On 13 Oct 2005 06:21:10 -0700, wrote:

In the case of UPS it seems to have more to do with the shipper than
anything else.

And sometimes it's the gremlins. Two horror stories:

1. Six years ago I shipped an AEA TNC to Timewave for an upgrade,
UPS insured. It was well-packed - I've spent many years doing
domestic and overseas packing of fragile household goods and
electronic equipment (and during the 1967 War a commercial ocean
shipper hired me to so some of it because his regular staff was out
doing military service) so I DO know how to pack well. Timewave
reported that the knob and shaft on the only front-panel control was
bent and had to be replaced. Fast forward to last year. I had to
ship another TNC to them, and mindful of the first experience, put
TWO INCHES of snug-wrapped bubble-pack around the instrument, then
two inches of sheet foam around that. I swear - the packing must
have weighed as much as the instrument. You guessed it - Timewave
reported that the control was damaged in shipment although the box
and the packing was intact.. Go figure.

2. Quite a number of years ago I had a commercial art framer send a
one-of-a-kind drawing cross-country to a friend of mine for a
special birthday. It went UPS insured. When it arrived, my friend
reported that there was a small crack in the glass frame and I
reported that to the shipper. They made arrangements for UPS to
return the item for re-framing. When it arrived back at the framer,
the package looked like someone had used it for a tennis racket.
The drawing was destroyed, and unfortunately the artist had passed
away and very little of his remaining collection was "on the market".
We did manage to get something not really that close, but the
"specialness" of the event was completely ruined. I don't know
who they used to ship the second time but it got there with no
further incidents. Because the shipper guaranteed the shipment, I
left it up to their lawyers to haggle with UPS.

The only problem that I've had with the local UPS delivery here is
that he leaves the package and rings the bell, and then it's a race
to see if I can open the door before I see The Big Brown Truck drive
off.

--
73 de K2ASP - Phil Kane

From a Clearing in the Silicon Forest
Beaverton (Washington County) Oregon