Shipping Diatribe

I recently had two experiences with vendors that really hammered home the shipping discrimination that happens when you're living on an island.

One vendor was a metal supplier. $150 in aluminum. Nothing too heavy, and the packaging they used (all recyclable cardboard!) didn't weigh over a pound. 25 pounds total weight. Do they ship US Postal Service? OH NO! No, they shipped using one of the big international shippers. Total shipping cost? $160. More than the metal. Boy that felt good.

The other, which I didn't wind up ordering from, was a printer. They also insisted on using an international shipper. I pointed out it was a domestic order. Nope. I pointed out the package size (a tube) would even fit in my PO box. Nope. They ran postage and it was ten times as expensive. Ten times! Hmmm... $4.60 through USPS Priority Mail, or $44 for a service that actually takes longer?

So here's a question for everyone who works for a shipping company: On what date was Alaska admitted as a state? On what date was Hawaii admitted as a state? Oh, did you forget that they were states? (June 30, 1958 for Alaska, and August 21, 1959 for Hawaii, in case you were wondering. Yes, they have been states since before most of these international shipping companies existed: DHL 1969, FedEx 1971, with UPS being the big exception at 1907). Yes, Hawaii and Alaska are states in what was supposed to be a country of united states. Doesn't sound very united to me.

And here are some questions for everyone who works at a vendor who insists on handling all their shipping through one of the big shipping companies: Did you know the US Postal Service will pick up at your door? Did you know you can get materials dropped off at your place of business? Did you know it really irritates the #@!$ out of people to be treated like second class citizens in their own country because you insist on charging them asinine rates to get your stuff to them? Before you cry foul, may I remind you: TEN TIMES AS EXPENSIVE!

Of more importance to a vendor: Did you know it's pretty easy these days to do a Google search and find another supplier who will use USPS as a shipper? Yeah, I found someone else to do that printing. I'm working on finding another metal supplier. It really is that easy to lose my business because you're not interested in taking care of your customer.

If a company can't be bothered to look at how much their shipper is charging them compared to another shipper, what other aspects of their business are they being sloppy about? And who are they passing on the cost of their sloppiness to? It's well worth asking these questions.

Come on, folks. Bend a little. You'd be amazed what it'll do for your business.

Tom