Damaged Vendors Again: UNWRAP AND INSPECT BEFORE SIGNING OFF!

[Uncle Sam]

There are instructions on a YELLOW SHEET OF PAPER on every vendor that we ship asking that you, the customer, unwrap and inspect the delivered vendor carefully before you sign off on the Bill of Lading (BOL). If you or your people don’t take the time to inspect the delivery and sign off without unwrapping it, THERE IS NOTHING WE CAN DO TO RECOVER DAMAGES!!

The driver will tell you he is in a hurry because he is behind schedule or anything else that might get you to sign off before inspection, BUT DON’T DO IT!! You tell the driver you need to unwrap the package and inspect it or he can load it back up and return it to us free. That will shut them up!!

If there is what you consider minor physical damage to the vendor, write it in detail on the BOL (or another sheet of paper and attach it to the BOL), take pictures of the damage, and even note that there might be hidden damage to the electronics that will show up later. Give a copy of the written report to the driver, keep one copy of the written report and the pictures for your records, and fax or email a PDF copy of the written report to us. If you can scan the pix or email them to us, that would be very useful to us in planning how to proceed on our end. We can figure out how to get the damage fixed and start the process for recovery of the physical damage cost and/or the cost of the loss of business because of the damage.

If you consider the damage to be too severe or unacceptable to you as a customer, wrap the vendor back up, refuse to accept the delivery or sign the BOL, and tell the driver to load it back up and return it to us. Give us a call to let us know what you are doing and we will then begin the process of replacing the vendor that was damaged and ship another one to you.

Uncle Sam

 

[Uncle Sam]

The above post may sound like we were "preaching to the choir", but we are in the middle of a damaged vendor situation right now. Arrangements were made with the freight company to have our vendor delivered during a 2-hour time frame during business hours. The freight company did not show up during the time frame so the customer left the premises. The freight company shows up 2 1/2 hours later, got a high school kid working there to sign off, and now we have a mess.

The vendor is being returned to us for evaluation and repair. The customer wants a new vendor and precious time is wasted getting everything back on track. I guess I should add one more instruction for customers taking delivery of a product; tell anyone who works for you on the premises not to sign for anything that is delivered!

These situations make everybody unhappy; the customer, the freight company and ShurVend.

Uncle Sam

 

[MEP001]

At least we won't have anyone popping in and saying how ridiculous it is to inspect every package before you sign for it.

I would assume that with the number of vendors you ship, it would be a relatively small task to phone the recipient and explain how important it is to have someone able to properly inspect the delivery before signing, and making it clear how important it is.

 

[Uncle Sam]

MEP,

Not only do we try to do that each time, there is a yellow 8 1/2 X 11 piece of paper on each shipment telling people to inspect before signing!

Uncle Sam

 

[Uncle Sam]

Vendor Damage update

This is an update on the damaged Visi-Combo (refrigerated) vendor that was dumped on its face sometime during the delivery phase to the customer.

The security cage was bent up at the roof level and had a few scratches on the outside, but we were able to repair it and have it re-powder coated. Looked just like new.

The vendor itself was in good shape except for some scratches on the front that we could paint out, glass from the broken window all over the place inside the machine, and a broken LED light fixture. The triple-pane window was replaced and a new LED fixture installed in the door. We powered it up after the repairs and all the electronics (including the bill validator and coin changer) are working as they normally would. The refrigeration system is also working just like it should. So, I guess you could say that all the design work and quality building that went into the security cage not only protects the vendor against vandalism and theft, but protects the entire vending system against being dumped on its face during shipment.

We don't want to have any vendor dumped again by any freight company, but, if it happens, we know almost all of the systems will be protected from a total loss.

Uncle Sam