Oven Shipping Issue

[davemartin88]

Recently ordered a Casa2G90 oven kit from FB and it arrived on Friday but not without some drama. The shipping company, Con-Way, called me from the side of the road about a mile from the house to tell me they have a new policy and aren't allowed to drive their trucks on gravel roads anymore so what did I want to do with my oven? We then had a fairly heated discussion about their new policy.

Luckily, I have a skid steer so I drove down the gravel road (25' wide, good condition, in perfectly dry weather) and unloaded the oven from the truck and brought it to the house. We documented on the shipping bill that I did not received the liftgate or residential service that I paid to get. It took over 25 minutes to drive to meet the truck so what a waste of time for the driver on top of everything else.

I've contacted both FB and Con-Way about the problem and waiting to hear from either or both, I sent emails and also sent a paper copy of my letter to the CEO of Con-Way. Just a heads up in case anyone else might be in the same situation. The driver told me the policy had gone in to effect the previous day and the drivers were told if they had an incident with their truck on a gravel road, they would be held fully accountable and most likely fired, sounds a bit extreme to me!

This isn't a FB issue in that it's not their policy but I am looking for their help to at least receive a refund on the shipping services I didn't receive. I would think they would have some leverage of their own to receive a refund from Con-Way directly and pass it along so not looking for this to become a post about FB issues. Just a heads up and maybe a vent on my frustration.

Hope to post soon about progress on building but won't have the stand ready for a few months as there is other patio work ahead it.

[Wiley]

Re: Oven Shipping Issue

Interesting that this issue came up just today on another forum of which I am a member.

One reply which is worth noting was made by someone on that forum who had it happen to him a couple weeks back. He paid for house delivery by box truck with a lift gate and the shipment was made by a semi with no means to get it either to ground level save dumping or closer than several miles to the man's home. The trucker was said to have rambled on about new policy and some such and ended with wanting more payment to return to the truck yard and move the load to a smaller truck with lift gate and home delivery. This didn't appeal to the list member and so he called PayPal thru which he had made payment. Next thing he heard was an apology from the trucking company about a "misunderstanding" and the shipment was delivered in a box truck with a lift gate to his home the very next day. I don't know how much clout PayPal has but it sounded good.

This is now a second hand story and don't have anything that I can personally vouch for it's truthfulness. It isn't beyond imagination to think that the trucking companies are trying this little scam on the basis that it saves them money if they don't have to fulfill their complete contract or makes them more money if they can con the customer into paying for the service twice.

Bests,
Wiley

[davemartin88]

Re: Oven Shipping Issue

Received a call yesterday from someone in the corporate office of Con-Way, this was a result of my paper letter to their CEO. He was very apologetic and wanted to let me know that he would be following up with the local Con-Way office. I let him know that the local reps were very insistent that this whole thing was the result of the guidance from their corporate office and wasn't their fault. He said that Con-Way was processing a small credit back to FB for the liftgate service that wasn't provided.

I've had no further follow up from FB after my initial email. Had a call from their sales team saying they wouldn't offer any credit for the issue but might be able to offer some compensation in the form of a product, no new word on that front.

I really think this was the case of a local driver deciding to be a jerk about some new guidance they were given regarding safety. The corporate rep said they were putting out some new guidance related to safety but mainly intended to tell the drivers that if they feel uncomfortable in a situation, they should step back. It wasn't hard or specific guidance that they could never drive on a gravel road again, especially one that is maintained well and under dry conditions.

I think my biggest beef with this whole thing is that Con-Way has been to our house for deliveries twice before in much larger trucks. The corporate rep said that if this was the case, it was really an issue for them to have decided now that they can't get there, especially in such a small truck. This would be the kind of thing the local office would be expected to be aware about.

Net is, no satisfaction at this point but will wait to see if/when FB weighs in. I talked with my credit card company and they are happy to open a dispute with FB if I decide to go that route and felt I had a good case to recover a portion of the shipping, especially if Con-Way is providing a refund. The credit card company didn't have any rationale why FB would have been so adamant they wouldn't provide any credit but obviously couldn't speak for FB.

Wiley, thanks for your note, after telling this story to a few people in this area, I'm hearing more issues, mostly with Con-Way from what I can tell. Most recent was about a construction contractor who said they wouldn't deliver his supplies to a house he was working on even though he had used them before.

Thanks, hope to start building in a few months when the stand is ready and hopefully the first pizza will take the taste of the bad experience with FB/Con-Way away, lol.

[nissanneill]

Re: Oven Shipping Issue

Hi Dave and Wylie,
we have deliveries over here that simply rock up at a residence, when no one is home they leave a note often wanting a re-delilvery fee. I would insist from your supplier, that Conway (or for that matter any similar transport/delivery organisation) NOT BE GIVEN YOUR DELIVERY because they will not honour their agreement. Some times you do not have a choice, but you do need to be vocal.
My brother was building a pole house on the side of a very steep hill with access by a narrow but bitumenised roadway. Some suppliers refused to drive up the road but an interstate semi driver reversed his fully ladened trick with 40 foot long poles up that very road with no effort nor concerns.
Let everyone along your gravel road and spread the message.
When the companies suffer through lost business, maybe they will re-evaluate their policies.
Good luck in the future.

Cheers.

Neill

[Tscarborough]

Re: Oven Shipping Issue

The reality is that it is up to the driver under what conditions he will proceed. They carry a professional national license and every incidence is recorded on that license. I give all of our drivers the ultimate decision as to if they are able to make the delivery as desired or not. What seems easy and simple to one driver may not be doable by another.

[davemartin88]

Re: Oven Shipping Issue

If the driver that brought my oven wasn't able to drive up a completely dry, level, and wide gravel road, then he has serious issues and shouldn't be on the road under any conditions. I understand safety but also understand enough about driving a truck the size of this one to know it was completely safe. A safety concern might have been more likely had the driver even driven to the gravel road to at least look at it, he said he knew there were gravel roads up here because he had been up the paved road that runs to my place a few years ago and told me he hadn't bothered to drive up when he called. I didn't mention in my original note that the driver had actually stopped by the side of the road another quarter of a mile away from the gravel road and was expecting me to meet him there. When I saw he hadn't even gotten to the gravel road, I asked him to at least drive the truck to the entrance of the gravel road before opening the truck. Luckily, there is an asphalt entrance to the gravel road so he didn't have to touch any gravel, lol. The driver also told me that he was pretty sure that FedEx and UPS would soon stop driving on my gravel road as well.

Previously, Con-Way had delivered to my house with 40' semi rigs over the same road in the same condition. Same company, same conditions, and a bigger rig without even batting an eye- they called me to make sure they had a place to turn around but once told there was a large cul-de-sac where they could unload and turn around, they had no problems.

Going forward, I will certainly tell anyone trying to ship to me to not use Con-Way unless I get any real follow up and assurance that they will do better the next time. The bad news for me on this delivery was that I would have recommended them based on my previous experience- would be nice if this was a one off. Frankly, I think this driver was either incompetent or trying to make a point to someone by making customers mad. It worked.

Still hoping to hear something positive from Con-Way or FB.

[davemartin88]

Re: Oven Shipping Issue

Forno Bravo let me know they followed up with Con-Way but didn't get much of a response. I asked them about refunding a portion of the shipping charge but they did not want to do this. Instead, they offered to send me some products from their store so I thank them for making a good faith effort on their end!

As for Con-Way, no further follow up, will just make sure I avoid them and talk them down whenever I get the chance.