

  The corporate team is out of touch and make lame excuses.

  Be an independent pack and ship or go with one of the other models that support Fedex and other carriers.

• We were considering purchasing an existing under-performing The UPS Store located in Canada in 2020 which has been in operation in a Downtown Location for over 6 years before the COVID-19 Pandemic Crisis hit.

  As a result of Canada and its Provinces declaring “States of Emergency” with only “Essential Services” being able to operate, we have decided to put our investment decision in a The UPS Store on hold for the indefinite future. Since The UPS Stores are considered “Essential Services” across Canada, they remain open but like most businesses, their operations may be financially impacted. We would not be comfortable managing a The UPS Store in this current Pandemic Environment for the safety and health of ourselves and others in the community.

  We have come across the “Unhappy Franchisee” site and reviewed some of the Comments which are mostly from The UPS Stores Franchisees in the United States. Most comments also are from several years ago, and many do not reflect positive experiences with owning a The UPS Store.

  Are there any The UPS Store Franchisees in Canada and/or the United States who might be able to weigh in with some more recent experiences of whether or not owing a The UPS Store is a good investment at the present time? Any honest advise and/or recommendations from current and/or past The UPS Store Franchisees would be sincerely appreciated. Thank you!

• Thanks, I was about to purchase three locations. I asked why would you sell three high-profitable stores. Of course, the owners gave a family medical story or they don’t have anyone to transfer the wealth to who was dedicated enough to manage the business.

• Thanks for your comment, JazzLee.
  A few years ago, a friend asked me to speak to his wife (very stubborn) who wanted to buy a local used bookstore.
  She said that the owner assured her that the bookstore was very profitable and practically ran itself.
  When I asked why the owner was selling, she said she wanted to spend more time with her grandchildren.
  It never occurred to her to ask how she’d be freeing up time if the business ran itself?

  Franchise resales can be a good value, but buyer beware… make sure you know how many times the business has turned over as well…

  She grudgingly passed on the opportunity (not admitting my advice was a factor) and not long after the “profitable” self-running bookstore closed down.

• 12/10/21 I was assaulted by Kim at the UPS franchise owner on Golf street in Albuquerque New Mexico. She became angry because she believed I was in the store longer than she wanted me to. I was working on documents to keep my home. I was have a difficult time understanding the documents. I was told I could sit at the desk and work on them. The store was full when i arrived. She came behind me and was talking. I didn’t know she was talking to me. She then came around to the side of the desk and turned into a beast. She wanted me out. She took my loan documents and threw them out the door in the dark. She then assaulted me with a package and her hand hitting my face. I missed the deadline to save my home. Police in Albuquerque did nothing EVEN though I have it recorded. I need help.

• Well, I had no idea that this is how UPS ran its franchisees. I suggest banding together, not even legally, just promoting awareness about the issue so that UPS customers know about it. I had no idea. I was ready to complain about a store (still am actually), but I didn’t realise how the business actually ran itself.

  The world is changing, and people are starting to care more about business transparency and treatment of employees. So I suggest simply spreading the word. If you are thinking of closing a store, on your way out, why not have a sign that directs people to some page explaining how the business works. Just be truthful and diplomatic, and I can’t see how telling the truth will have negative legal repercussions for a franchisee owner.

  It might not be the majority of people, but enough people might care that it eventually changes their decision to work with UPS, desire to pay more, desire to pay franchises directly by actually mailing in person, or put pressure on UPS management to change the way they do business.