By Justin Vicory
Enterprise-Journal
George and Jean Martin have overseen the UPS Store in McComb during the peak holiday shipping season for the past 11 years.
While they are used to the rush, George takes a deep breath and says business has begun to pick up. Still, the real heavy traffic is right around the corner.
A ground service map in the shop in Southwest Mall on Delaware Avenue gives estimated delivery dates. All items shipped to destinations in Mississippi by Dec. 21 will get there by Christmas Eve.
This year, the UPS Store is offering services unavailable at other shipping outlets. One such promotion is the “pack and ship promise.”
“Folks are free to ship items with anyone, but only one place guarantees the value of the item being shipped. Come holiday season, this is a huge deal,” Jean said.
All items packaged by UPS are insured for the value of the item if it is damaged during delivery.
With an increase in popularity for electronic items, this especially provides peace of mind, Jean Martin said.
Also this year, shippers can send a digital message to the package’s recipient.
“It’s a way to individualize, or personalize your package. You can say ‘Merry Christmas’ in your own way to the person the package is going to,” George said.
Items to be shipped are weighed, then packed and finally placed on a shelf next to the door ready for delivery. UPS delivery drivers pick up shipments every day at 5:30 p.m. and hit the road.
For some items, there’s a giant roll of small and large bubble wrap, which is sometimes used to isolate items from one another. Then there’s the foam peanut machine suspended above the packing table.
But there’s more to the place than shipping. Other services include printing and in-store mailboxes.
On Wednesday, Jean had just finalized creating business cards for a customer.
Fun might be the last word employees would use to describe the store during the holiday rush, but George said his employees go out of their way to make the customer feel at home.
The shop will be open on Christmas Eve day, but only for pickup. Packages brought in that day won’t be delivered until Dec. 29, so the Martins encourage the public to plan ahead.
