By Andy Furman
NKyTribune staff writer
Jesse Procter wanted a change of pace.
“I wanted something exciting where I could meet people and serve their needs,” he told the Northern Kentucky Tribune. “I wanted action.”
Procter is the General Manager of the newest Northern Kentucky UPS Store in Cold Spring.
And guess what? He’s still looking for that action.
“We just opened Monday,” the 45-year-old who worked in retail before he made the move to UPS, said. “I started at the Newport location in December of 2023.”
On this day, he was waiting for the crowd to arrive. “I know it’s a challenge at first, and I accept it. We need to let people know our hours and new location.”
And that’s not to say Procter hasn’t hustled to make it work. “The last two weeks,” he says, “I put in 100 hours.”
The Pendelton County High graduate is used to the long days and hours. He only has a staff of five for an operation that runs seven days a week.
Procter spends part of his day training staff. “I’ll teach them how to pack, box and ship packages; and how to use all our systems.”
Those systems include packing, shipping, mailbox rental, printing, shredding, scanning, faxing and even a notary.
“Our biggest service is Amazon returns,” he said, “but we’re trying to sell and promote our printing.
“We’ll have 15 percent off on all printing and copies every Sunday. That’s any item that is printed.”
Procter got his UPS education when Steve Rigsby purchased the store in Newport in April of ’23. “Two UPS locations were for sale when I started looking,” Rigsby told the Northern Kentucky Tribune. “One was Crestview Hills and one in Newport. I thought Newport was the better situation for me.”
He said the Newport store attracted him for several reasons. “First, I just knew I didn’t have to start from the ground up; next I knew we had consistent foot traffic and third — we had a competent General Manager in Jeremy Richards.”
Call it good planning, or just plain luck, that Newport UPS Store is the No. 1 Amazon Return location in the Southwest Ohio, Northern Kentucky and Southeast Indiana Region – which, said Rigsby, includes some 41 stores.
Well success excited the man.
Yes, Rigsby owns the Cold Spring shop – and took Procter – who served as Richards’ assistant – with him to run the joint.
The hope is creating another Newport traffic jam.
As for the UPS Store, the concept was introduced in 1980 as Mail Boxes Etc. – a convenient alternative to the post office. Throughout its evolution, it has continued to define and lead the business services category it created.
In 2001, UPS acquired Mail Boxes Etc. In 2003, the two companies introduced the UPS Store brand. On April 7, 2003, approximately 3,000 Mail Boxes Etc., locations in the United States re-branded as The UPS Store and began offering lower UPS – direct shipping rates.
In 2012, Masil Boxes Etc., Inc. became The UPS Store, Inc.
The centers remain locally owned and operated, and continue to offer a variety of packing, shipping, freight, postal, printing and business services, with convenient locations and world-class service.
The Cold Spring location is 5423 Alexandria Pike; hours are Mon-Fri 8:30 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sat: 9 a.m.-4 p.m.; Sun: 10 a.m.-4 p.m.