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Thread: Crated delivery

  1. #1
    Tater Guest

    Default Crated delivery

    Hi Duane,

    This is my first time posting long time lurker.

    I've traveled the state looking at scant floor model offerings and quizzing mostly clueless salespeople. I really wanted to keep the sale relatively local but lately I have no qualms buying long distance and rewarding the outlet which has been most helpful, The Keeping Room.

    However, the possibility of shipping damage frightens me. Will A&O absolutely leave my new sofa in the crate if it is stipulated on the order? Do you know of a shipper who will keep the furniture crated to the driveway?

    Thanks,
    Tater

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    Dayton, OH
    Posts
    287

    Default Re: Crated delivery

    ...just to offer one example of a recent Sofa shipment that was not in the crate but was handled beautifully and delivered in pristine condition, our H&M Sofa happened to be shipped by Sun Delivery from Virginia to Ohio and I bet I could match you for concern ...however no worries the delivery services definitely know how to keep the furniture in excellent (i.e., NEW) condition. I suppose you can insist that your furniture remains in the crate ...but you better specify if you want the Dealer to verify the condition thereby opening the crate and inspecting before crating it back up. I decided I should have the same concern for delivery from a local dealer that I had for a cross-country purchase and delivery.

  3. #3
    Tater Guest

    Default Re: Crated delivery

    Quote Originally Posted by wisejd View Post
    ...just to offer one example of a recent Sofa shipment that was not in the crate but was handled beautifully and delivered in pristine condition, our H&M Sofa happened to be shipped by Sun Delivery from Virginia to Ohio and I bet I could match you for concern ...however no worries the delivery services definitely know how to keep the furniture in excellent (i.e., NEW) condition. I suppose you can insist that your furniture remains in the crate ...but you better specify if you want the Dealer to verify the condition thereby opening the crate and inspecting before crating it back up. I decided I should have the same concern for delivery from a local dealer that I had for a cross-country purchase and delivery.
    wisejd,

    Appreciate your position and input.

    I assume an order through Duane would be picked up from the H&M dock by A&O or other white glove delivery service and shipped via a network of temporary storage locations to my door in the Midwest handled by variously talented workers. I believe that more often than not deliveries are problem free with maybe a minor scuff here or there and any minor damage would be dealt with by me, with Duane's assistance, or the trucking service if major. I would be quite willing to pay a premium to reduce the probability of damage though not sure I would want to pay double the standard rate.

    If I were to order locally the franchise should be accountable for repairs or replacement if damaged unless I am mistaken. I do wonder if it would remain crated to their dock but that would be their decision for they would be assuming liability.

    I'm only trying to gather information so that I can accurately gauge and minimize the risk, if possible, involved with an internet purchase of this magnitude.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    Dayton, OH
    Posts
    287

    Default Re: Crated delivery

    Tater, My case may have been a little different in that the Sofa we choose after an 18 month search and learning effort was actually on the showroom floor. Duane for example, has about as good of an inventory in the showroom as anyone I have ever known of. The thing I liked about our being in-store inventory is that we inspected and sat on our Sofa as we purchased it. Also, with it not being a customer order, there was no manufacturing cycle between decision and delivery. It took only a little over three weeks from the time we purchased until it was sitting in our living room. During the three-weeks there was email and web access that told us exactly where the Sofa was in the logistics process. I certainly read about the possibility of a small scuff or scrape ...but to me I might not be so understanding of that when spending thousands on a piece of furniture. Prior to retirement, my customers when receiving shipment world-wide would not expect any flaws in our products regardless of the complexity of logistics. The shipping company in our situation had wrapped the Sofa in a multitude of padded moving blankets and then shrink wrapped the whole piece in plastic. Under the blanket padding was a plastic bag that encased the entire Sofa. Having been through Six-Sigma Black Belt training and practice Prevention oriented actions, I can appreciate your taking steps to have all involved take appropriate precautions. In hindsight the hardest part for us was the Furniture Selection. I don't know what you are considering but we found Hancock and Moore to design and produce absolutely wonderful offerings.

  5. #5
    Tater Guest

    Default Re: Crated delivery

    I have found an alternative that may ease my fear a bit if nothing else. I'm hoping Duane or anyone with experience concerning Sunbelt Furniture Express will chime in.

    Have Sunbelt Furniture Express, located in Hickory, NC, transport the sofa to Clarks White Glove Delivery in Indianapolis.

    I have little information concerning SFE other than they have a terminal in Jasper, IN make regular deliveries to Clarks. Clarks White Glove Delivery has an exemplary reputation.

    Total cost estimate: $400. Would this be a reasonable alternative to using A&O? Would using a long distance furniture carrier to a local white glove service lessen risk of damage or is it just added cost with little or no added safety?

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    Dayton, OH
    Posts
    287

    Default Re: Crated delivery

    If you ask me each transfer from one entity to another is where the risks are. The fewer folks that handle the item the better. I think you will find the people Duane uses have a similarly great reputation. My Sofa weighed in at 225 pounds and was shipped from Virginia's eastern coast to Dayton, Ohio for $260.

  7. #7
    Tater Guest

    Default Re: Crated delivery

    What is a concern is that I'm finding A&O's reputation is less than perfect or perhaps average is a better term as delivery can be touch and go.

    My reasoning for considering Sunbelt to Clarks: it will be delivered by Sunbelt to Clarks still in factory carton, Clarks will unpack and inspect before delivering the final 80 miles to my house. Clarks has an exemplary reputation, the few people I've spoke with exclaim, "oh they are good" when I mention their name.

    Thing is you may be right and I'm worrying for naught. I've never made this size purchase from a distance. Well except for high end audio but fork trucks weren't involved.

  8. #8
    Marjflowers Guest

    Default Re: Crated delivery

    I ordered my H&M recliner this weekend, and I asked Duane about crated delivery, being someone who will look for something to fret about if there's nothing at hand. He told me that they will ship my chair in the crate if I ask them to, at no extra charge. Of course, the flip side of worrying about anything and everything is hearing what you want to hear, so I could be mistaken about this. At any rate, when A&O calls, I'll check again.

  9. #9
    MRSSQRDAWAY Guest

    Default Re: Crated delivery

    A&O DELIVERY WHITE GLOVE DELIVERY : I have had 5 different deliveries by this company. Delivery men did the best job possible under very difficult circumstances. Once a two week layover because of major breakdown of truck, in a snow storm. But as Duane has posted, delivering furniture is a back breaking, low paying job. My last delivery, a chair and a half with ottoman, the warehouse staff had loaded these item in reverse order of delivery. Driver and helper had to unload a dining room table, chairs, and a mirror to be able to get to my two pieces. They were very careful , spread moving quilts out on tree lawn to protect all the items they had to reload. I gave them lunch and cold sodas, and twenty dollars each after signing invoice. Any gesture of appreciation seems to be welcomed. I have never had any furniture damaged .

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Alexandria VA
    Posts
    15,890

    Default Re: Crated delivery

    Delivery is a tricky business, no matter what store you buy from or what delivery service you might use. What I try to do is find a national carrier that will balance the price charged to a historical damage ratio, along with how they handle delivery issues and then suggest that carrier to my customers. You can ALWAYS select the carrier of your choice, its your purchase and you can specify who hauls it - after all you are paying for the service, you have a right to choose. It's not always easy to balance and as the damage ration percent goes lower, the price goes higher.

    For example, let's say we have a $ 4,000 leather sofa to deliver and say you live in Georgia and you want a in-home, 'white glove' service. Which do you pick?

    Carrier A: Charges $ 190 and has a 6% damage rate and takes up to 6 weeks to deliver and won't answer the phone. Tell you if you don't like the way they do business then thats too bad.
    Carrier B: Charges $ 330 and has a 3% damage rate and takes 2.5 weeks to deliver with reasonable response to customer inquiries. Not always the most prompt, but they get there.
    Carrier C: Charges $ 550 and has a 1% damage rate and takes 2-3 weeks to deliver with premium customer service response time. Usually very prompt.
    Carrier D: Charges $ 1,100 and has .1 % damage rate and takes 2-3 weeks to deliver and has exceptional and immediate customer service. Top shelf, all the way.

    The customer that chooses Carrier "A" to keep the price down usually is frustrated and angry at the end of the day. The value is long gone as they wait for their sofa and no one keeps them updated. I avoid these carriers and there are a lot of them out there. You want to use them, do so at your own risk and don't complain to me!

    To me, the sweet spot is Carrier B. Reasonable charge / damage rate / time frame customer service. However if you are one of those 3 % that get damage (light to moderate) or the truck is late, you're not that happy. They are not perfect, but balanced.

    Carrier "C" gives you marginally better service but costs more. You are distance ordering to save money, do you want to pay more for just a little bit better service? Its still not a perfect operation.

    Carrier "D" is a fine art carrier and as close to perfection as possible, but do you want to pay that price? Almost no one does.

    The white glove delivery business is a carriage business. The driver and his helper are responsible for the load and remember, they haul more made-in-China product than they do premium USA so they want to inspect everything before they load it, therefore it comes out of the box. If it arrives damaged, they don't get paid. A lot of stuff made in China is broken in the box, so the standard procedure it to unpack it and inspect it in the warehouse before they load it. Once out of the box, it does not go back in. Sofas are stood on end in the truck, fully wrapped. Chairs are stacked. The truck leaves full or as close to full as they can get it. They wrap well, but loads shift on bumpy roads and pads can come off and then you get rub marks (most damage is this, not serious rips/tears/breakage). The driver has more interest in getting YOU to sign off the bill of lading 'free and clear' than making sure you are 100 % satisfied. If you accept it, then its pretty difficult to get recourse on any marks or flaws the next day but customers find small marks the next day - call me up and ask me how I'm going to take care of it. The Delivery company is the one that does that, not the selling dealer.

    Keeping in mind that the bulk of what these companies haul is cheap furniture, they do NOT know how to touch up something like a pure aniline leather, the leather they handle 90% of the time is painted for example. Nor do they do much with fine exposed wood. As such, I cringe when I think of them stacking on its end a Hancock and Moore Somerset sofa that weighs twice what they are used to shipping and has exposed wood the sofa will ride upon in its journey. For that reason, I try to follow those kind of pieces and advise them to leave those in the original carton to the destination, and sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn't. I can't control how they load and ship and more than you can as the customer. All we can do is ask.

    When I get pieces for my store (locally) it comes in the factory packing and damage is so low as to be statistically irrelevant. That's right, right at zero or maybe .001 percent. I unpack every piece personally and load it in my truck for delivery. Maybe once every 5 years out of thousands of deliveries we will have a damage, but its extremely rare when its handled by myself and my delivery guys - because we care. You really can't beat buying from a local dealer that is even halfway paying attention to his business for a clean delivery. Having said that, there is a store 20 miles from mine that is huge called Gr********, and they handle all the pieces very roughly, even leaving them in rain in their loading area and really don't care because they hire whomever comes off the street at $ 7 an hour for labor, whereas I pay my guys over double that rate and demand they be professional.

    Some pieces can be drop shipped in the factory packing, too. Hancock and Moore for example, does what we call and 'export' pack, where every piece is designed and packed to ship around the world, its the best packing in the business. Councill does it that way, too. So those we can send on a truck line to you and they will arrive in the original packing - but - (there is always a 'but', eh?) they will only go do a loading area at a commercial address. That means you have to get the pieces home and unpack them yourself. Some of my customers have their pieces delivered to their local moving and storage company this way and then contract with them to unpack it and bring it to their home. You get the pieces faster and the damage rate goes way down as well, but you have more work to do to set this up on your end and overall cost will be higher.

    There is also www.uship.com. You put your load out for bids, kind of like an EBAY for shippers. Here there is a real crap shoot - you can get an excellent carrier and a bargain price, or a disaster in the making if you choose poorly. It's all over the board.

    White Glove Delivery businesses want to delivery your order efficiently and damage-free, but at the end of the day its about that individual delivery team and that particular truck, and some teams are better than others.. Problems are as much a hassle for them as they are for you, believe me. The system works well for reasonable people most the time, but if you are a perfectionist then you should not buy long distance, but purchase locally and pay the higher local price points. You'll be happier in the long run if you do.
    Last edited by drcollie; 04-23-2014 at 10:50 AM.
    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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