Jake8,
Ohio...Texas...You're probably right. Sorry to hear of your delay, and thanks for posting the updates. I'm keeping my letter next to our house phone so I have it ready for reference and making notes of calls. Other than that, taking it like it comes and hoping for the best, I guess.
TXCajun
Update.... got another call today about our sofas. They will be delivering them this Sunday between 5-9 pm! Seemed like an odd day and time but it works for us. Hopefully we won't get another call tomorrow to cancel.
Good to hear. Be prepared for swings in that time slot, however. They can show up much earlier, and much later. FYI if they want to come after dark I would suggest you say 'no' and instead tell them to deliver the next morning during daylight hours. It's very difficult to inspect for transit damage once the sun goes down and you have to note any shipping damages before the driver departs.
Duane Collie
Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.
Good tip Duane. Thanks. They said they would call when they were about an hour away. I've read all of your threads on deliveries, inspections, damages, etc. We have a plan for the old sofas and will move them out Sunday afternoon. I feel prepared. Yet a bit nervous that there will be some kind of damage. Fingers crossed.
Damages are not generally something to be concerned about, but you have to catch them on the spot, not the next day or even a few hours after the delivery team leaves. Some pieces will arrive with pressure marks from packing, which will almost always go away with some use or when heated up a little in the afternoon sun. Some pieces have small rub marks on them, and if a pure aniline usually a little hand lotion or leather conditioner makes them go away, if a finished leather than I can get you a little touch up paint. Serious damages like broken frames, ripped or torn leather, or rub marks larger than a quarter rarely occur. The guys on the truck are paid a bonus for each 'clean' delivery they make. And they load their own trucks to ensure its done to their satisfaction as they are responsible for it. They have a financial incentive to make sure it gets there right. A return based on damage comes right out of their pocket.
I do hundreds of ships with these delivery companies actually thousands over a period of years. I would say 95 % go through just fine or with a very minor mark. The other 5% is about evenly split between customers that have a legitimate damage and those that are perfectionists that go over their piece with a magnifying glass and a flashlight. And perfection is a hard thing to achieve! On average, I probably ship 500 pieces a year. Two to three pieces will have real damage to them. One or two will have a manufacturer's defect and need to go back. About thirty will be folks that think they see damage, but it's not. Another thirty will have minor 5 minute touch-ups. The odds are in your favor for a non-eventful delivery!
Duane Collie
Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.
This is not going so well.... we got the call a couple of days ago that they would arrive between 5 and 9 this evening, they'd call an hour before they came. We moved our old sofas out this afternoon then around 4 this afternoon I got a call saying they were very behind and would not be able to make it until very very late. Wanted to come early tomorrow. Thinking about Duane's advice to not accept a late night delivery, we told them that tomorrow would be fine. Just a little before 8 pm, they called to let us know that they could not come tomorrow and would have to deliver it tonight, but couldn't make it until around 10 pm. If we did not accept the delivery tonight, they would have to reschedule it in a few weeks. We have no furniture! We cannot wait another few weeks! We really had no choice but to allow them to come late at night. I sure hope this goes well.
Everything went well. The guys showed up around 10:30 last night and safely delivered our beautiful new sofas. There was not so much as a ding or a scratch on either of them. The sofas were still in their factory crates when they arrived so it took the guys a little while to unpack them. Once unpacked, they had a fairly easy trip in with them with only one step up to the porch then straight thru the sunroom into the living room.... one step and one turn, easy. Good thing because these guys were exhausted from a long, long day. The sofas are gorgeous.... thank you Duane for your help and your patience. I will post pics very soon.
Glad to hear. Most all deliveries go well, if they didn't neither the delivery company could stay in business and I could not sell long distance. I don't like after-dark deliveries as you just can't see well for the inspection process. Of course, on a Sunday night on Memorial Day Weekend your options of choice are pretty limited and there is no one to call. What I would suggest if you agree to the after-sundown delivery is to notate on the BOL (Bill of Lading), "After Dark Delivery, Customer retains rights of damage inspection during daylight hours" or words to that effect. If the driver refuses to let you notate that, then I would turn them away. Those delivery guys work hard and are an honest lot, but I disagree they should force you to take something after dark under threat of not getting it for two more weeks if you decline. I am going to follow up on that and see what the owner of A&O has to say about that.
It's great you are pleased and all went well. They don't often deliver in the factory packing, that's a rarity. All well that ends well. Appreciate it!
Duane Collie
Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.
As an FYI to this thread, I spoke with the owner (Tony Gann) of A&O Delivery and they are NOT supposed to do this. A&O does not want their drivers and teams to do night-time deliveries and you are well within your rights to re-schedule for the next morning. The 'you won't get it for two more weeks' is nonsense and not true. That's nothing but a little blackmail to get you to take that after-dark delivery so they can get on down the road to another stop. Tony says if any of his delivery teams try to pull this in the future its going to cost them some money.
Sorry this happened, but I did want to follow through on it and find out the policy, and that team was messing with you a little bit on the 'take or leave it' aspect of it all.
Duane Collie
Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.
Thank you for clearing that up Duane. This won't help us any but it may help someone else know how to handle this kind of situation. Things worked out well for us but I'd be singing a different tune if there had been some damage done to our sofas. Like I said, the delivery guys were very pleasant and looking back on it now, very fine actors.... they made it out to us like they were so overbooked and overworked and that they had no choice but to insist on a late night delivery. LOL
I wanted to post a few pics of our sofas. These are H&M Martini, Tiburon Java leather (yum!), Provence wood, and CC nails set head to head.