Alki Mail & Dispatch

the folks who work here could deliver a master class on customer service. they always go above and beyond what you’d expect. today I brought in a heavy box and they helped me carry it in and then reinforced my taping job. I also asked if they had an envelope I could buy for another item and they offered me a free one. I have never had a less than 100% excellent experience here. highly recommend for all of your shipping needs. !

Was treated as if I had absolutely no idea what I was talking about when it was the absolute other way around. I won’t be returning to Alki dispatch for any reason… please step up your customer service.
Went there for a notarization and the lady working said that she couldn’t do it because I needed to sign in front of her, although the declaration clearly stated that it only needed to be ‘acknowledged’ that I had signed it. Tried to reiterate the instructions to her so that I could get it notarized but she still would not notarize it and directed me to reprint everything so that I could resign it in front of her. Left discouraged, went to another notary up the street, and had it notarized promptly, without any issue.

I really wish I could give this place six stars, because it has so much going for it. The atmosphere is cozy and I’ve never before used a mail service that felt more like a neighborhood coffee house than a dispatch center. The owner, Don, is extremely friendly and helpful, as is most of the staff with the exception of one unpleasant woman with Smurf-​colored hair who was consistently unhelpful, unfriendly and outright rude during the six years I received mail there. Just how rude I was to discover when I moved from the area. That’s when it started costing me money.
After learning that the post office will not forward mail from a private mail carrier, I asked about having Alki Mail forward it. The neon-​haired woman snapped at me that it was up to me to notify people I was moving. I said that I had but there’s always mail that arrives from unexpected places, and said I was happy to pay for the forwarding. She said they didn’t do that and treated me as if I’d asked her to pack my bags and do my moving for me.
After some research, I discovered that by law they are required to forward mail, though they may charge a fee. According to the USPS: «A CMRA [Commercial Mail Receiving Agent] must accept and remail mail to former customers for at least 6 months after termination of the agency relationship.»
When I informed her of that law, she still refused to forward my mail. I then contacted Don, who was happy to forward the mail, and I paid a $ 50 deposit for the service. Two packets of mail were forwarded a few weeks later, and then no more.
I later learned that bills I did not know I owed from third party medical providers were returned to senders with no forwarding address, leading to my debts sent to collection without my knowledge. Critical information and financial offers were sent from my daughter’s college and returned, even though I had changed my address with them. Had my mail been forwarded, the problems would have been caught in time. Instead, they cost us dearly.
The last straw was when I tried to contact them again to resolve the matter, and though the woman I spoke with was exceptionally helpful, she explained that blue hair was now the manager and had told her she had forwarded my mail for one month and all other mail received after that was returned, despite my deposit, despite my agreement with Don, and despite the law. Several emails I sent were ignored, and it was only when I indicated I was considering legal action that I received a rude reply, unsigned, indicating I hadn’t received any mail in the last few days. It took another email to receive a confirmation that my future mail would be forwarded, but for how long, I still do not know. What I do know is though I suggested the matter could be promptly and amicably resolved by agreeing to grant me an additional five months of mail forwarding, I did not receive an answer to that request, much less an apology, nor any level of professionalism.
The bottom line is this is an excellent business but a single employee can do a great deal of damage to the reputation of a small business owner, and putting this one in a managerial position makes no sense at all. I would never recommend Alki Mail with an employee like her making the decisions, particularly given her refusal to comply by federal law and the agreement I had with them. Her customer service skills are appalling, and my bet is each of these poor reviews can be traced to a single, miserable employee who does not want to help customers, but to hurt them. In my case, her refusal to comply by the law and by our agreement unnecessarily cost me a great deal of money and may well have affected my otherwise excellent credit rating.
Any private mail service that will not forward mail after a customer leaves is not a mail service anyone should sign up with no matter how cozy its atmosphere.

4^th time coming here to print stuff and consistently received bad service.
1^st time none of the clerks wanted to assist me with my print job when I asked them for help they simply said «you can print over there» and continued talking to each other about how their night was.
2^nd time I had emailed them a print job and when I came to pick it up some of the pages didn’t print correctly (which is understandable, occasionally things don’t print correctly and go unnoticed) however, when I mentioned the problem and showed it to them. they looked at each other and said «he thinks there’s something wrong with our print job» with the worst attitude and still made me pay $ 5+ for it while wasting my time doing so when it should’ve been done ahead of time.
3^rd and 4^th time is basically like the first couple experiences. not really worth my time writing anymore.
only reason I came back so many times is because their location is right on admiral way otherwise I would’ve gone to FEDEX or UPS store which I eventually did.
every negative review (including the ones Unilocal «doesn’t recommend») on their page is very consistent with their lack of service.

The people here are really friendly and knowledgeable. I rent a mailbox here, send packages, scan, fax and print papers. I don’t expect it to be and do everything and it more than meets my expectations.

We’ve had a box here for years and have experienced really great service. Not only does it give us peace of mind having our mail and packages sent to a PO box for our business and personal life, but we like the ease of it. The people who work here are always smiling and knowledgeable. The prices are higher than going to the Post Office, however. I agree with other reviewers that parking isn’t ideal, but this could be said of the California Ave Post Office as well. I love this friendly neighborhood shop– It’s also great for coffee and West Seattle gear/​cards.

Alki Mail & Dispatch has amazing customer service! My family used to have a PO Box there, but we moved earlier this year. I ordered something from an online retailer and due to a computer error they shipped it to my old address with Alki. The online retailer was unhelpful and wouldn’t cancel or reroute my package. Luckily when I contacted Alki they said when the package arrived they would put a return label on it and send it back to the online retailer. They were so prompt and professional in their replies and my problem was sorted out with their help!

It would be helpful to customers if you would put signage near the computers stating when one of the printers is not working. When I printed something with the color printer and realized after it printed that it was not working I showed it to one of the employees. I was surprised to hear that she was already aware it was on the fritz. When I went to pay for my computer time I was again surprised that she wanted to charge me for the color print. Furthermore, I would not have even used the computer if I had been made aware that the printer I wanted to use was broken. I was just trying to be nice by paying for my wasted computer time and definitely could have gone without the slight attitude I was given for suggesting I not be charged for something I cannot use.
Overall my experiences in this establishment have been hit or miss. Some staff are very friendly and helpful and some are not. Computers/​printers/​copies are not reliable and I believe it is good business to not charge for unusable work– and common sense.

No one — in all of Seattle — can top Alki Mail and Dispatch. Not only do they offer massive services (even mail boxes) but their staff is always helpful and competent.
to Constance B. I say: Get real ! the computers there are ‘rented’ on a time basis. You knew that prior to use (anyone would) If you don’t want to come prepared for what you have to do — then don’t B_​_​_​about your lack of preparation. Really out of line on your part to make that nasty comment. Says tons about YOU ! I have used Alki Mail and Dispatch since they were located down at Alki (years now) I have experienced nothing but complete perfection.

I use Alki Mail and Dispatch on a weekly basis to mail packages mostly. The staff are friendly and it’s always quick and easy to drop things off. They also have a great card selection. All in all it’s a great neighborhood option and much more pleasant than visiting the post office.

This is a great one stop place for mailing, printing, and snacks. It’s not known for printing, but they have computers and printers/​copiers for simple DIY printing needs. I’ve always had great customer service and no trouble parking, but I go in the middle of the day when it’s probably less busy. Their printing and copying prices are very reasonable too. They’re a fantastic local business!

This is my second review of Alki Mail. This small business is by far the best managed small business I have encountered in the past five years. After posting a negative review previously (about five years ago) the owner took the time (in 2012) to have an authentic conversation about my dissatisfaction. Since then my dissatisfaction has been resolved 10X. From the front door to the exit every person at Alki Mail provides the best possible mail & coffee service. I love Alki Mail & Dispatch and highly recommend their services.

Sweet, young girl who helped me (wearing glasses) was super helpful with mailing my Fedex package. Plus, she made me a dirty chai latte! This place is really cute and sells Alki souv’s and awesome cards. I will be back!
P. S. Be weary of parking in the neighborhood. There’s lots of construction going on and the neighborhood streets are very busy/​narrow.

Well, this mail center is more of a 3.5 stars kind of place for me!
I do enjoy the one stop cute cards/​coffee/​mail the package convenience the staff tends to be hit or miss when it comes to friendly dispositions, unfortunately.
PROS:
–give you shipping options
–family owned and local business
–adorable, local made cards
–coffee made to order
–cookies and scones available
CONS:
–friendliness is dependent on who is working
–parking is limited (corner of residential area)
I absolutely love shopping local, even when it comes to purchasing stamps and sending packages. I wish that there were more of a consistent attitude though :/

Twas the Saturday before Christmas — rough time to shout
Post offices closed… I needed an out.
…jk not doing that…
I did need a way to get packages out quickly on a late Saturday afternoon after 3pm.
Not only were they friendly on the phone and gave the exact right support needed when I came in, they shared more details on the post system when it came up (shipping to military base overseas a little complex) and gave moral encouragement when we accepted that my delivery would not happen in time. Don was super and the place feels like family.
Friendliest USPS service in my life. #boom

I just paid $ 7 bucks for a tiny box. I guess this is my fault because I was ignorant to the fact that boxes are dirt cheap at home depot, or at least that’s what a lady told me right when I walked out the door. This place is overpriced like crazy. I’ll be going to my local post office like usual.

Do not ever take your FedEx package to them unless you have a account. I was just charged $ 10+ more per package than what FedEx quoted me online. When I asked if they had a surcharge, they lied to my face. Ended up getting charged $ 40 more on shipping 3 packages than if I’d done it thru an official fedex location or USPS or UPS.
Just spoke to FedEx customer service, and they said that this should not have happened. Went through each package again with the official weight and dimensions, and each package was charged 33% more than what it should have been. Should have taken it to a Kinko’s/FedEx where I know they do not fudge with the numbers.

On our way to take family to the airport, we had a pit stop to ship multiple loaves of fresh bread that couldn’t make it aboard the plane. I called around West Seattle and found everything we needed here.
The friendly folks at Alki Mail took care of his packing needs quickly, cushioning the bread with bubble wrap and at a decent price. The entire experience took about 15 minutes and we were back en route to the airport.
They also offer other services including copying, faxing, free Wi-​Fi, computer rentals, and notary services. If you are feeling peckish, you can get a pastry and some espresso. The shop sells locally themed items (Alki Beach) clothing and curios too.
Be warned, parking is a little dicey because this place sits on a busy corner.

A fun place where you can mail packages and grab a cup of coffee. A little cramped on the inside and the parking is tight, but worth stopping by if you could use one of their services.
Will return.

I live in the area and try to avoid the post office on California because it is such a pain trying to get in and out of that tiny little parking lot.
I rarely have a need for these type of services so I have actually only been in here to Alki Mail twice. The first time I just had to drop a pre-​paid package off. I was asked to leave the box on a stack of other boxes and it was not offered to me to have the package scanned in for tracking purposes and a receipt given. Wasn’t a huge deal but every other postal service place I have been to has offered to do this for me without my having to ask.
Today, I had some Christmas presents to mail and needed a box. The website states that they have boxes and packaging supplies. Where are they? I looked all around and didn’t see any so I decided to wait in line to ask. There was already one lady ahead of me, waiting. One employee sitting down in the table area facing us, eating her lunch. The other employee was making another customer a cup of coffee. Ok…
So two people in line and no acknowledgement at all. I get that it’s Christmas and you have probably been busy all day. You need to have your lunch, I knew what time it was and understood that… but seriously, she was FACING us… no «hello», no «someone will be with you in a moment»…nothing. I stood there for about 5 minutes and nothing was said, which is just unacceptable.
I left and went to the post office on California. I’ll deal with that awful parking lot from here on out, since they always have the supplies out in plain view and available and are efficient at getting customers in and out of there in a timely manner.