Shipping Damage

[Bob Marino]

I agree with you, Bob, that the most likely to be damaged items are MFTs & Guide Rails.

I have no beef with the people who work for any of the shipping concerns, except possibly, with management. Management sets the tone and the policies.
My regular drivers work hard and long. Sometimes they do things that I would like to chastise them for right in from of me, the customer.
Shipping is somewhat of a crap shoot but with reasonable precautions, the vast majority of shipments make it OK.

If something is shipped haphazardly, it will be lucky if it arrives in tact. Even with extreme caution, sometimes things go wrong.

Tom

Agree with you, management sets the tone, and all the drivers delivering to me here in NJ (when I used to ship from my shop) were top notch, friendly, conscientious to a fault. But some of them seem to be real cowboys and take out their frustrations out on the packages. And again, there are many people, besides the actual driver, making the final delivery who have had contact with said package.
But, for heaven's sake, if there is visible damage to the package and the customer isn't home, note it and if rain is impending, protect it.

Bob

 

[GPowers]

As I am writing this, my gent overseeing the packaging sent me this email -"It wouldn't hurt if UPS didn't treat the shipments so rough to begin with either.  I would like to take a few pictures of some of the crap they have destroyed and caption it ? See What Brown Can Do For YOU!?.

Bob

Lets see some photos [big grin]

 

[peter halle]

I have never had a problem from UPS with any order.  I have made special shipping requests fro Bob and have offered to pay extra when I bought my MFT/3.  I take care of my UPS driver at Christmas ( a gift) and I never have to worry about out in the rain.

Material handlers are probably way underpaid.  Drivers do much better.  Mechanics do much much much better.  A mechanic can easily earn 80,000 USD a year.

Peter

 

[marrt]

Back in graduate school, I ordered my first computer, an IBM AT compatible (yes, I'm getting old).  This was a big investment for a broke student.  I was doing some work for a Law Office and had them deliver there, rather than my student apartment.  I happened to be in the office when the UPS lady delivered the package.  She literally dropped it from waist high on the floor rather than bend over a bit.  Back in those days, hard disk parking left a lot to be desired and the hard disk was trashed. 

 

[Wood_Junkie]

Good story - but my problem with UPS in your instance, would be that they would be allowed to deliver a box in such a sorry state without having the driver issue an on the spot, formalized notice of said damage. Perhaps, in your case they met you at the door, but in any cases like this, they drop it off and run for the hills, leaving the customer...and shipper with a mess to sort out.

Bob

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Guess which happened?  Here's a hint:  I was not home.  Dropped off on my porch. 

Now, mind you, they get a lot of credit for moving it up the couple of stairs and putting on the porch (its an enclosed/covered porch).  I am very, genuinely grateful for that.  Otherwise a lot of things would probably walk off on their own...

 

[mouppe]

I know I may get some flak for this comment, but I just do not rely on the outer box to protect the goods inside. I expect it to get damaged and therefore rely on the inside packaging to do the really protective work. It's a bit like the crumple zone on a car. I know that the dealers usually go to extraordinary lengths to double box etc. but if the goods still arrive damaged after all that packaging, the shipper should be held responsible. If it is just a case of slipping a systainer in a cardboard wrapper, then the shipper cannot really be blamed for a dent here and there.

 

[joraft]

Material handlers are probably way underpaid.  Drivers do much better.  Mechanics do much much much better.  A mechanic can easily earn 80,000 USD a year.

There was an article in the Wall Street Jounal a few months ago about UPS salaries. According to the article, package handlers start at $9.50 an hour, and the current average driver earnings are about $74,000 per year, with many senior drivers earning $100,000 or more (plus some pretty nice benefits).

But no doubt about it, it's hard work.

 

[NuggyBuggy]

There was an article in the Wall Street Jounal a few months ago about UPS salaries. According to the article, package handlers start at $9.50 an hour, and the current average driver earnings are about $74,000 per year, with many senior drivers earning $100,000 or more (plus some pretty nice benefits).

That can't be true... can it ? If it is, I would really appreciate a link to the article.

 

[NuggyBuggy]

Alright, after a google search I stand corrected.  Apparently, the salaries of UPS drivers do average about $74K, but since some of them apparently top $130K, I'd be interested to know what the distribution of salaries looks like.

 

[peter halle]

Sign me up and I swear I won't step on the Festool boxes.

peter

 

[joraft]

Alright, after a google search I stand corrected.  Apparently, the salaries of UPS drivers do average about $74K, but since some of them apparently top $130K, I'd be interested to know what the distribution of salaries looks like.

I'm retired now, but one thing I learned in my working days is that there is no easy way to make a lot of money. The people earning the big money, no matter what they do, are the ones who are willing to bust their asses for long hours every day.

I've made a lot money during my years in the U.S.A., and I've worked very hard and worked extrordinary hours to do it.  I thank God every day for letting me come to this wonderful country where there is so much opportunity for those who know how to take advantage of it.

To me it's simple, the UPS drivers making the big money are those who don't complain about how many hours they have to work.  [wink]

 

[harry_]

Sign me up and I swear I won't step on the Festool boxes.

peter

I hear that!

 

[Leland]

UPS drivers are Teamsters while the Fedex guys are non-union.  That is why you see the average salary for UPS drivers in the mid $70 K range.

I have found that the Japanese Woodworkers and Wood Junkie are two dealers that package their shipments to protect them from the delivery abuse.

 

[NuggyBuggy]

To me it's simple, the UPS drivers making the big money are those who don't complain about how many hours they have to work.   [wink]

I don't think the UPS guys work harder than the guys at FedEx, Purolator, or any of a number of other courier companies, big or small.  My experience has been that UPS is a PITA to deal with, packages are always in way worse shape than FedEx'ed or Purolator'ed packages. But the abuse of packages by UPS employees is easier to understand now that I know they're Teamsters.

 

[joraft]

... But the abuse of packages by UPS employees is easier to understand now that I know they're Teamsters.

Why, is that in their rules?  [big grin]

 

[mikeneron]

I had my vac delivered with FedEx and the box came damaged...so it's not just UPS.  Not to mention left at the wrong address.  Thankfully my neighbor is a good guy and the damage was only to the box, although I am not sure how the vac wasn't damaged.

 

[tbellemare]

Shipping that way, you can expect damage.

Tom

 

[joraft]

I had my vac delivered with FedEx and the box came damaged...so it's not just UPS. 

I've certainly had some problems with UPS over the years, but over all my experience has been good. I'm lucky to have had the same drivers at both my home and shop for over ten years. Those guys always go above and beyond the call of duty for me (of course a nice fat envelope every Christmas doesn't hurt). When there is damage to a package, I suspect it's the handlers at the depot rather than either of my drivers. And it's my drivers who point it out first.

As has been said, it's the packing that makes the difference, no matter how it's shipped. And when it comes to Festool products, Bob M. always gets the packing right.

I've been getting more and more shipments sent through the USPS lately, and the reason seems to be lower cost (so the vendors are saying). Talk about frustrating experiences. The USPS tracking system is almost worthless, and shipments often go missing for days (sometimes weeks). And the bad attitude and stupidity level of the postal workers seems to be very high in my area. I've watched several times as a carrier will leave a notice in my mail box to pick up a package at the post office, ASSUMING I'm not home, but being too lazy to get out of the van and check. That means a trip down to the post office where I wait in a long line to get my stuff from a counter person who seems to be angry at me being there. Other times I've seen them toss a package on the porch from as far as 10 feet away. Any complaints to the postmaster always get only a shrug.

 

[Bob Marino]

I had my vac delivered with FedEx and the box came damaged...so it's not just UPS.  Not to mention left at the wrong address.  Thankfully my neighbor is a good guy and the damage was only to the box, although I am not sure how the vac wasn't damaged.

All those items need to be in their own outer box, especially the CT's.

Bob

 

[bonesbr549]

I recently ordered two used Festool products from different people and both items arrived with shipping damage.  One item had travelled upside down and experienced damage to the tool (mostly cosmetic) and the plastic insert was broken.  On the other item, two corners of the systainer were cracked.

I need to order some new stuff so I have a question.  Do any online dealers double box the products?  Also, what about opening the systainer and inserting some packing material so the tool isn't "floating around" inside the systainer.  For convenience, I'd like to order from online dealers.  But with 2 out of 3 orders arriving damaged I'm a little scared.

Unforthately it goes with the territory if you are going to do the mail order thang! I've had good stories and bad ones.  I've had a table saw arrived beat to hell (I refused shippment).  Recently I had a rail ordered and it arrived with the packing case destroyed and the rail wrapped in cardboard and taped by the carrier.  I called the dealer and he made it right and the second one came fine (thanks Bob).  It's a risk but you just have to take it in stride.