The state of shipping in August 2021 - COVID

[drcollie]

Here's what has happened in the trucking and delivery business, all linked to the pandemic situation. As you can probably guess, unloading and delivering furniture is a career that almost nobody wants, it's a job people land into when they cannot find much work over minimum wage rates. Most have little more than high school educations and its not a highly-motivated work force. When the pandemic occurred many of those doing those jobs quit, retired, and went on unemployment, content to stay home with enhanced benefits from the government. The owners of the trucking companies didn't mind, we all thought sales would crater and there would be little business. But what happened starting 14 months ago, was sales went through the roof as people stayed home and worked from home. Suddenly there was a manpower shortage - a severe one. But those workers moved on and did not return to their former jobs. From drivers to warehouse workers, there was more product being shipped than the freight companies and delivery people could handle. No one to unload the trailers so they sit full for two weeks, and then no where to off load to - because there were not enough drivers to deliver the product. Things backed up - and are still backed up The North Carolina makers are 8 hours from my store, and it used to take 4 to 6 working days to get product landed, now it takes a month.

The white glove delivery services are even harder hit. No workers. So they hire who they can, and guess what ? - These new people have NO EXPERIENCE. They don't know how to pack, off load, handle and get the pieces into homes. The damage rate has skyrocketed due to ineptitude of these new workers. As someone who ships furniture all over the country, this breaks my heart to get the phone call from clients that the sofa they waited 6 months for is damaged. One of my customers took photos of the crew taking his new sofa off the truck and I was totally shocked at how they handled the piece and unpacked it. Inexcusable but that's the new reality.

So to that end, these are my current recommendations on shipping:

1) if you live within a day's drive of the factory (most are in Hickory NC) go get it yourself. We allow customer pickup at the docks Mon-Thurs only. Don't use an open pickup truck or open trailer, if it rains - your furniture in the wrapping will be damaged, especially in the high heat of summer. Best is to rent something like a Ford Transit 250, they are ideal for small loads and actually pleasant to drive. And you get it fast.

2) Ship to a loading dock or moving and storage company in your area. Your order comes on specialized furniture carriers (not common carrier trucks) and these are the largest 18-wheelers allowed on the road, so they have to go to a facility that can accept a 56' tractor trailer. Most moving and storage companies will accept a shipment for a fee and hold it for you until you pickup, or they will unpack and deliver it to you the final mile. This is about half the price of a white glove service and only a very small change of damage to that dock, less than 1%.

3) White Glove Delivery Service will still be offered, but damage rates from Sun Delivery (who I have used for twenty years) and its affiliates through America West are at unacceptable levels. To that end, I am now using other delivery companies though I have little hands-on experience with them. Home Delivery Service has come highly recommended but they stay only in the region they can delivery with their own trucks, so that is limited pretty much to the Eastern Seaboard and the do not go west of Alabama / Tennessee / Ohio. Sun Belt Furniture Transport is another new company that assures me the vet their third party delivery agents for white glove and they go to most the United States with the exception of the Dakotas, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Nebraska. Quotes from them take 24 hours to get as well.

It's unfortunate what has occured in this part of the business, and it doesn't matter who you order from, we all use the same companies because there are only a few still operating. Remember too, that damages are the responsibility of the carrier, not the merchant.