I had to go to UPS today to send out some Christmas gifts. One of the items I was sending needed to be boxed, while the other box my wife graciously packed for me. I handed over the item to be shipped and asked if they had a box for it. While they were measuring and looking around, another cashier came over to take care of the box that was already ready to go out. I gave them the information for shipping and when I was done, they brought over the previous item already boxed up and ready to go. Ok, that was nice of them. I don't mind paying a little extra for them to do the work.

I paid the nearly $60 bill and headed out the door to go back to work. Considering the weight of the boxes, the total didn't sound unreasonable. As I rounded the corner of the store to walk back, I noticed there was a charge for $10.95 and $2.50 on my receipt. I promptly turned back to inquire about this $10.95 charge. I assumed (yeah, I know what happens when you assume) that the $2.50 was for the box and peanuts. Surely they didn't charge $10.95 for boxing it up. The employee told me that the $10.95 charge was for a 200 pound crush proof box. First of all, I don't believe cardboard can be crush proof up to 200 pounds. Second of all, why is a box almost $11? I politely told them I wish I had known so i could package it myself and left the store.

During the walk back to my office I got more and more frustrated over these charges. I couldn't fathom a box costing $11, so when I returned to my office I called UPS to talk to a manager. Apparently the $10.95 was for the box AND packing peanuts. Well, that makes me feel better. The $2.50 was for the labor. I hope the person that packaged the item actually gets the money. He worked so very hard taping up a box and shoving so many peanuts in the box that it was bulging on top. With all that padding, I shouldn't have even needed to buy insurance.

I complained to the manager that it was not told to me up front just how much their packaging job was going to cost. Apparently this isn't their policy to tell people how much any of their services cost, not even shipping. I was never told so much as to how much any thing was, just given an overall total I did get options for how I wanted the boxes shipped, but it was never even mentioned how much each level of shipping was. Perhaps all places should follow this policy of letting customers guess how much an item or service costs.

I think i shall go to Chik-Fil-A for lunch today and just let them give me a price for my food. Why look at menu to see what I can afford? $6 for a chicken sandwich? Why not? If I can't see the prices, I can't dispute that you are actually charging me incorrectly.

I prefer to look at the absence of a price a little differently. If it doesn't have a price on it (or on the shelf beneath it) that means the item is free, right?