Have you ever reached your limit with Freight Shipping?

[Charles Davis]

Ok, I sort of lost it today... :mad:

First let me preface today's freight debacle with my previous freight experience.

Bought Grizzly G0490 8" jointer a month ago. Scheduled freight delivery appointment for 10-5 pm one day and took a vacation day to be home for delivery. My girlfriend called the freight company that morning and confirmed that it would be delivered sometime in the afternoon. I call at 5:15 pm to get status and was informed that they bumped the shipment to tomorrow. Not a single call was made to me to inform me of this. Infuriated, I simply go with it and make futher arrangements to be home for delivery.

Now to today, I purchased the Laguna LT14SE bandsaw. Talked with local freight yesterday and scheduled delivery in the 12-3pm time frame. Again, I take a vacation day to be home and in fact this is my very last vacation day! It's 2:30 and my stomach starts to churn as I get flashbacks to the jointer. So, I call and am told that they attempted delivery twice at 10:30am and 12:30pm... OK, I've been up since 10:30 with front door open and even working in garage with door open since noon. I check my work voicemail and there is a message from the driver saying that he'd been there twice and can't wait any longer... complete BS unless he went to wrong address... and for the kicker, the voicemail has a timestamp of 11:30 exposing the obvious lie of attempted delivery of 12:30 (which would have been in the arranged time frame coincidentally)... I already knew it was BS given that I had been staring at my front yard all day... in case I perhaps blacked out for a time period I checked with my neighbors to see if they saw a tractor-trailer come by and idle twice on our low-trafficed back road and no dice. So, infuriated by burning my last vacation day and having the shipping company fail to meet their end of the agreement I called them and told them I refuse delivery (based on their failures) and they are to return ship this bandsaw back across the country (from NJ to CA). I would probably would have just rescheduled delivery but the fact that I was lied to about attempted delivery and/or delivery times put me over the top. Did I want this saw, Yes... but for some strange reason I just don't regret the move at all... I simply had enough. Freight companies should have accountability.

I called EDI express who did the long haul across the country and told them that my refusal is the complete fault of the local delivery company and I have no issues with EDI. I will call laguna as well to explain my refusal and order cancellation (they shouldn't have to pay for shipping on this at all). Maybe, just maybe, lost business such as this will force these local freight companies to be held to higher level of accountability. Nobody should be able to run a delivery company where they make the customer allocate a day of availability and then not meet their obligations to deliver.

Think I'm just gonna go to Woodcraft and grab a Rikon... will save much money anyway.... The LT14SE with a set of blades and resaw king (which looked to be an awesome resaw blade) was over 2K.

Sorry, had to vent... I know people are going to call me crazy for refusing shipment, but honestly I cannot explain my physical reaction to this. I'm the type of person that rarely if ever makes waves but, wow, when your buttons get pressed, they get pressed! What do you guys think... similar experiences?

[Michael Sobik]

What a hassle. I don't know if I'd have sent the saw back, but that's just me. I have the very same saw you ordered and had no problems with delivery. Did the freight company offer any sort of explanation?

[Charles Davis]

Yeah, I realize this is an over-reaction. This is my one "falling down" moment (remember that movie?)... No, The shipping company offered no explanation but that was second hand from EDI. The local company failed to call me even when directed to do so by EDI. The only thing I got back through the channels was that the driver was over a hundred miles away (at 2:30pm) so they wouldn't be able to deliver today... later when I called back to inform EDI that I had refused redelivery on another day with the local company, EDI asked me how late I'd be home and I told them all night and I would accept delivery anytime today... I'm assuming they're not going to try delivery later tonight as I haven't heard back (ohhh wait, I guess it is possible that they'll decide to take some action without informing me.... lol).

[Craig D Peltier]

I had a freight company that was delivering a grizzly jointer reschedule to the next day as well without telling me.I was upset as well.
I work from home so it was okay, it was just the point.

Sorry for the furstration, it would of done the same to me. They suck.:D

[Dave Lehnert]

Yes! very, very frustrating but buying items FOB is a risk we must take. Buying from a local retailer puts all the burden on them. I work in retail and the scenario you give is not uncommon at all for us. Dealing with a freight company is much different than dealing with say a delivery from Sears or Lowe's. With a freight company I am lucky to get a day of delivery let alone a time. Drivers get held up getting unloaded at a stop before you and puts them behind for the day. It has also gotten much worse since gas prices is higher. They just wont send out a truck till it's full.

[Dave Sweeney]

In my opinion, if more people took the course of action that you chose then situations like this wouldn't happen as often as they do.

[Tom Godley]

Home delivery with freight companies is always a pain -- The vast majority of the work they do is commercial with loading docks.

I almost feel they do the home deliveries as a courtesy to the industrial customers.

The whole system is not set up to make all the allowances for the home delivery - I am surprised the shippers do it for as small an up charge as they do.

I am not making excuses - but this is the reality. With fuel prices the way they are it is getting more problematic.

I have had some issue with almost every single delivery I have ever had to my home that was by a fright company.

And they all get lost!!

[Steve Clardy]

I never have machinery delivered here at my shop/home.
I schedule the shipments to be delivered at the place [lumber yard] where I buy materials.

Then I pick it up when I can.

[Ross Ellis]

I have had some whacky dealings with freight companies also. I had a quote on an item at $200 from Pittsburgh and that it would be a week till they could ship. I called another branch of the same company in NC. Called them and they quoted $120......10 times the distance 80 miles less.

I believe the above poster than mentioned fuel prices is right on track.

A tip for anyone shipping freight. I mention this as I have noticed some people here have tractors or skid loaders etc. This works for me as I am very rural and have a place for a semi to pull off, and have no low clearance or other issues. If you tell the shipper your home address is a business, they don't care as long as you can get the pallet off their truck...

[Tom Veatch]

... Maybe, just maybe, lost business such as this will force these local freight companies to be held to higher level of accountability. Nobody should be able to run a delivery company where they make the customer allocate a day of availability and then not meet their obligations to deliver.

Sympathize with the rant, and totally agree with the accountability issue. But, I wonder whether your action in refusing delivery will have the desired effect.

I don't know what contractual clauses/tariff schedules might hold in a case like this, but I suspect that it winds up with Laguna paying for two cross country hauls instead of one with neither the local nor the cross country hauler losing any business as a result.

Now, if Laguna avoids using EDI Express in the future, EDI will lose business, but they weren't at fault in the incident. And if they, as a consequence, avoid using your local freight company, the local freighter will lose business. But, somehow, I doubt seeing that happen, with the only result being that both companies get two hauls instead of one out of the deal. But, we can always hope.

What I have done in the past, is request that the originating shipper route through a specific local terminal. Might be that the best thing you could do when arranging a shipment is to request that it be routed through a different local terminal and cut the offending company completely out of the loop. And, if you can handle picking it up from the terminal, ask that it be held at the terminal. That's what I do since getting freight trucks into my location would be a very big hassle and it puts scheduling the "delivery" entirely in my court.

[glenn bradley]

In my opinion, if more people took the course of action that you chose then situations like this wouldn't happen as often as they do.

LOML handles this sort of thing for a global company. The shipping companies lose TONS of money through mis-management, damaged goods and unscrupulous drivers/warehouse-workers. Some of the figures she deals with during one week would bankrupt a small outfit.

I'm afraid the pain you are trying to place on the company will go unnoticed. I say afraid, because I too think consumers need to send a message to the service industries that this sort of thing will drive business elsewhere and I don't think they get it.

OK, I'm done.

[Peter Quinn]

I have never had an issue with either of my local freight companies, ABF and Old Dominion. Both have been reliable and stuck to their schedules. I have had things shipped to my home with a lift gate and to my work place where there is a dock and fork truck.

Sorry for your pain, but my guess is if they feel they can behave that way in the first place, your response will do little to affect them. Can you back charge them for time lost at work? Now that might get their attention, refuse delivery and make them pay your lost wages?

Good luck band saw shopping.

[Paul Johnstone]

I had a similiar experience buying my first big tool online. Spent a vacation day waiting for the machine to show up. Never did. Called, they promised the next morning. Never came again. Finally, it showed up in the evening the third day.

I guess it was nice they scheduled an evening delivery, but wasting 2 days vacation canceled out the $$ savings for me.

Since then, I only got the super great deal on the DJ-20 about a year ago. I figured that was good enough to waste several vacation days, if need be. :lol:

I also have read some of the horror stories on forums of damaged equipment, missing parts, etc. Sure, the companies eventually make things right, but I don't want to spend 3 weeks waiting for parts and fixing a new tool. Not worth it. buy locally.

[Joe Mioux]

I am a small business owner. I receive stuff from freight co's all the time. I never worry about my business stuff arriving between the hours 12;30- 2:00 when its business related.

During certain times of the year, I receive product at midnight or 2 am or 4 am or 6 am. One trucker calls me and tells me to leave a door open so I don't have to come up to the shop in the middle the night.

My point is truckers and trucking co's work on their schedule so they are most efficient. Your schedule is secondary. It is just a fact of life.

However, in the past two years, i have received several WW tools via Freight at my home and i know what it is like to anticipate that 53' trailer delivering your/mine big shipment. It's fun and exciting.

Here are a couple suggestions....

Always get the trucker's cell phone number. You avoid alot of third party conversations with dispatchers who may not be lying, but rather, they just may not know what happened and are giving your their best guesses.

If you ordered a lift gate, contact the freight company and make sure the truck with your shipment does indeed have a lift gate.

and lastly, Paid vacation days don't exist for many people. your complaint about losing your last vacation day may rub some independent businessmen the wrong way.

Joe

[Matt Campbell]

I've had a customer refuse shipment of something I've shipped, and I/my business had to eat the return shipment cost. I just wonder if Laguna had to do the same.

[Charles Davis]

your complaint about losing your last vacation day may rub some independent businessmen the wrong way.

lol... well that's rather ridiculous on so many levels so I won't even address it.

The overarching point here is that freight delivery needs to get with the times. With the technology at hand there's simply no excuse for the performance and communication that I have been experiencing. I get the feeling that these local freight companies are using the same scheduling and communication models from 50 years ago. Time for them to upgrade and optimize and vastly improve communication...

[Steve Kosh]

Can I ask a dumb question? Why are the trailers 53' long? Why not 50' or 55' ?

[Charles Davis]

I've had a customer refuse shipment of something I've shipped, and I/my business had to eat the return shipment cost. I just wonder if Laguna had to do the same.
Since the original post I've been talking with Laguna and they're putting some heat down on the local shipping company (which is exactly how this should work). I'm sorry that you lost money in your instance. These are the type of situations where companies like yourself and Laguna need to hold the local shippers accountable for there incompetence. They are a shipping company... some of the posts here make it sound like we're lucky they deliver to us. They are getting paid to provide a service... Laguna and myself are customers. If they make an agreement to deliver in a narrow 3 or 6 hour time frame I don't think it's that unreasonable to expect them to meet that obligation. I've seen a low bar in expected performance in many areas, but, as demonstrated in some of these posts, the bar for local freight delivery is very, very low

[Joe Mioux]

Ok, I sort of lost it today... :mad:

First let me preface today's freight debacle with my previous freight experience.

Bought Grizzly G0490 8" jointer a month ago. Scheduled freight delivery appointment for 10-5 pm one day and took a vacation day to be home for delivery. My girlfriend called the freight company that morning and confirmed that it would be delivered sometime in the afternoon. I call at 5:15 pm to get status and was informed that they bumped the shipment to tomorrow. Not a single call was made to me to inform me of this. Infuriated, I simply go with it and make futher arrangements to be home for delivery.

Now to today, I purchased the Laguna LT14SE bandsaw. Talked with local freight yesterday and scheduled delivery in the 12-3pm time frame. Again, I take a vacation day to be home and in fact this is my very last vacation day! It's 2:30 and my stomach starts to churn as I get flashbacks to the jointer. So, I call and am told that they attempted delivery twice at 10:30am and 12:30pm... OK, I've been up since 10:30 with front door open and even working in garage with door open since noon. I check my work voicemail and there is a message from the driver saying that he'd been there twice and can't wait any longer... complete BS unless he went to wrong address... and for the kicker, the voicemail has a timestamp of 11:30 exposing the obvious lie of attempted delivery of 12:30 (which would have been in the arranged time frame coincidentally)... I already knew it was BS given that I had been staring at my front yard all day... in case I perhaps blacked out for a time period I checked with my neighbors to see if they saw a tractor-trailer come by and idle twice on our low-trafficed back road and no dice. So, infuriated by burning my last vacation day and having the shipping company fail to meet their end of the agreement I called them and told them I refuse delivery (based on their failures) and they are to return ship this bandsaw back across the country (from NJ to CA). I would probably would have just rescheduled delivery but the fact that I was lied to about attempted delivery and/or delivery times put me over the top. Did I want this saw, Yes... but for some strange reason I just don't regret the move at all... I simply had enough. Freight companies should have accountability.

I called EDI express who did the long haul across the country and told them that my refusal is the complete fault of the local delivery company and I have no issues with EDI. I will call laguna as well to explain my refusal and order cancellation (they shouldn't have to pay for shipping on this at all). Maybe, just maybe, lost business such as this will force these local freight companies to be held to higher level of accountability. Nobody should be able to run a delivery company where they make the customer allocate a day of availability and then not meet their obligations to deliver.

Think I'm just gonna go to Woodcraft and grab a Rikon... will save much money anyway.... The LT14SE with a set of blades and resaw king (which looked to be an awesome resaw blade) was over 2K.

Sorry, had to vent... I know people are going to call me crazy for refusing shipment, but honestly I cannot explain my physical reaction to this. I'm the type of person that rarely if ever makes waves but, wow, when your buttons get pressed, they get pressed! What do you guys think... similar experiences?


lol... well that's rather ridiculous on so many levels so I won't even address it.

The overarching point here is that freight delivery needs to get with the times. With the technology at hand there's simply no excuse for the performance and communication that I have been experiencing. I get the feeling that these local freight companies are using the same scheduling and communication models from 50 years ago. Time for them to upgrade and optimize and vastly improve communication...

Refer to the bold text.

you brought it up twice.

Let's get something straight, not every member here works for a company that gives its workers paid vacations.

your comment to me was insulting!

Grow up. sounds to me like you got cold feet buying the Laguna.

joe

[Charles Davis]

Cold feet, not at all... in fact from subsequent conversations, we're on the road to working it all out... thanks for you concern though!

I'm sorry you are sensitive to the fact that some people work in a lifeless cube and get vacation days as part of their compensation. Every job has positives and negatives and financial tradeoffs all of which amount to compensation. Paid vacation days are part of the reimbursement for the job I work. Other people that chose other lines of work may get paid more by the hour or whatever... it is part of the equation. I apologize that my crappy job comes with some vacation days that I usually take to do work around the house (haven't actually taken a vacation in over 10 years). I will attempt to be more sensitive and try not to audaciously flaunt my vacation days in the future. I once also received a company t-shirt and am now concerned that I shouldn't wear it in public as others may have not received one from their place of employment.

[Charles Davis]

By the way Joe, the icon you use shows a very nice house... nicer than mine in fact and probably many others here on this forum... hmmm... some probably live in apartments... and maybe some are homeless and read this blog from the library... I find that icon to be very insenstive to these people...

Hmmm, wonder what the view would be like from the house if it were all glass???

[Glenn Howard]

I once also received a company t-shirt and am now concerned that I shouldn't wear it in public as others may have not received one from their place of employment.

That made me laugh so hard, I almost spit coffee on my monitor.

[Don Selke]

Why do many freight companies hate to deliver to residences? Most shippers use brokers and owner-operators for over the road deliveries.

New tractor $120.000.00 - $160.000.00, trailer $30.000.00 to $45.000.00, Operating expences of equipment $2.00 per mile, long hours, little down time. If credit for new equipment dries up , who knows what will happen. Most tractors will last 3 to 5 million miles before replacement. When traveling coast to coast, a million miles is nothing.

If the trend keeps up and the indipendents give up, you will have to wait 4 to 6 weeks for any delivery.

[Peter Quadarella]

I simply don't get the Freight Shipping services. The service is so poor... at this point I will just hope I can get a somewhat functional device within 2-3 deliveries. If I held out for flawless I would never be able to accept a shipment.

There are large companies involved, like Grizzly, that know they are doing business with a large amount of hobbiests who have to be inconvenienced during each failed delivery since they have to stay home. It seems like they would work towards fixing some of these issues.

Of course, as with most things, I'm sure the problem is larger than an outsider can realize.

[Tom Godley]

If you go to a common carrier/freight yard you will notice that very few of the trucks have lifts on them - delivering to private residences is a very small part of the bulk freight business.

I am not in this business but have had a fair amount of experience both in the USA and overseas.

When you order furniture from say Restoration Hardware/ Crate and Barrel or Frontgate -- They use a delivery service -- DS are the people who do residential delivery.

When you want to minimize the deliver problems you need to make arrangements for a delivery service to do the final step to you house - but you are going to pay more than the $75.00 fee to get them to do it.

Many bulk carriers do not even offer this service to the originator - you need to contract this individually.

I recently ordered a large $$ tool that included special delivery because of the location of my home and the size of the tool - I paid an extra $350.00 for this final arrangement for a small lift truck and an extra man. When a semi trailer showed up with only the driver - I would like to say I was shocked -- but I just shook my head?

Have you been on a plane recently -- when I was a kid they gave you champagne and salmon. Now we smile if the seat is clean and it works!

I'm not saying this is all correct -- it is just the reality and all you can do is minimize the problems with the best communication possible and some luck.

[Alan Schwabacher]

There are plenty of reasons a truck might not make it on a planned schedule. That is frustrating for today's customers, who expect to be notified if a schedule changes. However, the biggest problem I got from this story was that the trucking company lied, which is very different from simply missing a schedule. I would speculate that that is what really made the OP mad enough to refuse delivery.

[Charles Davis]

There are plenty of reasons a truck might not make it on a planned schedule. That is frustrating for today's customers, who expect to be notified if a schedule changes. However, the biggest problem I got from this story was that the trucking company lied, which is very different from simply missing a schedule. I would speculate that that is what really made the OP mad enough to refuse delivery.

You are 100% correct. The lying was what flipped my switch. I was told that delivery was attempted at 10:30 and 12:30... I was sitting here waiting. Maybe he was at the wrong address? But it would be hard for me to miss there rig on my road and my road is uniquely named (no other similarly named streets in my state). What more or less confirmed the untruthfulness is that when I checked my voicemail where the driver stated he had made two attempts it was time stamped at 11:30 not 12:30... perhaps they just made it 12:30 so that it was actually a delivery attempted during the 12-3 time frame that it was supposed to be delivered. But, yes if they had just said either he got lost or redispatched or whatever I would have been aggravated but nowhere near the level I achieved when they started to assert that I wasn't home for delivery which is %100 unequivocally false.

After "sleeping it off" I'll be accepting the delivery. But after two really bad experiences in a row (and 3 lifetime) no one can tell me that system ain't broke. And I'm not talking about the drivers... I'm talking about scheduling, dispatch and communication. There are a lot of software solutions to manage these issues but from my experiences I'm visualizing a much less modern system behind the scenes. We need a UPS type company to get in this market... I'd pay more for shipping from a professional shipping service. I'm sure as the click-and-ship model of general product purchasing online continues to grow at a substantial rate that better delivery companies will come into the fold. The currently overall small market of freight to local residences will be finding greater and greater demand so maybe competitiveness for that work will also drive quality.

In the end, whatever... I should have this saw shortly... until my next freight delivery I'll be focusing on resolving world hunger. :)

[Tom Godley]

With the freight operators I have found it is all a guess on time - - sometimes the driver does not even have the time on his sheet.

You call the office - the office calls a dispatcher -- who makes a guess. The actual day of delivery another dispatcher and loader do the truck and the whole guess is out the window.

The drivers get lost all the time -- I have never had a freight driver show up with GPS - ever-!!

And for the most part all the special instructions on the waybill are ignored!

The guy could have been lost - Called on the phone - He may not have even released what time it was. So many people don't have watches - they just look at the phone. He calls a number that you can not answer -- off he goes!

It is frustrating -- I know!

[Scott Wigginton]

I'm not saying this is all correct -- it is just the reality and all you can do is minimize the problems with the best communication possible and some luck.

And that is what it all boils down to. So many issues could be resolved if the party having a problem would take the effort to contact the other party to appraise them of the situation. If the trucker is stuck at the previous stop for 3 hours be it for traffic or the lift broke, just call and let me know. That way instead of being stuck in a rut I'll I can dedicate my precious time to doing something productive (maybe not, but at least enjoyable!)

Too many businesses get by with lousy communications, and it is our fault as consumers for not calling them to task. I've gotten to the point where when I do business with someone, I let it be known upfront what I expect in terms of communication. All I demand of them is to make the effort, not perfection. A lot of places don't like this, but there are places out there that appreciate and are upfront with me when something screws the pooch. They don't have to worry about lame-duck excuses or risk losing my business.

Quick anecdote:

I drop my car off at a local repair shop and have 'em call me when the work's done. Sometimes they would never call and the work was done. Other times I'd call them and ask for the status and they'd have found some problem and had the gall to say they were waiting on me to tell them what I wanted them to do when they had never called me in the first place! Last time that happened I demanded to speak to the manager on duty. He beat around the bush pretty much blaming me for any issues I was having, so I called his regional manager who was extremely receptive. After that they always made the effort of trying to reach me, which was all I was asking for.

Moral of the story: Stuff happens, but let me know so I can go Woodcraft and buy more toys, er, I mean acquiring tools that are necessary :D to complete my honey-do list!

[Matt Meiser]

Uh, there is a UPS-type company in this market. They are called UPS Freight. I bet they don't operate the same way as regular UPS though. :)

For their average customer, the whenever-you-can-deliver-today-or-tomorrow plan probably works most of the time because the recipient probably didn't have to change their plans to be there to accept delivery and there probably isn't the emotional factor of waiting impatiently for your new toy (which you know we all do!) It probably allows them to operate a lot more efficiently and, just guessing, but I'd bet they don't always know what exactly they are doing each day. I imagine if they get calls for pickups that are near their planned route they try to work those in to save time and fuel.

Frequently when I do business with a place that is primarily focused on serving other businesses I get the impression that they aren't particularly thrilled to help me out. A couple of lumberyards around here are/were that way. One has the nerve to send me and all my neighbors ads all the time clearly listing their hours as 7-5 M-F. No weekends or evenings. Now I could probably go at lunch time, but the idea that they want my business but don't want to be open during times that are convenient to me really turns me off. A couple of the others are now out of business and I'd bet with the drastic decline in new housing starts the rest are wishing that I was shopping with them instead of the Borg. But I'd bet they don't even get why I do. I rarely deal with MSC either because I've had problems and have heard numerous other stories--particularly problems with getting way overcharged for shipping. Grainger also tends to be in that camp, though now that Michigan Farm Bureau (who is my insurance company) has an agreement with them where all FB members shop under one giant cash-and-carry account which makes us look like one big customer. On the other hand I know of a few places that I'd guess do a pretty good niche business dealing with individuals because they take care of them so well. McMaster-Carr and Accurate Bearing immediately come to mind.

[alex grams]

I am in the exact same situation at the moment.

Was due to have a DC delivered on Tuesday after 3pm. I scheduled a delivery window from 3-7pm on that day, and took a couple of personal hours from work to be home. I was told the driver may or may not call before coming by, so I needed to be there during that time.

The driver calls, but gets my voice mail and leaves a message with his return number, but either he is standing in a wind tunnel or there is another hurricane in Houston, because no way I could understand what numbers he said. I call the terminal to confirm with the driver, but they can't get hold of him. The schedule gets pushed back another day and I am told it will be delivered on Wednesday.

I call the next morning at 7am to confirm the delivery for that Wednesday after 4. Then I get a call at about 10am asking when I want to reschedule the delivery. Obviously the left and right hands at the terminal never meet. The second person also confirms after 4 that day. So again I leave a little early to be home for delivery

Well, at about 7pm that evening with no delivery, I call the terminal. They say it didn't get put on a trailer that day and will have to reschedule, and the scheduler will call me the next morning to reschedule. But of course this means they won't be able to get it on a truck in the morning to be delivered that Thursday. So I ask to speak to someone can actually figure stuff out. After speaking to the Asst. Terminal Manager, he says he will leave a note that it be put on a truck Thursday morning to be delivered, but that he won't be in on thursday morning, so I have to 'hope' someone gets the note and does it.

So I call Thursday morning to confirm delivery and that it is on the trailer. So once again I will leave work early (making my boss VERY happy) and 'hope' it gets delivered.

I think if they miss this delivery I am going to tell them to return the item back to Grizzly, and I will call Grizzly and either request they reship it back down with someone other than UPS or lose a sale.

Also, I find it hard to be mad at the driver, because 99% of the time he is not at fault and is generally VERY friendly and helpful in unloading items, and he probably gets jerked around as much as I do when having to fix problems created at the terminal.

And Joe Mioux, I am not sure what value or relevance your comments really had other than to try and inflame other members of SMC and to show disrespect and make a civil thread possibly uncivil.

[Mike Wilkins]

Personally I think you did the right thing by refusing shipment. But I think these freight companies mainly ship to industrial or commercial firms, and treat one-time customers with less respect.
I had my last machine order dropped at the local FedEx terminal, which is much easier for their big trucks. The guys at the FedEx terminal loaded my J/P machine on my pickup, and I gladly slipped the fork truck driver a 20 spot.
You may want to look into having machines dropped at a local freight terminal and drive there yourself to pick it up. And they are open after 5PM.

[Curt Harms]

.....
The drivers get lost all the time -- I have never had a freight driver show up with GPS - ever-!!

And for the most part all the special instructions on the waybill are ignored!

......

I've thought about the GPS thing. Given the cost of fuel & labor, not having GPS in delivery vehicles seems penny wise & pound foolish in the extreme. I had this to a minor extent with a Jet J/P which is the only home freight delivery we've had in the last decade. The local freight company called and said to expect a delivery that day. The shipper specified and paid for lift gate service. The driver called from nearby and said "uh....do you have a loading dock:eek:" Uh no, we live in a townhouse community. A few phone calls later, the machine went back and returned the next day with the proper trailer. The driver was apologetic but it wasn't his fault, his company rarely makes residential deliveries. There certainly was a breakdown in communications between the freight carrier that move the machine from Tennessee to Philly and the carrier from Philly to my house. There was no apparent dishonesty, just a flawed process.

Curt

[Rod Sheridan]

Boy, deliveries, and delivery horror stories abound on this forum.

In industry, stuff rarely arrives on the date promised, it's usually a day late unless it's something that special arrangements have to be made for ( cranes, permits etc).

Home delivery seems to be worse when using normal forwarders, however using a service that specializes in this makes the event go as planned. A delivery service can schedule their people, trucks, lift trucks etc to be arrive with the machinery that has been shipped to their yard. They can take it off the pallets, move it upstairs/downstairs/through windows, or whatever has been arranged for previously.

When my last purchase arrived (a Hammer A3-31) the machine was uncrated and placed in my garage by the dealer, on the specified date/time. I wasn't even home, my neighbour let them in. They had a truck with a lift gate, a pallet jack and two people to move the equipment. I had to pay for it, however there wasn't a scratch on the equipment, and it was in the exact location specified. Money well spent.

Regards, Rod.

[Mark Patoka]

Wow, I feel like the odd man out as I don't have a horror story, yet. Prior to last week I never had to use freight delivery but just ordered my new Grizzly bandsaw and had no problems with UPS Freight. As soon as I tracked it being delivered to the freight terminal 40 miles away on Wednesday, I called the national number, got patched through to the terminal and scheduled delivery for Friday after 1pm (yes, I had to take vacation time also to be there).

Found out Friday deliveries in my area are made with the "short" truck and it had a lift-gate so the driver was able to unload it and we pulled the pallet jack right into my garage and away he went. I was the 2nd last delivery of the day and he arrived around 4pm. Absolutely pleased with this delivery.

I did talk to the driver and he said the number of deliveries have been down and looking at his schedule driving him all over creation, I could see any type of traffic snarl would've severely impacted his schedule. Hopefully I won't run into the problems some of you have had in the future.

[Tom Godley]

I have learned not to try to do things the next day with the shipper after a problem. By the time the truck gets back to the terminal it may not even be noticed until the next day and it becomes too late.

When the freight company calls - usually the office - I always ask for the number of the terminal where the shipment is located so I can call them directly. I also ask them if they could please put my cell phone number on any paperwork and enter it into the computer. I also add that a call ahead would be great - so can you put that on the paperwork. When I call the terminal I ask them who is the best person to speak to regarding a home delivery. That way I get the correct number to the person who sets up the trucks. On the morning of the delivery I call that number and make sure that it actually made it on the truck and if they can help with an updated time window. I always ask for the drivers name and number -- often they can only provide a name. None of this takes very long -- and you never get the same person twice. They never mind doing this -- they want to get rid of whatever it is!

None of the above helps when they send too big of a truck to get into my property :(

[Brad Sperr]

I've had mainly good experiences with freight deliveries, mostly via ABF. I've always arranged for delivery at my work or pickup at the local terminal, though, and not everybody has that option. I definitely understand your frustration with taking days off specifically to take delivery of a shipment. If worse came to worse, I would probably just waive the signature requirement and let them leave it on the curb outside my house, but that raises its own problems.

[Bruce Benjamin]

In industry, stuff rarely arrives on the date promised, it's usually a day late unless it's something that special arrangements have to be made for ( cranes, permits etc).



I'm not sure what, "Industry" you're talking about but I've had a little bit of experience on both ends of the shipping/delivery racket. I've driven for a couple of companies that deliver industrial parts, machinery, and materials. We would sometimes have the items in stock and sometimes we would have to order from a vendor and then deliver to our customers. Far more often than not the items we ordered for our customers would be delivered to us on time and we would then deliver to our customers on time. If the items were ever late being delivered to us the majority of the time it was due to an item being back ordered from our vendor.

I rarely returned to the yard with anything left undelivered on my flatbed semi truck. I always made a serious effort to get that item to the customer on time. If I was late I had a cell phone and all truck drivers have cell phones. I would never go out on deliveries without a contact number. I would typically make between 5 and 15 and more stops a day with a delivery range of less than 10 miles to up to 150 miles away. Any driver who goes out on deliveries without a cell phone and a contact number is just plain stupid, in my opinion.

The lift gate thing is a different issue that I rarely had to deal with. I rarely had a truck with a lift gate. I either used the customer's forklift or I got the freight off the truck the old fashioned way: Using brains and muscles. It's amazing what you can do with a pry bar, some rope, and 2x4s/4x4s. The trucking industry is getting packed full of lazy, stupid, ignorant drivers and unrealistic dispatchers. I always did my job as if I was delivering to a friend instead of someone I'll never see again.

I have a friend who owns an automotive repair shop. He gets tires and parts, (Big and small) in every day and he rarely has an issue with the shipper. He deals with UPS, FedEx and smaller freight companies. If there's a problem it's nearly always with the vendor.

And to Joe Mioux, all I can say is that you must have some personal issues to deal with.:rolleyes: You were actually insulted? Really??? Save up the bad feelings for a more volatile thread because there's bound to be one coming again soon.;):D This thread is just about a guy who got the shaft from a shipping company, it ain't no big thing.:)

[John Sanford]

First off, the driver may not have lied about the attempted delivery, although he certainly may have been lost when he attempted. Wha? Huh? He called at 11:30, said he tried to deliver at 12:30???

Federal regulations require that drivers log their time. Due to the large and expansive nature of our country, this can result in drivers operating in multiple timezones during a week. As a result, companies that have operations spanning multiple time zones require their logging to be done against a single time zone, usually the timezone where the company headquarters is located. Even though I drove almost exclusively in the Pacific Time Zone when I was with Werner, headquartered in Omaha, all of my logging was done on Central Time. The clock in my truck was on Central Time, and so was my watch. Keeping the times (local, dispatch, personal) straight can be a hassle.

I provide this information not to say that the driver wasn't lying, but merely that its possible he wasn't. More importantly, its to give the rest of our readers some sense of the complications of trucking.

Now, why 53' trailers, and not 50' or 55'?

Again, Federal Law. Interstate Commercial vehicles are limited in length, height, width, and weight. Many of you likely remember when the trailers were usually 40', then they went to 45', then 48', and now they're at 53'. Longer trailers are possible (either for purely intRAstate use, or with special permits), but the economics don't work out well for longer trailers due to the permitting and other factors. 53' works out to 13 pallets "long". 50' and 55' would result in wasted space. States can allow longer trailers (Montana allows 57's), but except when the existing physical infrastructure itself limits it, they can't apply shorter, slimmer, lighter requirements.

[Eric Gustafson]

First off, the driver may not have lied about the attempted delivery, although he certainly may have been lost when he attempted. Wha? Huh? He called at 11:30, said he tried to deliver at 12:30???

Federal regulations require that drivers log their time. Due to the large and expansive nature of our country, this can result in drivers operating in multiple timezones during a week. As a result, companies that have operations spanning multiple time zones require their logging to be done against a single time zone, usually the timezone where the company headquarters is located. Even though I drove almost exclusively in the Pacific Time Zone when I was with Werner, headquartered in Omaha, all of my logging was done on Central Time. The clock in my truck was on Central Time, and so was my watch. Keeping the times (local, dispatch, personal) straight can be a hassle.

I provide this information not to say that the driver wasn't lying, but merely that its possible he wasn't. More importantly, its to give the rest of our readers some sense of the complications of trucking.

Now, why 53' trailers, and not 50' or 55'?

Again, Federal Law. Interstate Commercial vehicles are limited in length, height, width, and weight. Many of you likely remember when the trailers were usually 40', then they went to 45', then 48', and now they're at 53'. Longer trailers are possible (either for purely intRAstate use, or with special permits), but the economics don't work out well for longer trailers due to the permitting and other factors. 53' works out to 13 pallets "long". 50' and 55' would result in wasted space. States can allow longer trailers (Montana allows 57's), but except when the existing physical infrastructure itself limits it, they can't apply shorter, slimmer, lighter requirements.

Great post, John. I just learned something I would, otherwise, never learn. Very interesting!

[Bruce Benjamin]

First off, the driver may not have lied about the attempted delivery, although he certainly may have been lost when he attempted. Wha? Huh? He called at 11:30, said he tried to deliver at 12:30???


The OP said he was home during any of the possible, (But rather unlikely) time zone scenarios you list. The driver either lied or was at the wrong location. If it was the wrong location then the driver was either incompetent, (Stupid) or the paperwork had the wrong address on it. In my opinion, "Attempting to deliver" means making certain it's the right address and/or calling the customer. If he didn't do either of these then he lied. Regardless of if there was any kind of mistake made on the paperwork, some bizarre and unlikely time zone problem or if the driver was just plain ol' stupid, The driver should've called on the phone. If there was no phone number listed on the paperwork he should've called his dispatcher to get the number.

As a former long haul trucker and delivery driver I know that a map, (GPS wasn't as common then), proper paper work with a phone number, and a cell phone are the most important things you can have in your truck. All of those things are absolutely the driver's responsibility. Ultimately it's the drivers responsibility to deliver the freight. On occasion my paperwork wouldn't include a phone number or proper address. Before I left I would do whatever it took to get that information because Murphy's Law would certainly get me if I didn't.:rolleyes:

The problem is that many drivers don't give a darn and are more interested in doing the job fast than in doing the job right. Unfortunately, that frequently means doing the job neither fast nor right. I've worked with a few of these kinds of drivers and that attitude pretty much overflows into every part of their life.

Bruce

[Marlin Williams]

As someone pointed out before is befriend a local business that can handle a delivery like that. That way you can pick it up on your own time.

Or ask if it is a option to have it hauled to a freight outlet and pick it up yourself.

In either of those cases they, the delivery company, may give a discount. So even if you had to pay a business to accept it for you in the end it would end up the same price.

[Eric Commarato]

A always arrange to pick the thing up at the dock. It is always a good bit cheaper and they will usually load it for you. The only problem is getting the machine off my pick-up when I get home.

[Ben Franz]

I ordered a new DC from Oneida - the shipping charge almost made me switch to Grizzly. They use UPS Freight - UPS was supposed to email me when it picked up shipment - they didn't (big surprise). I had to call Oneida to get the tracking number. On the day of delivery, I checked UPS tracking and called the customer service number to confirm that it would be delivered that day. After waiting all day I called the local UPS office and was told that the delivery was scheduled for tomorrow and that ALL residential deliveries must be scheduled in advance. It was obvious that the clerk I was talking to could only spout the policy drivel so I asked for the terminal manager. He reluctantly agreed to send his truck back out as soon as it returned. I live about an hour east of Albuquerque so I was amazed. When the driver arrived at 7:15 PM he told me that he was the regular driver for my area and had been nearby earlier that day. He also said he had room for my pallet so there was no reason that it wasn't on the truck earlier. UPS blew it in the terminal and wanted me to pay the price. I'm surprised they made good on it - squeeky wheel???

[Rob Damon]

All of the good and bad stories on freight deliveries that I had read about a year ago lead me to a different choice.

A year ago to the week I started planning my new shop. Not knowing the size of shop I needed (i.e. wanted) to fit all the tools I was planning on getting for my "retirement" shop, I went online to Grizzly and open up the toy (um tool) catalog and started a "sample" order form that included all the tools I expected to get over the next ten years.

The total dollar amount was to say the least shocking, but when I added up all of the shipping and home delivery and tailgate service charges I would have to pay, I was flabbergassed.

After taking into account the fact that I would have to take a day off for each of the tool deliveries as well, pushed my tool purchasing in a different direction. The total cost for shipping added up to several thousands of dollars (I know alot , but it was a BIG toy list to be spread out over tens years).

So instead I opted to to buy a 5'x8' utilitiy trailer, high side walls (#3500 capacity) at the local Leonards for $1300 and a pallet jack and a engine lift (2.5ton) and some heavy duty straps.

By order all of my tools through the Norfolk, VA Woodcraft store and picking them up there, the shipping was reduced to $10 in gas for me. The first trip brought back a PM2000 TS, PM2800 DP and 18" SC BS. The second load brought back a PM PJ882 and a PM 209 (5hp). The third was a CList purchase of a Delta 33-420 18" RAS. The fourth trip was for a PM2700 (5hp) shaper. In two more weeks it will bring back a SC 55200 OSS.

And after all is said and done I still have a pretty new trailer, pallet jack and engine lift that I could put up on CL and get a great return on my investment.

I know many folks don't have this option, but it has worked out great for me. I can take my time going over to the Woodcraft store to pick it, including Saturday or Sunday and not have to burn a vacation day waiting for a freight company to deliver something. They have a fork lift and a bunch of strong backs to load it on my trailer and I can back the trailer into the shop building and take my time unloading it.

The only future tool I will have to have delivered will be a PM Vertical Panel Saw 511 that is shipped in a crate with the dimensions 124.5"L X 39.5"w X 86"h. It weighs 500 pounds. It won't fit on the trailer and it is too tall to lift off with the engine lift. Everything else will fit nicely on the trailer.

Rob

[Vic Damone]

I just had a 60" plasma TV delivered via AIT from Colorado to California. I was given a tracking number and inspection instructions upon delivery. ATI delivered within fifteen minutes of their ETA. The driver was courteous and helpful. Some companies are getting it right.

[Andy Casiello]

Charles,

So, did the bandsaw get delivered? I sure hope you received it, and you are enjoying it now. What a struggle...

BTW - I fully comprehend your frustration with the problems with delivery. I would have been tempted to do the same thing - but my gear lust probably would have gotten the better of me - and I would have just "taken it" from the delivery service since they are in the drivers seat (they have my toy). Good for you to take a stand. :)

[Tom Adger]

There are a few, very few, excuses for not making a delivery on time. There is no excuse for not letting the customer know right away. I am a woodworker, and an over the road truck driver. I go from FL to Chicago every other week. I can tell within 15-20 minutes after I leave FL when I will arrive. I always plan to be one hour early, allowing for accidents, etc. In 3 years, I have been late for a delivery one time, because the reefer unit broke down. I immediately called the customer. Nobody deserves a pass for late or no delivery.

[Charles Davis]

Charles,

So, did the bandsaw get delivered? I sure hope you received it, and you are enjoying it now. What a struggle...

BTW - I fully comprehend your frustration with the problems with delivery. I would have been tempted to do the same thing - but my gear lust probably would have gotten the better of me - and I would have just "taken it" from the delivery service since they are in the drivers seat (they have my toy). Good for you to take a stand. :)

Yes, I took delivery on a subsequent day. Strangely, they delivered outside the provided time frame (the strange part is that they delivered... not that it was outside the provided time frame). There was a fist sized hole clear through the crate in one spot... luckily no major organs were hit and the patient survived.

Thanks to all for suffering my rant... there was some very helpful information in this thread such as getting the drivers cell and keeping tabs directly. Have a cyclone on the way this week so I'll be putting this into practice... fingers crossed (and anti-psychotic drugs in hand) :eek:

[Eugene Wigley]

Sorry for your agrivation. Freight companies can be difficult and are not reliable for home delivery.
I agree with Tom. I just go to the terminal with a utility trailer and pick up the equipment. The freight company seems to be happy to use their fork lift to put it on my trailer and be done with it. That allows me to decide when I go to pick it up. For me that is better than all of the agrivation of home delivery and cheaper too.

Good luck
Eugene

[Rob Diz]

I have had pallets delivered to my house twice in the past two weeks as part of my kitchen remodel. The first was a 4x8 pallet with doors and drawer fronts, and the second with drawer boxes.

One came on Ward, and the other on Conway. I called both ahead of time, spoke with the Manager, and arranged for a "short truck delivery". In my area, the both only have one short truck, with a lift gate.

Driver was w/in window and items were undamaged. They even both used a pallet jack to bring it around back for me.

Not such a great experience with UPS/Overnight with my G0513x, but I survived.

Lesson learned (for me) is to ask about the proposed freight vendor, and call them.