Proper handling question.. broken dreams :(

[cosmo1]

It is "particle board" but it's the stuff we make speaker boxes out, 3/4" mdf, it's pretty durable stuff for the most part as long as it doesn't get wet. There are no signs of water damage on it. It could be ldf (low density fiber board), but the grains in it look too small, smaller grains, higher density, stronger board. It's used because you can drill through it without much chance of splitting it and it can be sealed air tight with glue and silicon.

But, mdf and especially ldf are not structural.

Also, we have been trained to roll or walk over 70's out of the truck, so you may have a problem with your claim. Sorry.

 

[iruhnman630]

Sorry it didn't work out for you this time. It sounds like the shipper made a good effort to protect your merchandise but sometimes it just doesn't work out.

Now before dogging on the driver realize that we are first and foremost concerned with our own safety before the safety of the package, every time. By 'rolling' the package the driver leveraged the weight out the door while minimizing the the strain on the body and reducing the risk of personal injury. That is exactly how it is done when an extra pair of hands is unavailable to help bare the load.

It's not always easy on the package but the driver comes first.

 

[iruhnman630]

And as already mentioned unloading overweights out of the back door is easier both on the driver and the package, but unfortunately not always possible.

 

[RyNWA]

Sorry, but MDF is not better to ship something in crate wise. I have built a few sub boxes myself, and sometimes in my anger I would take a hammer and SHRED the MDF. Now, take an identical sheet of plywood and take a hammer to it, let me know which one is easier to bust through.

MDF does not bend, plywood does. So, at any point during this shipment, the plywood might have bent, but not broken. I say the damage is due to "creative" packaging, if the woofer had been secured to the wood, and it was rolled end over end, the sub should not have come loose.

I could agree with that, plywood would probably withstand shipping far better than the mdf. But some of the screws were straight up snapped in half, they didn't just slide out of the wood. I don't know, I'm just waiting for DD to get back to me with repair costs so I can choose a proper course of action. Even if I was able to get my shipping to and from the repair facility that would be great.

But does UPS allow improperly packed packages to go through the system, wouldn't it be much more cost effective to check packages before they go out to eliminate situations like mine... I know one person's problem doesn't change anything in a business the size of this and I'm not trying to dog on the driver or what you guys do in anyway. I love seeing the brown truck roll up to my house (me and my friends used to call you guys the United Pot Smokers, made us laugh), always puts a smile on my face when I'm waiting on stuff. I sent the shipper a link to this thread so he can see what actual UPS employees have to say about this. I've been trying to get ahold of an old friend who works for facility in Louisville to see if he could give me any pointers on how to handle the situation but nothing from him yet.

Anyways, appreciate everyones responses, nice to know what I can realisticly expect the outcome from all of this.

 

[serenity now]

to the op: can you try and make me understand why someone would need a 55 lb. speaker in their car ?

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

My nickname is "The Shaker" as I inspect every package that I pickup to make sure that they are packed properly and will make it through our system; however, not all drivers do this and packages do enter our system that should never have been picked up. Packages picked up by feeder drivers are normally palletized and/or shrinkwrapped so in inspecting these is more difficult. Packages with obvious damage should never be delivered; however, packages with no obvious signs of external damage may have internal damage unknown to the driver. The driver may also make the decision, due to time constraints, to deliver the damaged package and then let the consignee "deal with it". Damaged packages should never make it on to the car but when they do it is up to the driver to decide whether they should be delivered or not.

Friday morning we were on the belt wrapping up our cars. A casual driver two cars up from me sent down a package which did look a little rough to be rewrapped. He did so without bothering to see what was in it. Turns out it was a tent which had nothing wrong with it and should have been delivered. I pushed it back up to him and he said "I ain't delivering that" and sent it back down. The regular driver will be back on Monday and will have to deal with it as it was inspected and put OFD for Monday. It looked exactly the same as when he sent it down.

 

[Bubblehead]

My nickname is "The Shaker" as I inspect every package that I pickup to make sure that they are packed properly and will make it through our system; however, not all drivers do this and packages do enter our system that should never have been picked up. Packages picked up by feeder drivers are normally palletized and/or shrinkwrapped so in inspecting these is more difficult. Packages with obvious damage should never be delivered; however, packages with no obvious signs of external damage may have internal damage unknown to the driver. The driver may also make the decision, due to time constraints, to deliver the damaged package and then let the consignee "deal with it". Damaged packages should never make it on to the car but when they do it is up to the driver to decide whether they should be delivered or not.

Friday morning we were on the belt wrapping up our cars. A casual driver two cars up from me sent down a package which did look a little rough to be rewrapped. He did so without bothering to see what was in it. Turns out it was a tent which had nothing wrong with it and should have been delivered. I pushed it back up to him and he said "I ain't delivering that" and sent it back down. The regular driver will be back on Monday and will have to deal with it as it was inspected and put OFD for Monday. It looked exactly the same as when he sent it down.

Your nickname is "Nancy".

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

My nickname among people that I care about is "The Shaker".

 

[UPSGUY72]

Your sol on that speaker the sell is going receive any payment if UPS accepts the claim. Then the seller will have to reimburse you.

This is case where the seller was being to cheap to have the package packaged correctly because they didn't include the cost of shipping materials in the shipping price they listed.

The speaker should have been rapped in a couple on inches of bubble rap and isolated from the outside packaging.

The wooded creating wasn't needed if the package was rapped correctly.

 

[gotbrown]

It may or may not had been the fault of the driver. We don't know how hard it dropped from step to step as the op does not state that and the driver seeing customers at the delivery point i would think he would lower it slowly,, but you never know i've seen both some pissed he has to deliver it and others doing the best they can with the situation.. All i am saying is that i have seen more packages fall off the belt and then put back on for delivery, damage that had nothing to do with the driver. I would think damage like that would be a result of falling off the belt than driver rolling it down the steps unless it rolled right off to the ground..Either way UPS should pay the claim..but then again when I used be a shipper UPSes favorite response was INSUFFICIENT PACKAGING..

 

[Indecisi0n]

IMO there are certain items you just don't get shipped.

 

[gman042]

A few years ago I received a call tag to go out and pick up a damaged package... a computer system. I was a former clerk before becoming a driver and well versed in damage inspection procedures. There were no external signs of damage to the package specifically in the area of the said damage to the computer. Turns out it was a scam. The shipper and the consignee were the same person who was trying to win a damage claim.

Now.....I am sure that is not what happened in this case but we just don't know where the damage to the speaker It could have been the driver. It could have been in transit.....or it could have been when the shipper knocked the package off the table after preparing it for shipping. Though precautions where taken in packaging it does not meet minimum requirements for shipping in the UPS system.

 

[Buck Fifty]

My nickname among people that I care about is "The Shaker".

I have my own nickname for you, but it would be moderated. DA

 

[iowa boy]

I lol'ed at this cuz you are right, but....

It is "particle board" but it's the stuff we make speaker boxes out, 3/4" mdf, it's pretty durable stuff for the most part as long as it doesn't get wet. There are no signs of water damage on it. It could be ldf (low density fiber board), but the grains in it look too small, smaller grains, higher density, stronger board. It's used because you can drill through it without much chance of splitting it and it can be sealed air tight with glue and silicon.

Unless my eyes are playing tricks on me, the box itself may have been made out of 3/4" MDF, but the cover that was screwed on was definitely not 3/4" MDF. At most it looks to be 3/8" or even 1/4" MDF. IF this is the case, then your claim will more than likely be denied. If I took a piece of 1/4 or 3/8" MDF and dropped a 40 lb. box onto it with no support under it, the MDF would snap like a toothpick. Am i'm willing to bet something like this happened.

 

[barnyard]

I have refused to pick up a package because it was a claim waiting to happen. I ended up getting pulled into the bosses office and chastised for not picking up the packages. I picked them up the next day, brought them to the bosses office and said, "I am positive this is going to result in a claim, but here you go."

2 weeks later the OMS pulled me aside and said that a claim had been filed on the shipment.

I think most of us could go on and on and on about packages that we told the shipper, "You know this is probably not going to make it in 1 piece and insurance is not going to cover it, they will laugh at you." Only to be told, "The box would weigh too much if I packed it properly." or some variant of that BS line.

It is not up to us to pack packages, that is the shipper's job.

 

[wayfair]

I could agree with that, plywood would probably withstand shipping far better than the mdf. But some of the screws were straight up snapped in half, they didn't just slide out of the wood.

Screws snap, nails bend. That's why houses or fences are built with nails, sorry I digress

 

[Bubblehead]

My nickname among people that I care about is "The Shaker".

I'm sure they area both honored.

 

[RyNWA]

to the op: can you try and make me understand why someone would need a 55 lb. speaker in their car ?

I love bass... this speaker is an absolute BEAST. I wanted to get the most out of a small space, I drive a Kia Soul, not very much room. I've always wanted this particular speaker, I have mad respect for the company and the way they do things, hard to find things constructed by hand in the USA anymore.

 

[RyNWA]

Your sol on that speaker the sell is going receive any payment if UPS accepts the claim. Then the seller will have to reimburse you.

This is case where the seller was being to cheap to have the package packaged correctly because they didn't include the cost of shipping materials in the shipping price they listed.

The speaker should have been rapped in a couple on inches of bubble rap and isolated from the outside packaging.

The wooded creating wasn't needed if the package was rapped correctly.

If that is the case, I will start my claims process with eBay wich will result in the shipper paying for the repair or refunding me, or whatever, luckily I purchased off ebay. eBay buyer protection states buyers can make claims on items damaged in shipping. I really don't think this should cost that much to repair. I'm trying to find information to possibly do the repair myself but haven't had much time to do that.

In response to gotbrown, I could see that happening, I don't what the "belt" is but i can imagine in my head some sorta processing facility with lots of conveyors and stuff, lots of chances to fall. The crate was pretty shredded up, like maybe it fell, broke, and then everytime it got moved after that it just busted the crate up more and more.

 

[serenity now]

I love bass... this speaker is an absolute BEAST. I wanted to get the most out of a small space, I drive a Kia Soul, not very much room. I've always wanted this particular speaker, I have mad respect for the company and the way they do things, hard to find things constructed by hand in the USA anymore.

you sound passionate about your bass * i drove a pickup for years that didn't even have a radio * i'm thinking you are probably weirded out by that * by the way that speaker is more than 2% of the gross vehicle weight of your kia (grin)