I've been shipping from this UPS Store for years. Over the past two years, because of COVID restrictions, very frequently the've had lines of customers out the door and down the side of the building. They are a popular UPS shipping location, and often very busy. The people who work here seem to work very hard, and I have never witnessed an employee mistreating a customer nor being anything but respectful. I respect the people who own and run this small business. The store is tiny! There is barely enough room for two employees to work at the same time, not to mention the space necessary to store packages dropped off by customers. (I have shipped many guitars from this location, and, after weighing, scanning, and gettin my receipt, I'll carry them over to the outbound packages area, which is not even 6 feet from the rightmost register.) From my observations as a customer, this place does a LOT of business, and deals with a wide variety of needs. There are customers like me who exclusively drop off packages that are already professionally packed and paid for, with shipping label. (Which is probably just a courtesy service; I doubt this UPS Store make a penny from me dropping off my package.) They also have customers who rarely, or maybe never, ship packages from a UPS Store and don't know how the process works at all! Those customers require time and patience. And because the store is small with limited room, other customers need to try to be good citizens and wait patiently. (Confession: once I tried to jump the line, asking if I could jump ahead, since my package was already packed and paid for. The young man tactfully told me I'd need to wait my turn. I knew I was in the wrong even when I tried; but I let my impatience get the better of me. So... I get it! It's hard to wait in line! Especially when you can plainly see there are customers in front or you who are not as organized as you are, and/or will likely require extra time and help.) I ship musical instruments from this location. I have never had a problem, nor can I think of any reason to complain about the service or the employees. Regarding opening times: Twice over the past couple years, the store had not open by the time listed, so I waited. I found it mildly annoying, but in both cases somebody arrived fairly soon after. In one case, the young employee responsible for opening the store was dropped off by (what I guessed was) a parent. l laughed because I remember times when my own daughter's car was out of commission for some reason and she needed an emergency ride to her work. Stuff happens. Some of the reviews here are inscrutable. One reviewer complained about this location, rather than about UPS itself, because a package didn't arrive when they desired. Another seemed to interpret the employee's packing and insurance recommendations as an insult. (That particular reviewer -- who keeps coming back to pile on poor reviews -- inspired me to finally leave my own review.) I have financed and started a franchise. I understand how tough it can be to run a small business, and how hard it can be to make a living from it. (In my experience, the first several years were a loss. It took years for the business to become self-sustaining and finally modestly profitable. Such is the way of the franchise. The people who ran it day-to-day deserve all the credit.) I UNDERSTAND HOW HARD IT CAN BE. Which is why I especially appreciate and support local businesses like this one as often as possible. This UPS Store location seems to do its best in the face of a huge variety of customers who have a wide variety of expectations. My experience of this UPS Store has been positive, I will continue to support them. I'm a software engineer and long-time Howard County resident. I am in no way affiliated with this store, nor the UPS Store franchise, nor UPS. I'm just a supportive customer. read more

As I'm in Ellicott City fairly often, this place is convenient for me... unfortunately, I'm getting more and more fed up with this place. I went today to send a small package abroad. In the past, I'd have to fill out customs sheets before the employees would help me so I just asked for a sheet to fill out. The lady working (the older employee from my previous review) didn't give me the sheet and instead told me to tell her the country I want to send the item and the postal code there. Ok, no worries. But then she told me the postal code I gave her was incorrect and that no such place existed. I asked her to try again because that was the postal code I was given... and after a few minutes of fiddling around, she found it. After putting in my info, I asked for the shipping costs. It came out to be over $100! In the past, when I shipped to the same country as today (from the same UPS store no less), I was given a few price options. This happened on multiple occasions (I shipped out at least 3 packages abroad). But this time around, the worker was adamant that there was only one price, even though I told her my experience in the past was different. So I told her I'd go to the post office (where I shipped it off for MUCH less). In her defense, I know UPS does charge more than the Post Office (but I trust them a little more) and she did say she agreed with my decision to go to the post office. She even seemed sorry that the price was high. But considering my previous shipping abroad experiences from this same UPS Store were different from today in terms of customs form issue, postal code problem, and shipping options (or lack thereof), I'm not entirely sure what the deal is. It was a bit of a headache and I'm not 100% sure I want to run the risk of wasting my time again. read more

This UPS store is AMAZING!!! I called to get some information about mailing 50 packages around the country for work. The store manager, Padma, went above and beyond to help me figure it all out, from advice around packing and mailing to which boxes to use. She said they could take care of creating the labels, pick up the packages for a very small fee, or whatever else would be helpful to make it easier for me! Padma even helped me figure out how to cut the boxes to size when I was having difficulty finding the right size box. Padma also gave me her cell number and even during this extremely BUSIER THAN EVER shipping season would text me quickly to answer ALL my questions. When I had to drop off the packages, they opened the shop early to help me unload the packages. While we were unloading the packages, customers were stopping by to mail packages and would leave when they saw the store was closed. The gentleman helping me called them back and was willing to help them before hours too. Padma mailed all the packages, sent me tracking numbers, and emailed me the receipt. Again, ALL this exceptional customer service and support was happening during this super busy holiday shipping week! To say this store is phenomenal and prioritizes ALL aspects of customer service is an understatement. They are wonderful, so personable, thoughtful, and super helpful. They have a forever customer. Thank you Padma and all for your incredible support and help!! read more

When we published our cookbook, Ammini Aunty's A Pinch of Kerala, we were looking for a simple and effective way to pack and mail over 500 books to our local, national, and international customers with the additional challenge they needed to be received in time for the holidays. As a regular Ellicott City UPS store user, I shared our problem with Padma, the owner, for her thoughts. She immediately responded, "Give us your file with the addresses, and we can pack and send it out within the timeline. We will have downtime on Sundays, and it can be done." Within a few weeks, the complete mailing was done without a hitch. Padma and her team were able to provide constant updates and communication on the progress of shipments and handled any address questions promptly. She provided us with the tracking numbers in batches, and the complete process was seamless. All of our backers received their physical books before the holidays. We could not have had such a successful release of our first cookbook without the partnership of the UPS Store in Ellicott City and Padma. We highly recommend their services for any of your shipping or fulfillment needs. read more

i needed a life size cut out of my husband. Never considered ups store for just such a thing as I had tried several craft stores as well as Staples but no, they could not help me. Padma the manager quickly learned what I needed, agreed to it and immediately began work. It was my responsibility to get her a clear pic. of my husband head to toe. Took a few pics to find the perfect one. Padma had her IT guy working on. Once they had the perfect picture they quickly reproduced it, enlarged it to be life size head to toe, mounted it on quality poster board and made a wooden stand so it could stand on its own. it turned out better than expected. The experience with Padma was exceptionally, kind, understanding, one of importance and the need to finish the job to my satisfaction. It was perfect! read more

This location is out of my way but I now always make the effort to come here when I need to ship something! It is so much easier than dealing with the crowded USPS location near me in Columbia and the staff are all incredibly friendly and helpful. Padma in particular is incredibly helpful and was super sweet. I had a very large order of over 100 packages to ship out and was dreading being tied up with them all day. She was able to take care of them for me over the weekend while I went about and did my other tasks. She was most professional and communicative throughout the entire process. My packages were shipped with no issues. I would highly recommend this particular UPS store for their speedy and quality customer service! 10/10 I am a repeat customer! read more

Padma at UPS in Ellicott City went above and beyond to make my shipping experience exceptional! By the time I arrived to ship my returns, the seller had not yet responded to my inquiry regarding identifying documents to include with my return or confirmation of the return address. I expressed my disappointment to Padma, since I only have one day each week to run errands without kids and I was hesitant to ship without confirmation from the seller. Padma offered to hold onto my package and allow me to call or email the store later with the information. When I did, the team labeled the package for me and was able to take my payment over the phone. What a time saver and amazing customer service experience! read more

I needed a heavy antique table shipped from Ellicott City MD to California. Called UPS (Store 0697) and spoke to Padma. She informed me that she was very familiar with shipping antiques and assured me that it would be well packed and cared for. I had the table delivered to her UPS store and she called me with a very reasonable estimate. She prepared the package for shipment and called me in California with the invoice and tracking number. The shipping took 5 days UPS ground to arrive on my doorstep, very well packed and arriving in beautiful condition!! I was very pleased with the service and the packing was well done. I look forward to future business with Padma and UPS Store 0697. Thank You!! read more

Horrible customer service. The Indian-looking girl here made a huge issue about me asking for help to print the return label. I have been coming here for years and never had anyone argue with me before. She gave me a long lecture about how I have poor memory,for not remembering my email password to print labels when I tried doing it independently. Those guys working there before were amiable helpful with good customer service. This Indian girl scolded me like I was a child saying at least she had better memory than me and talking to me rudely just because I couldn't print the label on my own. This ups store just lost a old customer. I will never be returning here again. read more

Mere words cannot express how grateful I am to Padma and the staff at the Ellicott City UPS Store. Padma expended a huge amount of time and effort in obtaining reimbursement to me from corporate UPS due to damages to a valuable item that was damaged during shipping in spite of a very difficult person who was the receiver of the damaged item. Padma and her staff were not responsible for the damages in any way, yet she showed great concern for me in getting the full reimbursement that I was entitled to. Padma is a great asset to the business community and I highly recommend the UPS Store in Ellicott City. read more

I needed to send out 23 boxes to various family members around the country that need to arrive by this Friday. I called the store yesterday to alert them of my project and they asked for me to send all information that I could ahead of time, size and weight of boxes, shipping addresses. I didn't have the final contents of the boxes until today so once I had the boxes complete I brought them over to the store and the whole process was streamlined because of the organization of The, the store manager. So grateful for above and beyond service, always, but especially during a stressful week. read more

I have been to several ups stores in maryland, this one is by far my favorite. I work for a university and part of my job is to do a large volume of amazon returns. For example in the past week and a half I have done about 97. Thus have had to go into this store about 5 times. Each time I bring my 2 baskets and wait patiently and even though I ocassionally back up a line, they never make me feel bad or try to rush me. The staff here are so patient and kind that this will now always be my go to ups store for business or personal use. read more

I have used this particular UPS store multiple times. Each and every time the staff is pleasant, professional and helpful. I have learned to make sure my handwriting is legible--that does help to speed up the process! Today was no exception. I truly appreciate their service and know that when I leave, I can trust that all my things will be shipped as requested snd get to their destinations on time. With all the craziness of the holidays it's good to know that they are really good at what they do! read more

I needed to ship a pile of large, delicate paper items that had significant value, and I was concerned that they might be damaged during the packing process. Store manager Padma could tell I was a little nervous about this, so she let me watch while she did the packing, which she did in a way that offered maximum protection for the items. My shipment arrived on time and the items were in perfect condition, so I really appreciated her going the extra mile (or two) in handling my order. read more

This is absolutely the BEST UPS location and experience I have ever had. I literally walked in with all my packages scattered and confused. A stressful day and Kevin Gray was soooo patient and helped me out my things in order. I literally felt like I had an assistance! He helped me print my return labels because I came in without some, packaged my items, placed the labels, etc. I mean he was absolutely amazing. I left feeling better. Might I add he was funny as well. I felt at home. read more

Shamel, If this message comes to you, please know how much I appreciated your excellent customer service today, during my many shipping transactions! You were a pleasure to work with and I hope that you have a wonderful Holiday Season! If this message goes to others at UPS, please make note...you have a fabulous employee with Shamel, one who offers outstanding customer service and should be acknowledged! Respectfully, Melody read more

I had a print job in the middle of this covid, pre-Xmas shipping season. The line of waiting customers was out the door.... yet the staff took their time to meticulously work on my job, print, set, bind and verified everything looked to my satisfaction. It took a l-o-n-g time and was a lot of work for them.... Its those little things that make you feel special!!! Thank you !!! read more

I needed passport pictures taken with different specifications. no other store in the area expressed capability and or willingness to attempt. But padma the store manager spent time and put in effort and truly helped me by going way above and beyond. There are many stores that do what is expected of them but the store manager here went way above and beyond. read more

Store manager Padma is a lifesaver! We had to ship 275 conference gift boxes, expecting to have a mail merge/spreadsheet option somewhere. Nope! But she happily took on the challenge of doing them all, and did them in excellence! She went to great lengths to make sure every one arrived on time, and she is a delight to work with. Customers for life. read more