Karen Mauth She Runs The Funnest Ship In The Shipping Business

Karen Mauth has always said she started Mail Box Center from a shoe box.

She’s serious. The outgoing package rooms at Mauth’s two Valley shipping and message centers are stacked ceiling-high with parcels in the days leading up to Christmas. But when the single mom started the business eight years ago, the only package on Mauth’s mind was that little shoe box filled with fliers and price quotes.

She called Realtors about a site, picked up brochures pitching the latest copy and fax machines and perused franchise literature. She saved all of it in that box.

An attorney advised against going the franchise route. So Mauth, now 39, started doodling. Eventually, she came up with a name and logo - drawing them herself on the first homemade Mail Box Center business cards.

The venture has come a long way. She now has five employees and opened a second store at 415 N. Sullivan Road. The original is still at 9116 E. Sprague Ave. Both offer shipping, packing, faxing and money wiring services.

Like retailers, delivery businesses see their workloads explode during holidays. Mauth said that last December, Mail Box Center shipped about 5,000 packages. Although this year was a little slower, she said a typical day still brought as much as 10 times more business than usual.

Postal carriers and United Parcel Service drivers run in and out of her Sprague store constantly - the storage room empties and fills again with packages three times each day. Some days, 600 packages make the trip. The sound of masking tape unrolling, receipts being printed and happy conversation fill the place.

The line at the till keeps growing as people scramble up to the counter, arms full of presents.

The madness is OK with Mauth, who bursts with energy and spunk - despite working 12-hour days. “It’s so fun, I love it - it’s so fast.”

Therein lies the challenge. Not only is it fast for her, but the holidays can be just as hectic for customers. Mauth said turning frowns upside down is her speciality.

“Some come in happy, some come in mad, but when they leave they’re usually happy,” she said. “We can usually change their disposition.”

That’s the ability she looks for in her employees. “I push the girls. I tell them even if they’re in a bad mood, smile,” Mauth said. And smile they do - and cut up.

The Sprague store manager, Jennifer Keister, is an aspiring comedienne. Really. Working the shipping circuit gives her a lot of material.

“It’s light-hearted, laid-back and fun,” she said. “We joke around all day. It’s kind of a war of the wits.”

That’s all part of Mauth’s formula, although she doesn’t label it that. She said it’s just people sense. “We have lots of repeat customers, (because) they like the atmosphere.”

Even the mailman. Bob Taylor, a carrier who picks up from the store, ships his gifts there on his days off. “It’s more just-business at the post office,” Taylor said. “Here, they talk to you and get to know you.”

Sometimes things can get a little wacky, especially during the annual rush. Mauth said many times she has shipped live trees, some as far as Hawaii (“You just have to keep them loose, and they travel pretty good”). More often, employees get a shock when they set a package down and a toy inside starts to oink, quack or play music.

Once, a woman asking for a list of holiday stamps was offended when Mauth offered her a Madonna stamp. The woman shot back, “I don’t want her on my postage stamps!” Mauth quickly explained that it wasn’t the rock star.

Mauth said her on-the-job life wasn’t always such fun. After years of working in a Montana sawmill and doing other things, she wanted a change.

But what? She got the idea to start a shipping service from a sister who lives in Seattle. Such businesses were all over the West Side, Mauth said. “(But) there were none in Spokane. There wasn’t anything here.”

At first, that was more liability than advantage. People thought she sold mailbox parts. About the only customers stopping by were looking for little red mailbox flags.

Now, the shipping store concept is well-known - and Mauth is starting to feel competition from the chain stores.

But the change wasn’t big enough to make her holiday season boring. She still had to get her shopping done early, and the cards sent out weeks ahead of time. And her children - Brandon, 14, and BreAnna, 11, - pitched in at the store.

Mauth said some nights she came home to a waiting soda, blanket and remote - courtesy of the young admirers.

Working there gave them a taste of how hard it is turning an old shoe box into a booming business.

“They’re pretty proud of their mom,” Mauth said. “They see that money doesn’t grow on trees.” , DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo