Any words of wisdom that I can do to avoid said shipping issues? As soon as my paperwork comes back from the state, I want to get my order in the cue. Shipping is the biggest heartburn for me. Seems like a ton of money down the drain.
Not Really. Mine was screwed up about every way possible. Probably only one thing was even remotely Arclights fault.
First, I requested that the table NOT be delivered a particular week, as I was going to be out of town. That was missed, and it was being delivered that week, but got to me the morning of the day I was supposed to leave.
The unit HAS to be dropped at a loading dock or with a fork lift with extra long forks. I had neither, so their recommended option C was a flatbed that tilts, back the flatbed up to the semi and roll it on (comes with wheels, but you will need a floor jack and tools to engage wheels). So this was going to work.
The guy who was the contact between me, arclight and the shipper was on vacation while my table was in transit, so a lot was missed (ship window, notifications etc), not really anyones fault, just irritating.
I was told I'd get at least an hour notice before the table was dropped off. I received a call saying the semi was at the drop point. So, I had to frantically get a hold of the flat bed and get it over to the truck ASAP.
We off loaded from the truck and noticed some small parts were bent, not a big deal. Once I got the table into place, the table had a lot more bends. Honestly, had it not been an arclight table with the 8020 construction, it would have needed to be sent back.
Turns out the damage was caused when the table was removed from one truck and put into another, probably in chicago. This is something that isn't supposed to happen, we (me and arclight) actually pay more in shipping so this doesn't happen.
Arclight worked with me and sent me all new parts that were bent and even a small refund to cover my time. It was really a good experience. I knew it wasn't their fault and they made sure everything was right.
So, in my opinion, my shipping experience was kind of unique, and unlikely to be repeated.
Just make sure you have a plan for how you will get it into the shop it is a HEAVY beast. If you have any questions on site prep or anything, let me know.