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Thread: What If I Find Damage Before Driver Is Paid?

  1. #1
    Ornery Guest

    Default What If I Find Damage Before Driver Is Paid?

    Is the driver going to take my money before he pulls my furniture from the truck? Do I have the right to inspect it before I hand the money over? Seems like the only leverage I have to get things put right, in the event of shipping damage.

    I've already been told to expect ridiculously long wait times from the low cost trucking companies. I'm now dreading the "care" these budget companies put into their service, so preparing for the worst...

  2. #2
    Riddle Guest

    Default Re: What If I Find Damage Before Driver Is Paid?

    First rule is to purchase from a reliable source. The seller's interest in providing good customer support is what matters if there are problems. That's your advocate.

    My shipments were via Sun Delivery. They remove furniture from its original carton and wrap it well for shipping. No problems either time. Although their web site clearly says that you must hand over the cashier's check first and I offered to do so, they unloaded first. I checked the furniture, signed for it and gave them the check and a health cash tip per person. If there had been damage, I would have noted it on the form that I signed. Sun Delivery's policy is that the driver will call customer service immediately if there's a problem. The customer service people tell you what will happen.

    I'm sure that Duane can tell you exactly how to handle shipping damage before you order from him. If you order from someone else, be sure that you have documentation for both the seller and the shipper and that they agree with each other.

  3. #3
    Ornery Guest

    Default Re: What If I Find Damage Before Driver Is Paid?

    Thanks for the prompt reply, Riddle.

    I'll be taking pictures as it comes off the truck and immediately after. Seems they hold all the cards. If they want to take 8, 12, or 24 weeks to deliver, oh well. If it's damaged, tough luck, they have their money. My only recourse is to notify anyone and everyone of my experience, and hopefully save others the trouble, and deny them more victim$.

  4. #4
    Join Date
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    Default Re: What If I Find Damage Before Driver Is Paid?

    I ship a LOT of product all around the country with a very high degree of success. You appear to be spoiling for a confrontation, and really should shop locally where you have a local dealer to assist you in a more timely manner. It won't be worth the savings to you for the aggravation you are anticipating and preparing to rain down upon others just doing their job.

    Having said that, there are many delivery companies out there, and like most things there are the ones that are very good (more expensive) and ones that are not as good (less expensive). When you are shipping product, you are in essence renting space and time on a transport vehicle. Its as simple as that. If you think about it in that context, then you have to pay for the rental.

    If you want faster time, that costs more, as it involves a bigger operation with a larger fleet and more logistics and distribution centers. I can send a sofa from NC to NYC via my best shipper and it will cost $ 275. I can also send it up there for $ 190 and save the customer $ 85 but that smaller company might take 2 to 3 weeks longer and not have on-line tracking capability or someone to answer the phone on a Saturday. As the customer you get to choose the delivery service and like most things you get what you pay for. Usually my customers that select the less costly service at time of order will wish they spent the extra money for the faster and more efficient service at the end of the day.

    As to payment, you have to realize that the delivery service wants to get paid before they put the furniture in your home. Why? Very simply, if they place the pieces in your house and go take the pads or trash out to the truck and you as the customer lock the door on them, they have no recourse to get their fee. They cannot come into your home without permission, the police will not get involved, and its too costly for them to bring legal action out of state. So they lose their delivery fee and that's why they have that policy of getting paid before it goes into your house. Does that happen? You bet it does...and it only takes one or two times before they change their delivery policy. In most cases, however, they will bring it out of the truck and you can inspect in the driveway, though they may grumble about having to move the protective wrappings they like to leave on until through the doorways.

    Damages are the responsibility of the shipper. If something is broken, refuse delivery. If it needs a touch-up, then note on the bill of lading and they will take care of it. Either way, you have to pay them for the services otherwise its considered abandoned cargo. Remember that you already paid the store for the goods, so you own title to them. Refusing payment means YOUR sofa or chest of drawers is in a truck and since you have abandoned the contract they will return the pieces to the shipper and you will pay a double delivery fee next time. I personally only use reliable delivery services that have low damage rates and take care of their responsibilities should there be an issue. Do things ever get damaged? Sure - from time to time they do. I'd estimate 5% require some in-home touch-up and maybe 1/10 of 1% of all orders need a repair that has to be returned to the maker (that's about 1 order a year for my store). Its a headache for the customer, the delivery service and the dealer when damages occur and takes a lot of time on everyone's part to correct. The biggest headache for customers is timeliness. Touch-ups and damages and defects always get taken care of, but they usually don't get taken care of as quickly as many would like. That's the inconvenience of ordering long distance and the trade-off you make for getting a lower overall price in most instances.
    Last edited by drcollie; 02-07-2011 at 11:41 AM.
    Duane Collie
    Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
    My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.

  5. #5
    Ornery Guest

    Default Re: What If I Find Damage Before Driver Is Paid?

    I'm preparring for the worst, as I would if shopping local, but God knows I've got a heckuva lot more time to do it with this transaction.

    They don't have to bring it in the house. I'll be waiting at the curb with my check, so as not to make them wait. However, they will view it unwrapped before they leave, and sign off on any damages found.

  6. #6
    Riddle Guest

    Default Re: What If I Find Damage Before Driver Is Paid?

    Quote Originally Posted by Ornery View Post
    ...
    I've already been told to expect ridiculously long wait times from the low cost trucking companies. I'm now dreading the "care" these budget companies put into their service, so preparing for the worst...
    Not sure who you've been talking to or who you are considering purchasing from. If anything, I've been surprised at how quickly items arrived. From what I read, you are setting yourself up for an unhappy experience. If you are worried about a "budget" delivery service, the solution is simple: don't use it. Pay more and get someone reputable. In fact, never use a vendor you don't trust for anything. That doesn't guarantee a good experience, but starting from a negative place pretty much guarantees a negative outcome.

    You could have the shipper unwrap your furniture on the lawn. But that's inviting trouble. The riskiest part of the trip is getting the item up any steps, through your doorways and avoiding obstacles in your home.

    Oh, and there's weather. I have about 4 feet of snow in my front yard. It was after dark and snowing when my sofa was delivered. No amount of shoveling and salting was going to make the walks completely without hazard. I won't even try to describe the street. The wonderful packing job the shipper did allowed the delivery folks a lot more flexibility and greatly decreased the risk of damaged furniture and humans. They could safely set the piece down, which would not have been possible with exposed upholstery, leather and wood. The snug wrappings meant they got the piece through a very narrow doorway without damage to walls, ceiling, or to the furniture. (I've seen two other sofas that went through that doorway and both had damage in exactly the same spot. My sofa is perfect.)

    In general, life is a lot easier if you're flexible. That's especially true when ordering anything custom from a distance. If that's not how you're wired, you'll be a lot happier buying something locally that you've already seen and working with local resources for delivery and set up.
    Last edited by Riddle; 02-08-2011 at 12:46 AM.

  7. #7
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    Default Re: What If I Find Damage Before Driver Is Paid?

    Quote Originally Posted by Ornery View Post
    I'm preparring for the worst, as I would if shopping local, but God knows I've got a heckuva lot more time to do it with this transaction.

    They don't have to bring it in the house. I'll be waiting at the curb with my check, so as not to make them wait. However, they will view it unwrapped before they leave, and sign off on any damages found.
    Since you were asking for advice with your original post, let me give you a little. Let the delivery company do its job. One of the worst things a consumer can do is to direct the process with pre-conceived notions of how things should happen. Those guys on that truck have done a thousand deliveries before yours, and they're going to do a thousand after yours as well. You are probably one of 25 stops on the trip. When you decide to take over the delivery process, you are altering the way they work as a team and they will not only be resentful of it, but you risk a higher level of damage because of your interference. You will have plenty of time to inspect the pieces once they are done. Be pleasant, welcome them - and note any issues on the deliver bill they will ask you to sign off on.
    Duane Collie
    Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
    My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.

  8. #8
    Ornery Guest

    Default Re: What If I Find Damage Before Driver Is Paid?

    Good evening.

    Decided to jot some lines while in a better mood. Bottom line on the delivery, is they're going to witness any damage before leaving. Whether they're paid first, or not, whether it's at the curb, in my drive, or in the house, makes no difference. I'm not going to be stuck in a position later, when it's my word against theirs about when any damage occurred.

    I don't particularly need or want them coming in the house. I thought that was considered "white glove". I'll be happy if they get it as far as our county line, let alone in the house.

    The sour taste I have regarding this transaction, is how they mislead me about the shipping time. If they had been upfront about it, they probably wouldn't have been my choice. They contacted me on the 13th of December, with a delivery estimate of 1 to 4 weeks. They grabbed the merchandise on the 19th, and that was the end of any control I had. Suppose they didn't feel like delivering for two months? Four months? Six months? Same difference, I have no leverage.

    Contacted Duane on the 19th of January to see if this length of time is normal. Apparently it is when a budget shipper like Valley Trucking is chosen. However, I don't see how that squares with, "Normal service lane time from pickup is 14 to 21 days in the blanket wrap business..."

    I feel sorry for the grunts actually making the delivery. It's not their fault how these things are scheduled. Looking forward to the call from their office though. I really want to speak to the person who gave me that time estimate.

  9. #9
    Join Date
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    Default Re: What If I Find Damage Before Driver Is Paid?

    Anybody know his name


  10. #10
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    Default Re: What If I Find Damage Before Driver Is Paid?

    Actually whether they witness damage or not is not much of an issue. Your protection is to note any discrepancies on the bill of lading which they will ask you to sign. If you sign that without any notations, it means it was delivered in good stead. Most delivery companies require their drivers to call in if you make a notation on that bill of lading about damages.

    Everyone like to hear 1 week -but in 99.8 % of the cases that was never realistic from the get-go. 2 weeks or less is even shaky, maybe 30% of white glove deliveries will land in that time frame and only along major population corridors. 3 weeks or less is where 50% of the orders deliver to the east side of the Rockies (orders originating in NC). 3 - 4 weeks is realistic for most West Coast deliveries. Anything beyond 4 weeks and the delivery company is dropping the ball. However, smaller, discount companies simply will not roll their trucks when they are not full so I've seen them run some orders out to 6 to 7 weeks because of that. As a dealer, that makes me furious when they do that (and why I no longer use Home Delivery Service as a carrier, for that reason).

    I don't know where you live, but here's a typical scenario for a sofa going to upstate NY from say...H&M in NC on a high volume company like Sun Delivery:

    1) H&M calls the shipper for pickup say on a Monday, the 1st. Shipper usually arrives in 2 days, by Wed the 3rd.

    2) Your order is them picked up on the route, but the truck may have ten other pickups from other makers before it gets back to the Sun warehouse. Allow 2 days until its off-loaded. Now its Friday, the 5th.

    - closed Saturday and Sunday -

    3) Order is checked in at the warehouse. Now its the 8th (Monday - 1 week).

    4) Order goes to routing, who will combine loads from all the dealers it services to get a full truckload to NY state. This will take 3 to 4 days to configure, contact all customers to find out who is home and whom is not. Order is routed by Thursday the 11th.

    5) Friday is strip out day, pulling the piece out of the original cartons and packing for inspection and re-pack. Its the 12th.

    - Saturday and Sunday Closed -

    6) Monday is pack the truck day. Now its been 2 weeks and its the 15th.

    7) The Delivery team departs on Tuesday morning the 16th, with 22 stops up the I-95 corridor starting in Delaware.

    8) Wed the 17th is all New Jersey and Long Island.

    9) Thursday is White Plains NY and up to Syracuse, the 18th.

    10) Friday the truck rolls into Buffalo NY and the delivery, the 19th.

    So that's 2 1/2 weeks from when the order was ready to go. And that's average for that corridor on one of the largest shippers out there. If a smaller shipper, then things don't move as quickly because there is less freight to go to a given corridor so they must wait to fill the truck.

    That's how it works. This is also the reason why you want to think long and hard about refusing deliveries for minor nuances that can be touched up or fixed in-home. Because when you do, the return trip is long and the entire scenario above plays out yet again.
    Last edited by drcollie; 02-08-2011 at 10:36 PM.
    Duane Collie
    Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
    My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.

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