Freight Charges to Australia
From time to time I do a search on the forums to see what questions are out there that I might be able to shed some light on plus it is a learning opportunity to see interesting ways of using and installing Skybolt CLoc fasteners. Just when I thought I knew all there is to know, I learn something else. One lesson learned is that the forums can be constructive and destructive. The destructive nature is just that. However, it is a very powerful way for the customer to express an opinion and, like it or not, I listen.
I stumbled onto a sale we processed back in February to ?longez360? where freight charges to Australia were $92.08 via UPS. This set off a barrage of ?bad service? forums. Skybolt has not been in business for 26 years priding ourselves on bad service so I looked into the matter to see just how bad the charges really were. Fast forward: My conclusion is that we indeed provided ?bad service? and what is really bad, it took 7 months for me to get in the middle of it. That is bad and none of us at Skybolt take pride in anything bad.
To even make an attempt to right a wrong, the first thing I did was to see exactly what the UPS charges are to Australia for a 1.4 pound package worth $340.20. Today?s charges are not $93.12, the same package today is $103.54!
But ?longez360? clearly requested Air Parcel Post, but we sent it UPS. Looking up the USPS charges, the most efficient rate was $38.95 plus$6.20 for insurance, or $45.15. My immediate response is to credit ?longez360? for the difference and my personal apology for the UPS charges, especially the time it took for a response.
For what it is worth, there is a reason that many companies avoid the USPS. One major reason has to do with what happens when a package is lost or damaged. (Note: It is not my purpose to beat up the US Postal Service, because they normally do a great job). When a package goes AWAL, the customer does not receive his parts and looks to the provider (us) to find the parts or re-ship replacements. Typically, if a company is paramount on customer service, especially in the aerospace business, we duplicate the order and re-ship while the freight forwarder attempts to settle the claim. Our experience is that a USPS claim can take forever and a day costing us money that we may not see in return. That is one huge reason that most businesses use UPS or FEDX; they are good at finding or settling a lost parcel. Now imagine how many lost or damaged parcels we may experience in a week?s time. It is a real expense that must be carefully managed while attempting to keep the customer happy. For most international customers, we grin and bare the risk to try and keep the shipping costs reasonable. In this case, it went through the system via UPS by mistake.
Another issue with USPS is that the shipments fall out of our normal routine (poor excuse, but it happens). We must place an employee in a car to drive to the Post Office. That is a cost with a ton of hidden costs. Therefore, it becomes a challenge that every supplier faces, to balance real costs with good customer service. We do not make a dime (at the end of the day) on shipping UPS, FEDX, or the USPO. At the end of the day, we break even on UPS and FEDX and loose, sometimes more than one would think, on USPS shipments. Again, that is for us to resolve and is not intended to be an excuse for this particular instance?.and others as well. We make mistakes and we are guilty of poor customer service, but we are also very guilty of tremendous customer service 99.9% of the time.
I have seen a ton of chatter about a competitor who shipped replacement parts free (as far as Australia). Skybolt also ships parts for free (our vendors sure don?t) if we know we messed up or promised but did not deliver. Again, my job is to minimize those kinds of costs so that we can remain in business for the next 26 years. I just hope Skybolt can gain as much press as our competitor did when he shipped replacement parts for free that were, basically defective or just plain would not work. (It seems I caught the bad press as a nasty competitor for pointing out the parts would not work in the first place, they did not, thus setting off the free replacement blitz?..what a cruel world). How great the community is to acknowledge the great customer service because of the free freight but forgot all about the reason for the second shipment to begin with. Skybolt spends a ton of energy figuring out the right part the 1st time. Maybe it has been too long since we received the free freight (Oops) publicity.
With all that has been said, I am prepared to take my beating on this one (over and above what has already been said). But while you provide the beating, be rest assured, I plan to go on making and developing the best fasteners in the business and strive to do the best possible job for you the customer. And for all the kind replies??Free Freight!
Regards,
Ned Bowers, President
Skybolt
(Former Founder-Owner-President, Milspec Products)
