04/01/2026
Let's discuss customer responsibilities and shipping/freight.
First let me just say shipping and freight companies SUCK.
They all do. We have the best luck with UPS for shipping but they still manage to completely screw the pooch sometimes and then it take MONTHS and endless emails and calls to get a claim settled and that's IF they decide in your favor. They ONLY seem to do that if they just absolutely lost the package, if it's damaged they blame it on the packaging.
FedEx is horrible. My local guy knows he can't deliver anything unless someone from the shop inspects it. They have delivered converters for restall multiple times, box may say 63 lbs and it weighs 2 lbs, covered in tape from FedEx, and they throw it in the floor in the receiving area. Obviously empty.
Freight companies are the worst. I've had a freight company break 7 transmissions in 2 weeks, and not pay the claims when they were insured.
NEVER trust the freight or shipping companies. Period.
Today we had a customer call. He received a transmission yesterday at his workplace. He wasn't at work. His coworkers accepted it.
Today he sees it and it appears to have been dropped, rolled, and broken. Pallet is all busted. We're awaiting pics and already notified the freight company.
Here's the problem. The freight company very likely broke it. I don't doubt that. But we have ZERO way to prove it was the freight company or the receiver. The receiver signed for the freight, saying they accept it. That means they own it. They accepted the freight and it's current condition is what signing for it means. This should be common sense but it's not.
So now the customer wasn't there, but that's not an excuse. SOMEONE signed for it. The freight company doesn't care if your dog signs the paperwork. Once it's signed, they are absolved of responsibility.
So we will always work for our customer and try to resolve an issue like this but I can say with a ton of experience and even what my answer would be if I were the freight company, that it was signed for and no complaint was made that it was damaged. I don't have any proof, the customer doesn't have any proof, and the freight company doesn't have any proof that it didn't fall off the receivers forklift.
If you are receiving a freight shipment, make sure you know and understand, and your people that they need to inspect it before they sign for it.
I don't know why anyone would sign for something on a destroyed pallet anyway. Again that common sense thing...
