We have often shared what a blessing it is for us to work with thousands of churches throughout the United States. Every week we have the privilege of seeing our ministry bless multiple churches financially by saving them dollars, apples to apples, on church furnishings and church chairs. This has become such a great joy! And while we have not shared it in writing as often, the reality is that the relationships we have built with many manufacturers who are favorably inclined toward the church have also become greatly valued by us. Working with churches and manufacturers to save churches money is a lot of fun!
But between the producer of church chairs and church furnishings (the manufacturer), and the consumer of church chairs and church furnishings (the church) are various shipping companies. In the past we have written about the various church chair and church furnishings shipping options that are available and most commonly used today. Within this article we want to provide some words of caution for receiving church chairs and church furnishings via “common carrier”. By common carrier we mean the practice whereby your church chairs or church furnishings are placed on pallets and skids and then shipped via carriers like Old Dominion, Yellow-Roadway, Holland, Estes, and dozens of other trucking companies. Your order may actually go on and off several trailers and be moved around several shipping docks before arriving to your church. As a result, there are multiple opportunities along the way for your order to be mishandled in a manner that can cause damage. It is critically important that when you receive your order you do the following:
- Compare your order to the bill of lading the truck driver will ask you to sign. Count your skids, cartons, etc. closely and make sure that all numbers and quantities match up with what you are signing. If they do not match up, note the discrepancy clearly on the form before signing.
- Look over the boxes, cartons, etc. closely. It is impossible to open each box during a delivery, but if any cartons show signs of having been mishandled or of damage, you have the right to open them at the time of delivery. Please do so. Once you have inspected the products, remember to note what you found on the delivery receipt before signing it. It cannot be stressed enough that when you sign a delivery receipt without noting any damages, your are acknowledging that you have received your order in a condition acceptable to you.
- Take good pictures of the damaged cartons and products and send them to us as soon as possible. This will allow us to immediately start the process with the manufacturer on resolving any issues. Be sure to keep your copy of the delivery receipt safe and consider scanning it and sending us a copy to assist us in pursuing your claim.
Our experience is that if you follow the above critical steps when receiving your order, our ability to process any claims is greatly assisted and a satisfactory resolution is almost always the outcome. Thanks for your part in helping that to take place!