Update to White Glove Delivery Service - changing companies

I will be transitioning to Sun Delivery Service as my preferred White Glove Delivery Service in the next few weeks.

I listen to customer feedback, and the number one complaint I get is length of delivery time, and secondly the difficulty in reaching someone by phone when you do call to get delivery status of your order. Sun Delivery should be better on both accounts as they are larger and more integrated than West Express / A&O Delivery whom I have used the past dozen years. They will be a more costly to use, but one thing being in retail for half a century has taught me is while customers say they want the lowest price, it's not at the expense of service. You may always select your carrier, you are not obligated to use my default carrier. It's your purchase, you can choose!

Want a higher level of service? Choose Plycon Van Lines for example. They will bring your pieces to your driveway in the manufacturer's original packing and have the lowest damage claim rate in the industry. However they are more costly and slower than most. Want a lower delivery cost? You can stay with West Express and A&O Delivery for that - just don't be in a hurry to get your furniture and know it will get there eventually.

Sun Delivery should be able to improve considerably on delivery lane times and status information if you contact them. "Should" is a relative term, however - delivery of furniture is not Amazon Prime, UPS or FED EX and it never will be. The White Glove Delivery Service does not run hubs like those companies do where they are moving trucks constantly and frequently. Sun has (3) distribution centers, one in High Point NC, one in Dallas TX and another in Las Vegas NV.

Sun, like the companies before them, do not take credit cards as payment. They are Certified Check or Money Order only. No cash or personal checks, either. If you REALLY want to use a credit card for the shipping, you can do it in conjunction with your order from The Keeping Room, and there will be a 5% surcharge to the freight quote - for the freight portion only. That covers processing charges for the card and my time to pay them their bill on your behalf. Just let me know at time of the order.

Typical delivery times with Sun from the time they pickup your order at the manufacturer's dock:

East Coast : 2 to 2.5 weeks
Midwest : 2.5 to 3 weeks
West Coast 3 weeks
Oregon / Washington State 3 to 3.5 weeks
Low traffic states such as the Dakotas, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Nebraska will be 3.5 - 4 weeks.

Examples of costs of delivery. A single sofa from NC to Florida:

West Express : $ 250
Sun Delivery : $ 375
Plycon Van : $ 550

You have used Sun before right? I am pretty sure my H&M couch from you was delivered by them, but that could be a faulty memory. Interesting examples on the prices, thanks for posting that.

Yes, but its been a LONG time since I used them. There are just too many complaints about West / A&O on service lane times to delivery, and it's time to try someone else again in an effort to alleviate that issue. For those that want lowest possible price and don't mind the extra wait time, we can also use West / A&O as well.

One more pricing example, a Sectional going from Hancock and Moore to the Boston MA area;

Sun Delivery: $ 691
West Express / A&O : $ 485

Before you choose on price alone, realize that I have no more information than you do on ship/delivery status with any of these delivery companies. I call the same numbers and check the same websites for status that you do. Frequently, customers think I have some special way of speeding along their order or influencing it, and I do not. Sun has a better tracking system, and you have far more chance of getting a live person on the phone when you call. Their delivery times should be quicker overall, we will see by the feedback YOU give me on how it all went. They have better equipment (trucks) and are more professional.

A few weeks ago I had A&O Delivery return a couple of recliners to my store that were mis-shipped at the dock by H&M and it was easier to bring them to my store than send all the way back (I could use them for floor stock anyways). I met the truck late Sunday night and was really shocked by what I saw. The delivery team was in a pickup truck towing an old dilapidated car trailer that looked like it was on its last legs. The two helpers getting the furniture out looked like they just got out of jail, and as they worked in the darkness of the trailer all I saw was the glow of their cigarettes as they unpacked the furniture. Really? Smoking when handling customer's expensive furniture? That was really the straw that broke the camel's back for me and I decided I had to find a more professional carrier group. I do NOT want that delivery service to represent my store, now when they look like that and use that kind of equipment to deliver your order.

So the choice really is yours. If the lowest rate is important, stay with West Express and A&O, realize what they are and that I cannot do anything to speed your order or influence their business model. If you are willing to pay more for delivery, then I think you will get a better experience with Sun Delivery overall, though it will take several orders and feedback to see how they are doing.

West Express just delivered our fabulous sofa Saturday. The two guys were nice, but there was a lot of stuff going on. They parked on the road and came up our partially gravel driveway with the big sofa on a small dolly. One guy walked off and one was pulling the sofa quickly. The sofa was swaying back and forth and looked like it was going to fall over. My husband ran out to help and he said he had it. They referred to my husband as Mr Boss and me as Mrs. Lady. They stripped the screw and were going to try and force the board off with pliers. They also seemed surprised that the sofa was packed in a crate. My husband went and got a tool he had and got the screw out himself. Thankful he was home. They were a day late because the truck broke down, which is out of their control. I think changing is a great decision and we would be willing to pay more for more professional.
Our sofa did make it in the house safely and it exceeded our expectation. Very thankful for your business and looking forward to more pieces in the future.

It pains me to have to move to a more costly delivery service as my default company, I know that no one want to pay more. However, the complaints about West / A&O are becoming too frequent and I have to make that change as my default shipping service. Glad you are enjoying your new pieces, Brandi!

I think you were using Sun when my furniture came, but that was several years ago. I do remember the delivery guys as being very nice and professional. Everything was done exactly as described. The delivery came right on time and was set up properly exactly where I requested. We were very pleased with them at the time.

Yes, I did use Sun Delivery beforehand, about ten years ago, I think. They were always good but reluctant to take responsibility for damage claims. However, I think they have grown as an organization and are one of the better operators out there at the moment.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Brandi

West Express just delivered our fabulous sofa Saturday. The two guys were nice, but there was a lot of stuff going on. They parked on the road and came up our partially gravel driveway with the big sofa on a small dolly. One guy walked off and one was pulling the sofa quickly. The sofa was swaying back and forth and looked like it was going to fall over. My husband ran out to help and he said he had it. They referred to my husband as Mr Boss and me as Mrs. Lady. They stripped the screw and were going to try and force the board off with pliers. They also seemed surprised that the sofa was packed in a crate. My husband went and got a tool he had and got the screw out himself. Thankful he was home. They were a day late because the truck broke down, which is out of their control. I think changing is a great decision and we would be willing to pay more for more professional.
Our sofa did make it in the house safely and it exceeded our expectation. Very thankful for your business and looking forward to more pieces in the future.

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Brandi,

Right there with you. The guys handling Phase II and Phase III of our deliveries were nice-ish, but arrived completely unprepared...both times. (The delivery guys working Phase I of our deliveries could not have been nicer or more professional...and were completely prepared.) Phases II and III guys (the same guys both times) had no tools for uncrating and, as in your delivery, they asked to borrow my husband's tools. We are reasonable people and can understand something such as that happening once, but not two times in a row. Truly, I do not know what they planned on doing to uncrate our furniture if my husband had had no tools! They were very rushed and were rather impatient as I refused to be rushed through the inspection of our furniture. One of the guys stood over me the entire time and kept telling me everything was good. I just smiled and told him I was sure he was right...as I continued going through my inspection checklist. That annoyed the guy. And, yes, the guys reeked of cigarette smoke. Thankfully, there was no such smell clinging to our furniture.

So, yes, my husband and I would have gladly paid an increased delivery fee for better service, including: better communication, guys showing up fully prepared, no rushing through, no attitude during furniture inspection. Again, the Phase I guys were all of that and more. Phase II and Phase III...not even close.

TXCajun

Hello all,
Anyone out there had experience with D&D Delivery Service out of Thomasville, NC? Thanks.

We have now had two deliveries (sofa and then two recliners) with Sun Delivery. We're in Silicon Valley, CA, so they pick up at H&M and then uncrate at their Las Vegas hub. They re-wrap the items, before sending them out for regional delivery.

I've been very impressed with their quality of service. They contact you well in advance to set up delivery. They call the day before with a 4 hour time window, and the driver calls 30 minutes a head of arrival. In both cases, we were toward the end of they day, and Sun called us an hour before the 4 hour window to give us a heads up that they'd be arriving in the later part of the window. It was a nice way of getting 3 hours back in your day where you didn't have to be stuck at home waiting for a call.

They really re-wrap the furniture. This isn't just throwing a blanket over it and hoping for the best. The chairs were covered in a white sleevelike material, padded with blankets and mummy wrapped in plastic.

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Both delivery teams were professional and did a sight survey to determine the best way to bring the furniture in. They made sure everything on the way in was protected, and they asked if we wanted to put any felt gliders on the bottoms of the furniture when they saw that we were placing them on hardwood floors.

I would comfortably use them again.

Dave

Thanks for that feedback, Dave - its VERY important to get that so I know whom to use as a service. Sun isn't perfect, I've had two damage issues with them in the past year, however they don't dance around and ignore the claims, and do the right thing and pay H&M to restore the pieces. Overall I still rate them far, far above any other service out there.

I have been satisfied with Sun Delivery Service. They do charge more, but they stand behind their work - and that's worth something. Don't be caught in the quagmire of shopping for the lowest white glove shipping service thinking they are all the same - they are not. Nor are all dealer's the same when a problem arises. This is not UPS vs Amazon vs USPS vs Fed Ex. The spread in delivery services is much, much wider. But let's say you just have to have the cheap guy, because your theory is "its going to eventually get here, right?" Here's what you can expect.

* Try to get someone on the phone - you have about 1 in 10 chance of talking to a live person
* They will roll a truck to you area when its full, no half loads go out. So while you're expecting it in 2 weeks, it may be 4 weeks, especially in the midwestern states. 6 weeks in the Washington/Oregon/Idaho regions.
* They often show up after dark and are always "in a hurry" and want you to "sign this" so they can leave.
* They run old equipment that breaks down frequently, trailers have holes in them that can water damage your pieces.
* The delivery team is responsible for damages out-of-pocket, so they will usually try to hide or deny damages, "We didn't do it - came from the factory like that".
* They are reluctant to pay for restorations or will deny them altogether.

Whereas Sun Delivery:

* Staffs their service center 7 days a week and you can always get someone on the phone to talk to.
* They go 48 state, even when they don't have a full load into a region, they roll the trucks out
* They always resolve damages issues. This can be frustrating, but in the end it will get taken care of.
* Their driver's are salaried, there is no reason for them to hide any damages from you, the customer.
* They operate modern trucks and breakdowns are rare, and trailers are always sealed.

Things happen though. The difference between a good company and a bad one are not that they were two hours late, or didn't say please and thank you, it's that they take care of their obligations. Recently there was a bad experience with a Sun Delivery crew, they really mishandled the delivery and tore up the sofa and the customer's hardwood floor. This was a rare event, but nobody is perfect. To make matters worse, the sofa was damaged twice (that was a bad day). So the customer had to wait while the sofa was restored, but it was made brand new again at Hancock and Moore, stripped to the bare frame. It cost $ 1,900 in repairs to fix it, and $ 1,000 to re-finish the hardwood floor. Sun paid it, even though the total delivery charge on the order was about a quarter of that amount. That's worth something. There is no other delivery company that I know of that would do that.

Both the customer and I were both very frustrated, but I never backburned the issue by saying "You have to deal with the delivery company on this". I got a very nice thank you note in the mail today that I will share. I don't abandon my customers and we get through any issues together because that's what makes me different from the other retailers out there.

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