I find it somewhat ironic that last Friday as I was putting together my newsletter rant about disclaimers and warranties and being responsible, I was simultaneously waging a five hour battle with a freight company that had been entrusted to deliver plants for us. By the end of the day I was probably beginning to resemble the chap in the photo above.

I just had a hunch that we needed to check on a sizable order that was headed to a very good customer in southern California, that was originally supposed to have been delivered the day before. I was already a little fractious (Southern for upset) that the delivery was running 24 hours late.  A good thing we checked.  Sure enough, we were informed that the delivery was again running a little behind and would not arrive at the terminal in time to be delivered Friday. So now I was told that this shipment which had originally been scheduled for Thursday delivery, "could not be delivered until Monday". Sorry, that one doesn't float!

Last week I mentioned that we pledge to our customers that the delivery process is "Our Responsibility & Not Your Headache".  Well, here is where we have to either put up or shut up.

It took the better part of the next five hours and more than a few phone calls, to convince the carrier that they were in the delivery business and that it was a bit absurd (and embarrassing) for them to suggest that they could not find a way to deliver to a customer who was barely a half hour from their terminal. 

Just think about it.  We are talking about a major carrier, with a fleet of thousands of trucks, that can deliver from Georgia to southern California in a scant three days (when they get it right), yet can't deliver to a point that is 25 miles away from their terminal when it's after 5 o'clock on Friday!  Isn't it AMAZING what people consider not possible these days!

When they didn't get it (the urgency in my request) after a couple of rounds, I had to resort to Plan B.  I simply informed them that if the plants were not delivered that day, that they would not only be forfeiting the $892.00 freight that they were expecting to be paid, but that they would also be the proud owners of about $7,000 worth of less-than-fresh plants that THEY, not my customer, would be purchasing.

At this juncture, I think they reassessed the situation and decided that my demand, while a bit inconvenient, was certainly not impossible.  As a result, a plan was immediately put into place to ensure that the plants did indeed make it to their destination that day. 

So at 8 PM Eastern that evening, a good five hours after the drama started, I was able to remove my "Crusader For Sanity In Business Practices" cape, return to my street clothes, and head home where I put on my headphones and cranked up our song of the week, "It Don't Come Easy", while I rested up for another day.