Dealing with shipping damage...Go Fast Superlite

[codertimt]

Just a quick update. I was apparently mistaken about my earlier interactions with Old Dominion. I don't have a claim opened, simply have the "concealed damage" noted on my account if a an actual claim is to be opened in the future. In general the shipping company(GFC) would open the claim.. 2 pieces of 3.5"x50"x0.5" corrugated cardboard and this could have been easily avoided. So I can personally open a claim, but it's not likely to go anywhere and since it wasn't rejected upon delivery, I, and others are kind of stuck with the patch solution Go Fast is going to be coming out with. This is my first experience with dealing with something like this, so the repair option might very well be an industry standard response...just leaves me a bit wanting in feeling like a valued customer...

**EDIT** Removed conjecture on my part as I was incorrect. Tried to leave other thoughts for posterity, but they are likely inaccurate...so see further posts...**/EDIT**

 

[plh]

A small portion of my job for the past 25 years has been packaging testing for an OE automotive supplier. Most boxes are crap at protecting your product to the testing requirements. Unless strapped to a pallet, the package needs to be extremely robust.

 

[DaveInDenver]

I’m aware Dave. I worked for them for 25 years. It is a great service that few people will pay for. I stand by my post and thoughts. Shippers need to understand how stuff will be treated, especially LTL.

Agreed. Doing that critical stuff kind of seemed to me like it would be an alright gig. The driving straight through might be tough but the teams that got our jobs got to go to some pretty cool places and carried truly critical things that are no longer still on our this planet.

 

[codertimt]

Further update. Apparently Old Dominion is unclear how their own claims process works. As has been mention by myself an others, Old Dominion is directing people to contact Go Fast for them to make the claim. GFC's Old Dominion rep has told them that they should not be making the claims for people and that the recipient should file the claim themselves...so that is the next step. I found this out as I received a very nice call from Go Fast, very apologetic for the damage and wanting to make it right. Again, I know others are having differing experiences, so I don't want to discount them, but so far except for my misunderstandings and my desire for immediate action, this is becoming a positive experience overall...

 

[Martyn]

Two points for you. The first is Old Diminion should be avoid like the plague when it comes to shipping anything fragile. They are one of the less expensive shippers, but you get what you pay for. The second point, reading your original post it sounds like the topper was not crated, rather it was just wrapped. I learnt the hard way about 20 years ago you have to crate fragile items to ensure that they arrive safely. Alternatively you can palletize the topper and then create a frame work of lumber around the topper and then wrap the whole thing is plastic wrap. When you accompanied this with stickers saying do not stack, fragile, pick up this end etc. you stand a good chance things will arrive in one piece. Shipping is brutal and if your packaging is sub standard, well you know what happens.

 

[86scotty]

Two points for you. The first is Old Diminion should be avoid like the plague when it comes to shipping anything fragile. They are one of the less expensive shippers, but you get what you pay for. The second point, reading your original post it sounds like the topper was not crated, rather it was just wrapped. I learnt the hard way about 20 years ago you have to crate fragile items to ensure that they arrive safely. Alternatively you can palletize the topper and then create a frame work of lumber around the topper and then wrap the whole thing is plastic wrap. When you accompanied this with stickers saying do not stack, fragile, pick up this end etc. you stand a good chance things will arrive in one piece. Shipping is brutal and if your packaging is sub standard, well you know what happens.

You can also build your dunnage where there is no way that another pallet can be put on top of it. Literally build a pyramid. It works.

 

[codertimt]

Two points for you. The first is Old Diminion should be avoid like the plague when it comes to shipping anything fragile. They are one of the less expensive shippers, but you get what you pay for. The second point, reading your original post it sounds like the topper was not crated, rather it was just wrapped. I learnt the hard way about 20 years ago you have to crate fragile items to ensure that they arrive safely. Alternatively you can palletize the topper and then create a frame work of lumber around the topper and then wrap the whole thing is plastic wrap. When you accompanied this with stickers saying do not stack, fragile, pick up this end etc. you stand a good chance things will arrive in one piece. Shipping is brutal and if your packaging is sub standard, well you know what happens.

So, answer to first point...I am definitely not in the shipping industry...so I didn't realize there was an option as a consumer to avoid a certain shipper. I kind of assumed I was at the mercy of the retailers shipping partners. Maybe you are implying I could have insisted on shipping with my preferred shipping partner. Obviously first issue is I have no preferred shipping partner and second is that my one-off shipment would have probably approached the cost of the item shipped. So appreciate the insight...not sure it's applicable. The second point is a towards the shipper and their packaging...obviously I have no real input or insight here, but you are correct, not crating. Top and bottom were covered with a full length 1" corrugated cardboard planks. I think they were probably expecting the items to placed flat and stacked upon. That would have been ideal and fine. Unfortunately, OD decided to take the thin, wide and long item and attach it on it's side out of the way against the side of the trailer. And that did not work out. Per my conversations, it does appear that GFC will be updating their packaging. I obviously don't know in exactly what way, but I really think that simply adding corrugated carboard side panels will fix 99.9999% of issues with this particular item.

Anyway, you and Scotty are speaking insider language of what happens behind the scenes in shippingland and I want to say I definitely appreciate the insight, but I'm not sure the end consumer can garner much to work with in the own shipping considerations. Maybe it's just my personality that can't be so forward in retail contracts to attempt to dictate such term of shipping... Or maybe your comments are more directed to the shipper than to the consumer...I get that too. But in general a consumer orders something and it is shipped to them. In these kind of transaction, they don't have an option of what freight company they want to work with. So, literal question...are you saying that when you undertake these kind of transactions...you simply ignore any kind of online order forms that are available and directly contact the retailer and dictate how they will ship the item to you, since you are aware of the pitfalls of the shipping industry? Or are these insights you are giving....simply insights...

 

[Martyn]

So, answer to first point...I am definitely not in the shipping industry...so I didn't realize there was an option as a consumer to avoid a certain shipper. I kind of assumed I was at the mercy of the retailers shipping partners. Maybe you are implying I could have insisted on shipping with my preferred shipping partner. Obviously first issue is I have no preferred shipping partner and second is that my one-off shipment would have probably approached the cost of the item shipped. So appreciate the insight...not sure it's applicable. The second point is a towards the shipper and their packaging...obviously I have no real input or insight here, but you are correct, not crating. Top and bottom were covered with a full length 1" corrugated cardboard planks. I think they were probably expecting the items to placed flat and stacked upon. That would have been ideal and fine. Unfortunately, OD decided to take the thin, wide and long item and attach it on it's side out of the way against the side of the trailer. And that did not work out. Per my conversations, it does appear that GFC will be updating their packaging. I obviously don't know in exactly what way, but I really think that simply adding corrugated carboard side panels will fix 99.9999% of issues with this particular item.

Anyway, you and Scotty are speaking insider language of what happens behind the scenes in shippingland and I want to say I definitely appreciate the insight, but I'm not sure the end consumer can garner much to work with in the own shipping considerations. Maybe it's just my personality that can't be so forward in retail contracts to attempt to dictate such term of shipping... Or maybe your comments are more directed to the shipper than to the consumer...I get that too. But in general a consumer orders something and it is shipped to them. In these kind of transaction, they don't have an option of what freight company they want to work with. So, literal question...are you saying that when you undertake these kind of transactions...you simply ignore any kind of online order forms that are available and directly contact the retailer and dictate how they will ship the item to you, since you are aware of the pitfalls of the shipping industry? Or are these insights you are giving....simply insights...

All I’m saying is that the manufacture seems to have chosen the cheapest shipper rather than most reliable shipper. Combined with the way they packed the product the chance of damage is greater than it needed to be. We all learn from our mistakes, hopefully, but if as you say others have complained about damage during shipping I assume that they have not come to grips with the issue.

 

[86scotty]

So, literal question...are you saying that when you undertake these kind of transactions...you simply ignore any kind of online order forms that are available and directly contact the retailer and dictate how they will ship the item to you, since you are aware of the pitfalls of the shipping industry? Or are these insights you are giving....simply insights...

Depending on the item, yes, I would contact them directly if I had direct bad experience with their chosen shipping company. And there's certainly nothing wrong with asking up front so you can find this out and/or do your own research on that company before you press enter. Something like an RTT that is so easily damaged I would definitely ask ahead. I understand you didn't know any of this up front, my comments have mostly been to help others in the future.

 

[BritKLR]

Instead of a patch, can't they just send you a new cover? I assume the tent itself isn't damaged?

FWIW, ALL cartage companies have good days and bad days.......Fed-X, UPS, DHL, OD, USPS, Royal Mail, Australian Mail, European Mail services, etc, etc, etc......In the end, it's up to the company to make it right (with the cartage company aswell) and fix their packaging.

Good luck.

 

[concretejungle]

FWIW I'm friends with the owners of Old Dominion. They do care about their shipping and damage to product, but in the end it does come down to the person who packages the product and ships it out.

When I order expensive stuff from Slee, I'm amazed at how well it's packaged. There are even tilt and impact indicators inside the packaging so if it arrives damaged there is an easy way to make a claim against the shipper.

 

[codertimt]

Instead of a patch, can't they just send you a new cover? I assume the tent itself isn't damaged?

All of the fabric soft parts on the Superlite are integrated/sewn together...great for ease of use...bad for modular repair/replacement...

 

[Martyn]

FWIW I'm friends with the owners of Old Dominion. They do care about their shipping and damage to product, but in the end it does come down to the person who packages the product and ships it out.

When I order expensive stuff from Slee, I'm amazed at how well it's packaged. There are even tilt and impact indicators inside the packaging so if it arrives damaged there is an easy way to make a claim against the shipper.

I agree that product must be packaged well, even to the point that the packaging is over built. Shipping product has always been a nightmare, and I’ve been both on the shipping end and the receiving end of things. Most of you would be shocked at the state that some products arrive at their destination along with the lack of care it has suffered from during the journey. My own opinion on shippers comes from seeing damaged product over a twenty year period and the frequency of which certain carriers deliver damaged product. Once you understand this you can package accordingly and choose a carrier you feel confident with.

 

[Pinnacle Campers]

What I think is bizarre is I received my tent #5466 nearly simultaneous to @codertimt and @emulous74
Mine was in a GFC branded cardboard box with cardboard in the locations where the damage has happened to others.
I opened and inspected it on the sidewalk while the Old Dominion driver watched. I didn't see much of a possibility of damage as I opened it and looked it over.

 

[emulous74]

That's quite different to how mine was packed: