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Thread: When deliveries go bad....

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
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    Alexandria VA
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    15,887

    Default When deliveries go bad....

    I have a really good delivery team, my pair of 22-year-olds (Kyle and Scott) who work part-time for me are careful, polite and like their jobs. However, they're not perfect - case in point.

    This past Saturday we had a Southwood sofa to deliver in a light blue Schumacher fabric. The VERY last thing I told them before they started the run was:

    "See this blue sofa I have wrapped up for stop # 4? That's a very costly fabric on that piece and it will soil easily. I want you guys to go in and look at the delivery path, then wash your hands before you get this out of the truck. Do not handle this without washing up first, are we clear on that - and be sure to dry your hands too, no water stains on this from your big mitt pawprints."

    Now you just KNOW that with a preface like that something was going to happen. And it did.

    They got to this stop, which is in an assisted living facility, and the lady who ordered it is 91 years old (I thought she was 89, but I was corrected). The lady's stepdaughter was there in the room as well to monitor the delivery.

    Part of the deal was we had to haul out her old sofa, so they washed their hands like I told them to, and hauled out the old sofa to the truck in order to make room for the new one. The egress was very tight into the rooms and they had to go up against the door jambs with the old sofa, which was bigger. Unbeknownst to Kyle, he caught the back of his hand on something in the door frame and got a small cut that was bleeding. They went to get the new sofa and just as they got it in the room noticed a blood streak on the fabric from his cut from where Kyle had handled it. This is $ 125 a yard fabric. It was on the inside back of the sofa, (they had removed the primary cushions).

    Poor Kyle absolutely freaked out and called me in a panic on his cell phone. As I listened to his story I was shaking my head, rolling my eyes because I had TOLD them to be extra vigilant!

    I said "OK, Don't Touch the Stain, got it?"

    Kyle said in an even more panicked voice: "She's using an ice cube on it right now!"

    I said "Tell her to stop at once, water sets the stain!!"

    Kyle dropped the phone and I could hear him saying "NO ! NO ! DON'T USE THE ICE AND WATER!" but it was too late..the stepdaughter was vigorously scrubbing the blood streak (which was very light, but it was on baby blue material).

    My heart sank. Schumacher specifies 'dry cleaning fluids only' on this fabric, now the stain is water-set.

    The granddaughter gets on the phone and is furious with me. She is very agitated and demands I send a professional stain technician to the retirement facility on Monday (its currently Saturday). I try to explain to her that there is no point in it, the water sets the stain and once its dry no professional cleaner can do anything with it, and that she should not have gone after it with an ice cube and wet towel.

    She hung up on me!

    Ho boy. Dilemma. My guy should not bleed on a customer's sofa, but the customer should not take it upon themselves to go after the stain. That's our responsibility and no way I would use water on the fabric, especially since I know what Schumacher specifies. Equally shared fault? If we have to recover this inside back its going to be about $ 700.

    I text the guys and tell them to IMMEDIATELY bring the new sofa to the store before the water dries so I can have a crack at it. They are only 5 miles away from the store.

    The truck shows up 15 minutes later and I have my triage of stain removers all laid out and tell them to bring the piece right into the store at once. They looked at me and laughed....I said 'Whats so funny?"

    "That 91-year-old woman was NOT letting that sofa leave" Kyle said. "She loved it and said since the stain was covered up by the back cushions she could care less -besides, when we left the granddaughter had 90 % of it removed, you could barely see it. She was more concerned with the cut on my hand."

    I look at Kyle and said "I think you just dodged a bullet." He agreed. And we decided that we're going to start carrying latex medical gloves in the truck from now on to prevent this sort of thing from recurring.

    Never a dull moment....
    Duane Collie
    Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
    My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.

  2. #2
    AZJoe Guest

    Default Re: When deliveries go bad....

    Oh man.. That must have been a tense situation.

    I am already nervous for the day, my behemoth of a sectional arrives.lol

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    Southeast Michigan
    Posts
    52

    Default Re: When deliveries go bad....

    Make sure you buy powderless gloves--the powder they use is finer than dust!

  4. #4
    hglaber Guest

    Default Re: When deliveries go bad....

    I don't mean to excuse the unfortunate accident, but I've noticed many people don't seem to be able to put things in context. They can't differentiate between things like a stain on the face of a back cushion and one behind the cushion not visible in normal use. Both unfortunate, but certainly not equal. For the former I'd be on the phone saying "Dang it, Duane! Now you're going to have to fix this!" while for the latter, it would be more like "Dang it Duane! Now you're going to have to sell me some of those ducks at cost!"

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    NW Pennsylvania
    Posts
    216

    Default Re: When deliveries go bad....

    Accidents happen and it speaks volumes that though the delivery guys did make a mistake that could of been avoided they called Duane right away and asked what could be done. I know someone who runs a business where deliveries of large items (furniture mainly) and it's hard to find good delivery guys who admit to a mistake/accident right away.

  6. #6
    Matthew Guest

    Default Re: When deliveries go bad....

    Quote Originally Posted by hglaber View Post
    I don't mean to excuse the unfortunate accident, but I've noticed many people don't seem to be able to put things in context. They can't differentiate between things like a stain on the face of a back cushion and one behind the cushion not visible in normal use. Both unfortunate, but certainly not equal. For the former I'd be on the phone saying "Dang it, Duane! Now you're going to have to fix this!" while for the latter, it would be more like "Dang it Duane! Now you're going to have to sell me some of those ducks at cost!"

    I don't really agree with that. From a personal standpoint, if I personally stain something I can see everyday certainly I'm going to be more upset at myself than if I stain something that is covered 99% of the time. However, when I'm spending a significant amount of money on something I want any glaring defects corrected, regardless of where they're located.

    That said, the accident aside, it seems like the delivery guys handled things about as well as could be expected in this case.
    Last edited by Matthew; 04-12-2011 at 06:00 PM.

  7. #7
    hglaber Guest

    Default Re: When deliveries go bad....

    Quote Originally Posted by Matthew View Post
    However, when I'm spending a significant amount of money on something I want any glaring defects [corrected], regardless of where they're located.
    Yes, I can see your point. When buying a new item, expecting it to be "perfectly" new is not unreasonable.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Alexandria VA
    Posts
    15,887

    Default Re: When deliveries go bad....

    A customer is ordering new furniture, they have the right to expect it to be 'as new'. If not, then the retailer should make it right or if they agree - reduce the price to them in compensation.

    Here's the sticky-wicket on this one, the customer went after the stain with water, taking it upon themselves to remove the stain and setting it. Once that happens, there's a conflict as now the only way is to replace the material on the piece (several hundred dollars), whereas has they not touched it, there are specialty stain removers used in the furniture industry depending on the cover material that can successfully remove the stain. Legally, once the customer takes it upon themselves to work a stain, the dealer is no longer responsible for taking care if it. Morally however - it's a difficult issue. In this case, I would reduce the cost of the sofa to the customer by $ 200, but would not replace the fabric. We would both have to accept some responsibility.
    Duane Collie
    Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
    My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    High Point, NC
    Posts
    259

    Default Re: When deliveries go bad....

    Duane,

    It's funny but I just finished an article for our blog on the same topic -- What to do when your customer has a problem. One difference here is that the delivery I had was 2000 miles away shipped on a common carrier.

    Simplicity Sofas is small, mostly unknown company that deliberately attempts to awe and amaze its customers by exceeding their expectations. A recent email from one of its customers demonstrates how the company seizes every opportunity to provide a level of customer service that turns even angry customers into wildly enthusiastic advocates who recommend the company to everyone they know and who return themselves to buy again.

    A customer named Julie recently purchased a sofa from the website and was very upset when the delivery driver refused to help her bring the large boxes into her home, although she was partially disabled and it was obvious she could not do it herself. He left her to knock on doors until she finally found some neighbors who agreed to help her.

    Once the sofa was safely installed it was still difficult for her to enjoy it as just thinking about the delivery made her angry all over again. So she sent an email to Simplicity Sofas venting her anger and letting them know that she was very upset with the customer service she had received and the next time that she purchased furniture it would be locally.

    Although it was night, Julie received a prompt email reply from the company sympathizing with her situation and apologizing for the inconvenience she had been put through. It explained that the delivery person was supposed to bring the furniture into her home and listed several things she could do if that situation ever happened again with any delivery company.

    The email then went on to say that although the company had no direct control over the actions of the trucking firm, it was still responsible for any problems that occurred. At the end of the email the customer was offered compensation for the inconvenience and aggravation she had been subjected to. A series of compensation options were offered. This show of concern and action by the company when the problem was not even their fault led to a complete turn-around in Julie's attitude.

    Her next email read, "I anticipated a reply to my email, but I was surprised to read your generous offer. A $50 check is quite sufficient and is most appreciated; especially when Simplicity Sofas wasn't at fault. You have incredible customer service. If there is anything I can do to help you or your company here in the southwest, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you, Julie"

    Julie is now a member of our nation-wide network of customers who have volunteered to show off the Simplicity Sofas furniture in their home to prospective new customers. This is very helpful since the company does not sell to retailers or have any showrooms other than High Point, NC. Another point that may be interesting only to marketing professionals is that more than 50% of customers who have seen our furniture in another customer's home have ended up buying from us.

    Jeff Frank
    Simplicity Sofas
    Last edited by simplyjeff; 04-13-2011 at 07:51 PM. Reason: Additional information

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Alexandria VA
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    15,887

    Default Re: When deliveries go bad....

    Just had an email this evening from a customer in New Jersey that ordered a Royal Pedic King Size Mattress and Box spring from me. The contracted delivery company shows up and before they even try to take it up her stairways, they fold the mattress in half and bind it with a strap. This of course, instantly ruptures the internal spring system and ruins the mattress. Anyone that knows anything about mattresses is aware that you can't flex a spring-based mattress more than 20 degrees without damaging it. My customer refused the delivery of the mattress and I got on the phone with Royal Pedic to get a new one rushed out (will leave tomorrow) and the delivery company will be paying for the one they destroyed. Frick and Frack best get a new line of work, because they're no good at Delivering.....grrrrrr......

    And this is why I only use premium delivery companies. This one was contracted out by a shipping agent and they chose their carrier poorly. Yes, the best delivery companies cost more, but they have higher quality personnel that largely prevents this sort of thing from happening. Kudos to Tony Kellerman (CEO of Royal Pedic) for working with me to get one out to her tomorrow and air freight it to NJ. While we can't control every aspect of long-distance delivery, at least we can get things going when an error is made and replace or repair things quickly. That's a MAJOR part of customer service....
    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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