Horrible Vendor Experience shipping machines, what would YOU do?

[bluesman2a]

OK, long story short, I found a vertical bandsaw I wanted. Found it on Amazon and found a local dealer in Macon who could do the same price, and do free shipping, just like Amazon. Hey, I'm all for supporting local business.

Here's the email I sent the company when they had missed 4 scheduled deliveries:

On Wednesday July 27th, I called and ordered a Shopfox M1113 vertical bandsaw. As I spoke to the gentleman I ordered it from I was EXTREMELY clear that this is a residential delivery and would require a box-truck with a lift-gate on it. He stated that he could do this and match prices against Amazon.com. I live in Atlanta, so it's not like this is going to the other side of the world. I even offered to pick it up at the freight depot if they could get something nearby my home. I was told that I would get a call regarding shipping before the transaction finalized. I received no such call. The following comedy of errors ensued:

* When I phoned to follow-up, I was told that the closest terminal to me was in Conley Georgia, I live in Lawrenceville, Georgia this is over a 60 mile trip one way. Had I known this, it would have been better to drive to Macon! I was assured by your shipping representative that he would work out the details and call me back and it would be delivered on Thursday.

* I received no such call.

* When I called to follow up on Thursday morning, I was referred to THREE different phone numbers for Wilson Trucking. Once I finally found the right place, once again, I was VERY specific that it needed to NOT come out on a semi-truck

* At the end of the day Thursday, I was told that my saw would not be delivered because it was buried behind 53' of freight on a semi, but that it would go out on Friday 7-29 on a delivery truck with lift gate.

* When I called and spoke to the Wilson Trucking representative on the morning of 7-29, I was VERY clear in that a semi would NOT be able to deliver down my driveway. I was told it was going out as we spoke.

* When I called Wilson Trucking at the end of the day on Friday, I was advised that the bandsaw had not been loaded but WOULD go out without fail on Monday 8-1. I explained the the individual that I had already taken multiple days off work for this delivery and it was costing me money to wait around all day. I was EXTREMELY SPECIFIC here when I said, if it did not make it to my house on Monday it could go back to the shipper.

* On Monday morning, 8-1, I called Wilson Trucking again at 7:30AM, just to confirm delivery of the bandsaw. I was told to expect it between 2:00 and 4:00PM.

* Are you really surprised that it didn't happen?

* At 4:30 I called Wilson Trucking and spoke to their representative and was advised that the saw was left off the truck AGAIN, but that he would find a driver and send it to me right away if I could help the driver unload it.
I agreed.

* At 6:05PM I received a call from a Wilson Trucking representative who first told me they had not loaded ANYthing on the truck and the only thing they could send it in was a van (no lift gate). He then proceeded to ask me if it was OK to lay the saw down on its SIDE! I told him in no uncertain terms that I was not looking at the tool, that if such treatment damaged the tool I would not accept it, and that he needed to check with the shipper first. This conversation further devolved, and I told the representative that he should NOT ship the saw since he could not do it correctly, and it should be sent back to your company.

So as a customer, I have attempted to accommodate this delivery in every way, but for some reason it's like nobody involved in this process has EVER shipped equipment, much less to a residential address. I will be calling my credit card company to dispute/cancel the transaction, please do so on your side as well.

Now in fairness the company I bought the machine from was very accommodating. They offered a full refund to my card with apologies. I think this was GOOD customer service in this instance.

BUT
When I came home today would anybody like to guess what was sitting unattended in my driveway?

Yep. You got it. My saw. At this point, aside from principle which is HUGE, I cannot accept this saw. I have already ordered the replacement from Amazon (who has already sent me 3 email updates on where my new saw actually IS and when I can expect delivery).

The NEW email I just sent the company:

Wes,

I greatly appreciate the assistance sir, and agree with you 100%, times are tough right now. That's why I chose to do business with a Georgia company over an internet corporation. If there is one thing I have learned from this transaction, it is that Wilson trucking isn't doing your company any favors! I cannot imagine how this transaction could have been handled worse on their part. I was EXTREMELY clear with them when I last spoke to them, I told them NOT, REPEAT NOT, TO DELIVER the saw to me, and it needed to go BACK TO MACON.

Imagine my surprise when I arrived home this evening to find YOUR saw sitting unattended in MY driveway!

I wish to be EXTREMELY CLEAR HERE: I did NOT accept delivery of this tool. I will NOT accept any responsibility for this tool on my property. When I came home it was in an unsecured area, it will REMAIN unsecured until such time as your shipping company chooses to come pick it up. I refuse to touch it or take further time out of my life to take care of the problems with your shipping company. If it rains on it, or goes missing, or there are other issues due to the time it sat outside on my driveway, that is totally between your company and Wilson Trucking. Furthermore, if it is not gone from my property by close of business Thursday, August 4th 2011, I will have it removed by a recycling company, my home is not an equipment storage depot.

Should you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me via email or phone.

So what say ye garage journal? What would YOU do in this case? Is there anything I am missing here?

 

[Wastedwagesracing]

Looks to me like you did a fine job.

 

[Steevo]

If nobody signed for it, it never arrived at your house.

 

[arizonaadam]

I understand the annoyance but I tell my wife this all the time when she writes letters/emails. Nobody wants to read a book to get to your point.

 

[Rixter58]

Why is it that when you only need to know what time it is, some people feel like they need to tell you how to build a clock?

 

[TCJ1981]

So when you say "removed by recycling company" you really mean you got 2 now for the price of one. haha

 

[jeffk14]

I understand the annoyance but I tell my wife this all the time when she writes letters/emails. Nobody wants to read a book to get to your point.

Why is it that when you only need to know what time it is, some people feel like they need to tell you how to build a clock?

Everybody is too damned impatient these days to read more than a sentence or two.

The OP had a fairly convoluted story to tell which required a little bit of SPACE to tell. I thought he did a good job.

 

[Buckgnarly]

I sure as hell would not let it out in the rain to get ruined, nor would I send it off as scrap.....you did not want it, it got delivered anyway....sounds like you got two for the price of one, why let it get ruined?

 

[pattenp]

I understand the annoyance but I tell my wife this all the time when she writes letters/emails. Nobody wants to read a book to get to your point.

Why is it that when you only need to know what time it is, some people feel like they need to tell you how to build a clock?

Everybody is too damned impatient these days to read more than a sentence or two.

The OP had a fairly convoluted story to tell which required a little bit of SPACE to tell. I thought he did a good job.

100% agree with jeff.

 

[Tarheelgarage]

I would expect that within the next few days, there will be a listing on craigslist/Atlanta entitled: New, unused Shopfox bandsaw for sale.....

 

[Cobra5150]

I can be in Lawrenceville in 30 minutes. Oh, I own a recycling company, yeah that's it.

 

[bluesman2a]

I understand the annoyance but I tell my wife this all the time when she writes letters/emails. Nobody wants to read a book to get to your point.

That would be the POINT of the summary two lines saying "long story short," to deal with people who suffer from ADD and lack the general attention span of a gerbil on crack. If you didn't like those, why read on and comment?

Why is it that when you only need to know what time it is, some people feel like they need to tell you how to build a clock?

Why is it that when I wipe my WHOLE ****, it's only the **** HOLE that ever really cries for attention?

So when you say "removed by recycling company" you really mean you got 2 now for the price of one. haha

You know I thought about that for about half a second, but really all I want out of this is a fair transaction with a minimum of hassle. I'm not looking for something for nothing. I think that's a fair ask as a consumer. Now if people on the supply side start getting snitty with me, I may find myself needing to re-evaluate that position.

 

[jeffk14]

That would be the POINT of the summary two lines saying "long story short," to deal with people who suffer from ADD and lack the general attention span of a gerbil on crack. If you didn't like those, why read on and comment?




Why is it that when I wipe my WHOLE ****, it's only the **** HOLE that ever really cries for attention?

 

[70redbee]

I would not let it sit in the driveway. Put it in your garage until you have it all resolved. I know in your mind it is resolved, but really it is not. They will either pick it up or at some point you will have a free saw. I think you did a great write-up and wouldn't pay much attention to the nay sayers.

 

[back2class]

You need to cover with a tarp at least. The saw is owned by the seller, and they diserve at least your 5 min of effort to help prevent the damage possible should it rain.

 

[Rixter58]

That would be the POINT of the summary two lines saying "long story short," to deal with people who suffer from ADD and lack the general attention span of a gerbil on crack. If you didn't like those, why read on and comment?




Why is it that when I wipe my WHOLE ****, it's only the **** HOLE that ever really cries for attention?




You know I thought about that for about half a second, but really all I want out of this is a fair transaction with a minimum of hassle. I'm not looking for something for nothing. I think that's a fair ask as a consumer. Now if people on the supply side start getting snitty with me, I may find myself needing to re-evaluate that position.

You beat the brick and mortar vendor down to bottom shelf price of an online vendor and are now suprised that you didnt get top shelf service? I agree, both you and the vendor got crappy service from the truckline. That doesnt excuse you from the moral obligation of at least throwing a tarp over the bandsaw. No matter how you do the math, 2 wrongs still dont add up to 1 right. With the "****", "********" & "crying for attention" comments, you have described the transaction very well. Take the high road and at least cover it up.

 

[GrandmaSideways]

your last email was over the line for a company that's done nothing but get screwed over by a subcontractor that they have no control over. By your own admission they apologized and agreed to refund you the full amount, and Wilson trucking had control and FINALLY somehow mnaged to actually get it there (and dropped theball ven more in the process). I wouldn't want you as a customer after this, and your lack of respect for other people's property shows a lack of maturity.

 

[58Yeoman]

Again without a word, the blond reaches into her purse, hands the lawyer $5, and goes back to sleep.

For all the peeps that are too impatient to read the whole joke...that's the punch line.

 

[nehog]

I'm just going to wait to see the outcome of this story!

 

[Hmrhead]

+1 on at least throwing a tarp over it. The vendor did right by you with the refund. It's the shipper that caused all the problems.

 

[bluesman2a]

your last email was over the line for a company that's done nothing but get screwed over by a subcontractor that they have no control over. By your own admission they apologized and agreed to refund you the full amount, and Wilson trucking had control and FINALLY somehow mnaged to actually get it there (and dropped theball ven more in the process). I wouldn't want you as a customer after this, and your lack of respect for other people's property shows a lack of maturity.

Sorry, but I don't see it that way. I was complimentary of the company's service (and the fact that I have kept THEIR name out of this). I was critical of the shipper. The dispute at this point is between the shipper and the vendor. As to respect, I even called the company this morning and spoke to the rep to make sure they had the information necessary. I made it a point to thank them again for working with me, and make sure they understood I wasn't putting this on them.

You beat the brick and mortar vendor down to bottom shelf price of an online vendor and are now suprised that you didnt get top shelf service? I agree, both you and the vendor got crappy service from the truckline. That doesnt excuse you from the moral obligation of at least throwing a tarp over the bandsaw. No matter how you do the math, 2 wrongs still dont add up to 1 right. With the "****", "********" & "crying for attention" comments, you have described the transaction very well. Take the high road and at least cover it up.

A point of clarification here: I did NOT beat the brick and mortar vendor down on anything. The local vendor sells the EXACT same product on Ebay for the exact SAME price as Amazon. This is the MARKET price that all the vendors are carrying it at. The ONLY thing they worked with me on was not charging me the $50 extra that they normally would for liftgate delivery service. Considering the fact that they are just in Macon, they didn't seem too concerned about this. But yes, if I enter into a contract with a vendor I expect them to provide the service they signed up for as part of that contract to the best of their abilities. If they can't do it, then by all means say so and walk away!

In retrospect, I do agree with what you're saying about two wrongs. I'll admit, I wasn't thinking clearly about this last night. I was so pissed and so focused on NOT dealing with it any further that I didn't put it inside, which would mean having to haul everything back out in the morning so the shippers could get to it. I did not even THINK about tarping it. That's my fault and I really SHOULD have thought about it.

According to the forecast it wasn't SUPPOSED to rain last night. It didn't rain, it POURED. And yes, I do feel bad about that.

On the plus side: When I spoke to the vendor rep this morning, he was pretty upset with Wilson, and he mentioned what all he was making them "eat" on the deal. He then said, and if there's a SCRATCH on that saw, they are gonna eat that too. To which I mentioned the fact that it sat in the rain last night. I could hear the smile as he said... "Well then it's most likely FRIED..." I have a feeling Wilson will wind up owning most of this.

 

[romafern]

Looks to me like you did a fine job.

I second this! Well done! I had a similar experience when I ordered a kayak. Freight companies are a bunch of pendejos!

 

[Defender Chassis]

I think you handled it pretty well. I probably would have thrown some plastic over it knowing it was going to rain. Not so much for the vendor or the trucking company but because others will appreciate you for going out of your way to do the right thing.

 

[back2class]

I think what you did sucked. Didn't even bother to throw some plastic over it. You took something that could have been as simple as the vendor sending a guy to pick it up today and not paying the shipper into what can be a huge hassle for them.....simply because it made you fee better. Pretty darn low and classless thing to do. It takes all sorts to make the world go round...unfortunately.
Had you taken a more relaxed approach, then you would already have your saw in the shop and there would not be this trail of headaches left for CC companies, vendors, shippers and so on.

 

[Zeke]

1000's die of a heart attack each year. bluesman2a will be one of them someday. I know, I used to behave like that. 1 in every 2 things I attempt to buy or do doesn't happen because the world is totally flaky. I do save a lot of money because of the flakes.

Eventually I find some better deal somewhere else.

 

[pj_rage]

When I originally read your email, I thought maybe it was from some kind of legal standpoint that you were making it super clear that you didn't want ANY responsibility for the saw, which is why I thought you said it isn't your saw, it's just on your property and isn't your responsibility, didn't want to touch it, treat it like your saw (by covering it), etc. I can understand this, especially if the dispute with your CC hadn't ruled yet. You don't want to be doing anything to compromise that and make a bad situation worse by having two paid for saws.

But if it were me, and maybe you in hind sight, I probably would have sent a follow up email to the company telling them that you are either going to cover it or move it into your garage only because you do not want to see it ruined, but that you are still not accepting delivery for the item.

Just to be clear to others, I think he said that the forecast said it WASN'T supposed to rain, but did. He didn't know that it was going to rain ahead of time, or he may have covered it. But correct me if I'm wrong, OP.

The OP doesn't sound like a bad guy to me, but I do think he made a mistake by not covering it for the rain. Even if you noticed it was starting to rain unexpectedly and then moved or covered the saw. It may have gotten a little wet, but wouldn't have sat there getting poured on.

 

[nehog]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bailment

It would be worthwhile to read this small article, if one is ever in a similar situation.

 

[bluesman2a]

Just to be clear to others, I think he said that the forecast said it WASN'T supposed to rain, but did. He didn't know that it was going to rain ahead of time, or he may have covered it. But correct me if I'm wrong, OP.

The OP doesn't sound like a bad guy to me, but I do think he made a mistake by not covering it for the rain. Even if you noticed it was starting to rain unexpectedly and then moved or covered the saw. It may have gotten a little wet, but wouldn't have sat there getting poured on.

Correct on all points. I checked the weather, and it only called for something like 10% chance of rain later the next day. Took the dogs out around 11:00 and it was still clear. At 3:00AM God poured piss from a boot, and no I was not getting out of a warm bed to deal with it in the rain and lightning. Upon inspection when I got up, the exterior packing looked fine, it's cardboard, but didn't look water-damaged at all.

UPDATE: The saw is still here. The vendor notified me that he's already started the claim on the damaged equipment, and his main concern is that I just not send it to the scrapper before the truck from Wilson arrives. I've told him I will work with him but that I would appreciate a speedy resolution to the situation.

UPDATE on AMAZON: For those considering this kind of purchase, Amazon ROCKS!!!! The original delivery date they gave me was 8-8. I have been getting emails on the location of the shipment. Their service carrier is ABF. They notified me today that ABF had my new saw at the depot and could deliver it tomorrow or Saturday. I chose Saturday, and get this: the trucking representative asked me if a 28 foot truck with a lift-gate would be OK getting to the house. I chuckled and told her that would be JUST fine.

 

[TCJ1981]

Correct on all points. I checked the weather, and it only called for something like 10% chance of rain later the next day. Took the dogs out around 11:00 and it was still clear. At 3:00AM God poured piss from a boot, and no I was not getting out of a warm bed to deal with it in the rain and lightning. Upon inspection when I got up, the exterior packing looked fine, it's cardboard, but didn't look water-damaged at all.

UPDATE: The saw is still here. The vendor notified me that he's already started the claim on the damaged equipment, and his main concern is that I just not send it to the scrapper before the truck from Wilson arrives. I've told him I will work with him but that I would appreciate a speedy resolution to the situation.

UPDATE on AMAZON: For those considering this kind of purchase, Amazon ROCKS!!!! The original delivery date they gave me was 8-8. I have been getting emails on the location of the shipment. Their service carrier is ABF. They notified me today that ABF had my new saw at the depot and could deliver it tomorrow or Saturday. I chose Saturday, and get this: the trucking representative asked me if a 28 foot truck with a lift-gate would be OK getting to the house. I chuckled and told her that would be JUST fine.

No matter what some of the others say, you did everything legally you were supposed to do. Anything past that is just you being a good guy, which you have been. If your someone like me you don't have day upon days of vacation time to throw around because some cut rate delivery company can't get it together to do a simple drop-off. Yes, the vendor refunded your money, but that was the very least they should have done. This problem is the responsibility of the vendor/trucking company, not yours. They picked the shipping company, you didn't. Not your fault. I guarantee you they will try to stick it to the shipping company as a complete loss and get the entire purchase price back, repackage it, and sell it as new. Besides, if they wanted the saw back that bad, they would have sent someone to get it as soon as you emailed them the first time.

 

[billsill45]

I spent far too much of my career as a factory industrial sales rep. cleaning up messes created by common carrier truck lines: missed pick-up and delivery times and dates (sometimes missed weeks), freight shortages and damage, "lost" shipments, delivery to wrong addresses, incorrect delivery status information, carrier attempting delivery without liftgate equipment even when specified and prepaid on shipping paperwork, etc.

With some motor carriers, I learned to determine when they were lying ... their lips were moving.

 

[Johnny chaos]

I feel he did the right thing....Why did this all happen???? COMPLACENCY!!! The shipping company did not feel that this small residential package was an important delivery and treated the situation with complacency, hopefully they will be burdened by the replacement cost of this unit, maybe that will be enough of a lesson to correct this from happening again.

Hopefully the shipper will also learn that they should no longer do business with the trucking company.

If the OP had done anything differently then they (shipper and transport) probably would have just gone on business as usual. Now possibly because of what he has done they can look at this as a turning point and correct the breakdowns in this transaction.

 

[bluesman2a]

Thanks for the kind words folks, I'm really trying not to be a d!ck about this. Everybody makes mistakes, and I judge companies in how well they recover from them. This one passed WAY OVER my threshold, they took my valuable vacation time and I've had to drop stuff to come deal with the situation several times. At that point I consider it a training opportunity for them.

UPDATE: the saw was still here when we got back from dinner at 8:30 (I owe my wife $1 on that bet now). At 10:00PM IN THE FRIKKEN NIGHT, I get a call from the driver, can't find my house in the dark (and I most pointedly did NOT say perhaps you should have been here sometime in the last 15 hours!!!). Then he couldn't turn his 24' truck around in my driveway (I regularly spin 1-ton duallies with tandem axle trailers around in my driveway). Then he needed snips to cut the bands so he could pack it. Then he took 15 minutes futzing with all the stuff restrapping the pallet jack. Sheesh, let's just say I can remember a time when drivers were PROFESSIONALS. Finally left about 10 minutes ago....

So on to Saturday... I'm hoping that the next delivery will be a little more drama-free, you know like a company that does it for MONEY, like professionals.

 

[ZRX61]

Then he needed snips to cut the bands so he could pack it.

I'd have taken photos of that, now the shipper can claim you unpacked it..

 

[granitestater]

You beat the brick and mortar vendor down to bottom shelf price of an online vendor and are now suprised that you didnt get top shelf service? I agree, both you and the vendor got crappy service from the truckline. That doesnt excuse you from the moral obligation of at least throwing a tarp over the bandsaw. No matter how you do the math, 2 wrongs still dont add up to 1 right. With the "****", "********" & "crying for attention" comments, you have described the transaction very well. Take the high road and at least cover it up.

I would not say he beat them down. He asked if they could price match and they did. The seller chose the shipper. They need to know that their chosen shipper caused this mess. Maybe his letter will prevent this mess from happening to the next guy.

If it were me, I would have cancelled the amazon order before it shipped. You have the saw you wanted. Now just enjoy it.

I agree with all who said move it inside or cover with a tarp.

 

[darkk]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bailment
It would be worthwhile to read this small article, if one is ever in a similar situation.

Bailment: recieved for safeguarding: This refers to someone that has agreed to *safeguard* the item. The OP called while the item was still *on the dock* at the shipping company. The shipping company is responsible for leaving it unattended where it was specifically told *not* to leave it. It was essentially abandonded by the shipping company. They(shipping company)figured if they dropped it off anyways that the OP would accept it. If I was the OP, I would have just disappeared it and said?? what saw? In most states if something is delivered that you didn't order, it's yours free*note* The item was cancelled before it was loaded on the truck...*considered not ordered* at that point.
He is na unintentional Bailee, as long as he doesn't do damage he is free and clear. He did notify them in advance. It is still in the shippers care...

The saw is not ruined because it got wet. As long as it is not connected to power until it dries out, it will be fine. I would disassemble to wipe and lubricate everything at this point if I were to take it.

 

[bluesman2a]

Just a quick update here:

The saw from Amazon arrived on Saturday, as promised, 2 days before projected delivery.

The driver, from ABF was on time, drove his truck well, and there was generally less ***-hattery to the entire experience. It was handled like professionals do it.

In retrospect, when I unboxed the new saw, I am happy to report the ENTIRE thing is encased in a single THICK plastic bag. here is NO way that rain could possibly damage the other saw other than the exterior cardboard getting soggy.

The entire saw is powder-coated, with the exception of the table surface which had a decent coating of cosmoline. All in all I'm pretty happy with the packing. The saw shipped with a wood blade and I ran out of time this weekend to get things setup.

I have a new bi-metal blade coming in for it tomorrow, so I'll probably fool with it a bit more later in the week and post impressions.