This may come as no surprise to some of you, but the shippin
Seeing this saddens me and I express my regrets. Unfortuantely, I am not surprised and I think it is pretty typical for trucking/shipping/moving industry. And worse yet, despite all the hype, they just don't give a sh**.
I have shipped a lot of industrial equipment and machinery. About 50% of the time there is damage of some sort and they probably get away with it 90% of the time because filing and following up on a claim is so time consuming, which forces you into a cost vs. benefit descision. Their insurers' will find some way to tell you that you're not entitled or otherwise wear you down. About the only time you'll get a decent settlement is if you are tenacious and persist--like an adjusters worse nightmare. VERY IMPORTANT: They frequently mistate the rules and regs to their benefit. Don't take what you are told for granted--do your research. You can collect more than the 10 cents a pound (or whatever it is now) for the damage without buying additional insurance. Insurers seem to have a lot of discretion in this area, if you persist.
Case in point: recently, I shipped an arc welder and it was destroyed in transit (by Roadway). I finally did receive full restitution, BUT only after refusing the first 2 or 3 settlement offers, calling every day for 3 months, providing back up documentation and writing several letters. Interestingly enough, they initially delivered it to another address--claiming I was closed--which wasn't the case. I believe that that the driver was [intentionally] trying to avoid having the delivery inspected for damage by the cosignee. Hmmm.... very clever. Come to think of it, even when there has been *obvious* damage, the drivers don't ever seem to notice it. Amazing.
If you are going to ship anything that is irreplaceable or that you value and want to minimize the likelyhood that it will be damaged, then, at a minimum, wrap it in heavy cardboard (sides and top) and band it to a pallet. Better yet, crate it.
Remember that these guys get paid whether your item arrives intact or not. Their goal is to stuff as much freight into a given space as possible and to move it as quickly as possible. As a result they often move or scoot freight around by "nudging" it with the forks [of their forklifts]. This frequently results in dents, breakage or punctures. They will stack things that are not intended to be stacked, etc.. Anyway, it is routinely considered as collateral damage resulting from inadequate packing which will likely be deemed your fault. And remember, if you are shipping LTL (less than full load) it is likely that your item will get handed off, perhaps several times, before it gets to your destination. Better to be safe than sorry.
