Disclaimer and Apology:I just noticed that I'm celebrating an anniversary of sorts. Today's message represents exactly four years worth of blogs. Not wanting to inundate your inbox, I've limited myself to exactly one message per month. So, today is blog #48. Now, unlike musical artists who release either greatest hit or cheesy Christmas records after only two moderately successful albums, I've never posted anything other than original (although arguably ordinary) content. That is until now. You see, it has come to my attention that I've allowed some misinformation from a June 2013 blog to linger within the depths of our website. On this anniversary I feel compelled both to apologize for the error and to make things right. So, without further ado (what does that even mean?), I bring you my first (and hopefully last) newly released single which highlights my corrections in a brilliant red. I’m afraid that I did irreparable damage to my youngest son Luke the moment he was delivered into our world.
Almost fifteen years ago, my sweet newborn son was placed in my left hand and his tiny head rested in my right. I gently lifted my baby so that our noses could almost touch, took a deep breath and then, in a deep raspy Darth Vader voice, spoke the first words he would ever hear:
“Luke, I am your father”
No newborn should be subject to such a horrific delivery experience and neither should any friend of Specialty Box & Packaging
Spectacular packaging is generally delivered in one of four ways.
Small Parcel Service/Ground ServiceUsing this service, shipments from 1-200 pounds are usually delivered by either UPS Ground or Fedex Ground. This service includes having the full shipment removed from the truck and every piece of the shipment is carried inside by the driver. It is not out of the question to have heavier shipments of up to 350 pounds deliver in this manner.
LTL ServiceLTL stands for “Less than Trailer (or Truck) Load.” This service is generally used because it is much more economical when shipping palletized product where the entire shipment weights at least 350 pounds. This is a no frills service which simply gets the product to your address. It is the responsibility of the receiver to get the product off of the truck. Usually the receiver will either have a forklift to remove the pallets from the truck or a dock on which the pallet/s can be unloaded.
LTL Service with Lift-Gate ServiceThe lift-gate service is added when the receiver does not have a loading dock, forklift or any realistic means of safely unloading the freight. When including lift-gate service with LTL service, the driver is responsible for unloading the freight from the trailer. The receiver is still responsible to break down the pallet and bring the product inside.
LTL Service with Lift-Gate and Inside DeliveryThe freight arrives by truck, the driver unloads the freight from the trailer and then places the full pallet of product somewhere inside the final destination. The receiver would be responsible for breaking down the pallet and putting the product where it will eventually be stored. If a driver is asked to do this you can expect a lot of kick back from a very cranky trucker. LTL Service with Lift-Gate, Inside Delivery and Sort & Segregate ServicesFor all intents and purposes, this is the small parcel service for heavy, palletized shipments. The freight arrives by truck, the driver unloads the freight from the trailer and then the driver breaks down the freight and hand delivers the shipment piece by piece.
It is not uncommon for Specialty Box clients to have shipments that are borderline choices between ground service and LTL service. We work diligently to find our clients the best and most economical delivery solution. This will often require us to ask,
“If your product delivers by truck will you need to add lift-gate, inside delivery or sort & segregate services?” I promise not to ask in my Darth Vader voice.