Stratton Motel

[jnl82381]

Has anyone else had problems with mail drops at the Stratton Motel in Maine?

I had a pair of trekking poles sent there from REI while I was hiking this summer. As it turned out, I was past Stratton when they arrived. I've contacted the motel but can't get a definite answer on whether they have sent them back to REI or not.

UPS confirms the delivery to the Stratton Motel. REI has not received them back yet and it's been over a month. The last time I spoke with someone at the motel she hung up on me and now they won't pick up the phone when I call or return my calls.

Anyone else have issues with them or any suggestions. I live in Texas so it's not like I can drive over there and talk face to face.

Thanks.

- The Animal (class of 2010)

[Migrating Bird]

I Stayed at the SM this past June on my way south. Sue (owner) was very helpful and I had a bounce box sent there from Monson - no problem. Maybe calling her from a different number (caller I.D.) and offering to compensate her for her trouble would help.

Good luck.

[neighbor dave]

sue's nice, helpful too.

[jnl82381]

Thank you for the replys. Unfortunatelly Sue is the one I've been talking to. That is before today when she hung up on me/call was disconnected right after I identified myself and what I was calling about. I called back and it goes to voicemail every time now.

I've confirmed with UPS that they have no records of receiving the package back. I was told they would have used the same tracking number as long as the box was unopened.

I've sent the Stratton Motel an email detailing the situation and that I would be more than happy to pay for shipping. Hopefully I will get a response.

I will say that while I stayed at the motel, Sue was very pleasant. So I'm not really sure why I'm not getting any good feedback from her now.

[neighbor dave]

here's an example of what happened to me in siead valley ca with a u.p.s. package the was "dropped off".

i check to see if it arrived as i had just got to town, no-one had seen it anywhere at the store or p.o. ( that's all the town consists of)
i get on the phone with the the sender of the package and tell them it never came, they said it was received by someone. i tell them no-one has it, as i'm talking on the phone some guy walks by, overhears my convo. and says, hey i have your package!
thing is, u.p.s. just drops these things in the hands of a willing receiver at times and it can easily disappear, if that guy didn't walk by, hear my convo, wasn't an hinest man, i wold've never sen my shoes.
i'd be willing to bet your poles are floating around town or long gone and she,(sue) never saw them.
your beef now is with u.p.s. and your creditcard co. good luck
sue is a very nice person everytime i've seen her.
good luck

[10-K]

I was thinking the same thing... I stayed at the Stratton Hotel and IIRC maildrops were stacked next to the bookcase - anyone could have gotten them.

It was the same way at Lakeshore House and Pub in Monson. All the maildrops were stacked on the stairs and it was up to you to find your own.

[warraghiyagey]

Sue is one of the most decent people you could hope to meet, on or off the trail. . . and certainly not at all the type to hang up on someone, I'm guessing unless they were being abusive. Just about every place for hikers to stay and mail drop boxes to in the northeast keep them in an area that hikers can get to. . . the only problems in Maine are how long it takes the mail to get there. . . sorry about your poles but if they are missing they are either lost in the mail or one of 'those' hikers walked away with them. . .

[neighbor dave]

i'd be willing to bet the package never made it in the door, and that sue never saw it.
my take is;
ups (the guy in brown) pulls up, drops package at door, then leaves, package grows legs.
just that simple.

your beef is with ups, dispute with your credit card co.
end of story

[garlic08]

Sue was helpful and honest when I stayed there, too. I paid for a room with a credit card during a bad storm and the phone was down. It turns out the room was charged twice on my card by mistake, which is understandable under the circumstances. When I contacted Sue, she immediately fixed the problem and apologized for the mistake.

Drop shipments work 99.99% of the time. At least one out of a thousand go bad, and you got that one. Good luck dealing with it.

[RockDoc]

Sue's great.
But I don't know about Knucklehead the dog
maybe he ate the box.....

[Migrating Bird]

Ahh Knucklehead, when I asked Sue what her dog's name was, a shortened version of "who's on first" started. I was tired. Neat dog.

[kayak karl]

maybe it was the white rabbit??

there are 2 sides to every story and i don't think we have one yet.

[warraghiyagey]

Sue's great.
But I don't know about Knucklehead the dog
maybe he ate the box.....

Knucklehead what a cool dog. . . .

[Luddite]

So...did ya get your pole yet, Animal?

[jnl82381]

No poles yet. Sue still has not returned my phone calls or emails. UPS confirmed they dropped them off in the office and it was signed for by someone with the last name Smith. Sue, in a previous conversation did confirm she had the poles in the office and would return them. Now I'm just trying to get a definite answer from her on whether she did that. Simple right? I think it should be unless you're trying to hide something.

If they "grew legs" before she got the chance to send them back, thats all I need to know. But if they are still sitting in the office, I want them sent to me.

[Deja Vu]

I was there 2 days ago. didn't notice any poles (or boxes for them) in the office area, but can't guaranty they were not there . Sue is super busy right now as a NOBO bubble is passing thru the Stratton area. She spends most of her days on the road doing shuttles from 7:00 am - 7:00 pm or later, so what seems to be a phone hang-up is sometimes her just driving out of the cell phone service area. Having gotten to know her fairly well my guess is that she's sent them back and just doesn't have time to deal with it any further right now. It's also possible that she just hasn't been around when the delivery guy comes by. I guess that's not very reassuring, but I thought I'd add my 2-cents.

[jnl82381]

Trekking Poles have been picked up and returned to REI. They were still sitting in the office. So no, the dog did not eat them nor did they grow legs thankfully. Thanks for the reply's.

[warraghiyagey]

Has anyone else had problems with mail drops at the Stratton Motel in Maine?

I had a pair of trekking poles sent there from REI while I was hiking this summer. As it turned out, I was past Stratton when they arrived. I've contacted the motel but can't get a definite answer on whether they have sent them back to REI or not.

UPS confirms the delivery to the Stratton Motel. REI has not received them back yet and it's been over a month. The last time I spoke with someone at the motel she hung up on me and now they won't pick up the phone when I call or return my calls.

Anyone else have issues with them or any suggestions. I live in Texas so it's not like I can drive over there and talk face to face.

Thanks.

- The Animal (class of 2010)

Thank you for the replys. Unfortunatelly Sue is the one I've been talking to. That is before today when she hung up on me/call was disconnected right after I identified myself and what I was calling about. I called back and it goes to voicemail every time now.

I've confirmed with UPS that they have no records of receiving the package back. I was told they would have used the same tracking number as long as the box was unopened.

I've sent the Stratton Motel an email detailing the situation and that I would be more than happy to pay for shipping. Hopefully I will get a response.

I will say that while I stayed at the motel, Sue was very pleasant. So I'm not really sure why I'm not getting any good feedback from her now.

No poles yet. Sue still has not returned my phone calls or emails. UPS confirmed they dropped them off in the office and it was signed for by someone with the last name Smith. Sue, in a previous conversation did confirm she had the poles in the office and would return them. Now I'm just trying to get a definite answer from her on whether she did that. Simple right? I think it should be unless you're trying to hide something.

If they "grew legs" before she got the chance to send them back, thats all I need to know. But if they are still sitting in the office, I want them sent to me.

Trekking Poles have been picked up and returned to REI. They were still sitting in the office. So no, the dog did not eat them nor did they grow legs thankfully. Thanks for the reply's.

I'm glad it worked out.... but considering everything you've had to say or insinuate here about Sue, there's something missing in your last post. . .

[10-K]

I'm glad it worked out.... but considering everything you've had to say or insinuate here about Sue, there's something missing in your last post. . .

It's hard to be objective when you're the one with the problem - I think he did pretty good compared to the way a lot of people go off.

Glad it worked out too. I've got a pair of boots and a big jar of Nutella sitting in Monson that I can't get any action on - very similar to this situation in some ways..

It's an old pair of boots... what I really want is the jar of Nutella.

[jnl82381]

Honestly I don't feel anything was missing from my last entry. Nothing I said was untrue. The poles were sent there the beginning of Aug. It's now the beginning of Oct. It took two months to not just get them returned, but to get any definite answer of if they were even still at the motel. I recognize that Sue is busy all day doing shuttles, but I also know that she has to be in the office at some point to collect money from the hikers. So if we did in fact get disconnected and it wasn't that she hung up on me, while in the office would have been a great time to look, see if the package was still there, and return one of the messages I left on her voice-mail. That never happened. Thats not to say that we didn't get disconnected, I'm just saying she never called me back. Again, up to you to make the assumption of what happened. Only Sue knows for sure. Now she did eventually return an email as well as get the package back to UPS. So she did follow through with what I asked and what was the right thing to do; it just took a lot longer than it should have.

My only question now is: UPS assigned a different tracking number, which according to the UPS representative I spoke with, only happens if the package has been opened. I personally can't verify if it has or has not. REI will receive the package and if the poles are inside in the same condition they sent them, I'll get the refund and all is well. If not...the saga will continue.

That's the funny thing about the trail, word about a place or person can spread pretty fast. Either by word of mouth or through the internet and sites like this one. I was simply using a tool available to me to share my story and ask if anyone else has had a similar experience there. If anyone had, I would know that this is a habitual problem. Apparently it's not, which I'm glad about.

Would I stay there again? Yes. Would I send a mail drop there? No, for all the reasons stated in posts above regarding how packages are kept unsecured until you arrive. I don't feel I need to apologize for stating fact, and I find it insulting that you would question my integrity insinuating that I do. Even if it was done with a .