Meredith Cunningham is the production/online editor for Retail Online Integration, its e-newsletter, The ROI Report, and website, RetailOnlineIntegration.com. Meredith is also the production/online editor for the Target Marketing Group's web-only brand, eM+C.
Before coming to North American Publishing Company, Meredith served as sports editor for The Evening Bulletin in Philadelphia, and was a designer for the Bucks County Courier-Times. She earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from Utica College of Syracuse University in 2007.
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Postage rate increases have gone into effect; consumers want — scratch that — expect free shipping; and don't forget about returns. Yes, shipping can be stressful for the everyday multichannel retailer. But count your blessings because your shipping woes could be a lot worse, as seen on A&E's newest show "Shipping Wars."
Here's a look at just a few reasons to be thankful your shipping efforts aren't this complicated in a breakdown of episodes four through six (you can find a review of episodes one through three in part one of this series):
Episode 4: Cash for Tanks
In a hurry to make his shipment and make it back home in time for his son's graduation, Roy got caught in a severe thunderstorm while delivering an antique car from Indiana to Connecticut. Roads were flooded, emergency crews were out in full force, yet Roy decided to drive through it despite pleas from other carriers to keep the cargo safe and dry.
The impact of the storm resulted in numerous roads being closed, forcing Roy to find a detour — yet most of the detour routes were flooded and also closed. Roy carried on, however, risking damage to the antique car. Remarkably, the antique car was delivered on time and without any damage to it. Roy received a 5-star rating for his work. The icing on the cake: He made it to his son's graduation on time.
Episode 5: Pain in the Caboose
Pain in the caboose is an understatement. Marc Springer won the right to ship a 1928 antique train caboose weighing 40,000 pounds from Alabama to Utah for $17,000. A shipment of this size requires proper paperwork and permits, which Marc got, however, he was concerned that the seller wasn't spot on with his measurements of the caboose.
Aside from looking like it could fall apart at any second, Marc had to hire an outside party with two excavators just to get the caboose on his big rig. That cost him $2,500, and that's just the beginning. Because the dimensions of the caboose were incorrect, Marc had to call the buyer and see if it was OK to cut off part of the roof — with low-hanging wires and overhangs, the caboose wouldn't make it out of the driveway with the roof attached. The buyer said OK, and $1,500 later the roof was removed.
Marc had to frequently stop during the journey to hammer in nails and make other necessary adjustments to the caboose so pieces didn't fly away in the wind. Once the caboose arrived — and after another $500 to get the caboose off the truck — the buyer was happy and Marc walked away with $8,500 in profit.
Episode 6: Camel in Tow
Jennifer must love towing livestock. After this trip however, she may think twice before doing it again. Problems shipping a Mongolian camel from Oklahoma to Vermont caused Jennifer a few tears. Much like her last experience with shipping animals, Jennifer had to stop every hour-and-a-half to feed the camel, clean up after it, and let it relax and stretch out its legs. Jennifer knew she'd have to stop to feed the animal, but wasn't anticipating a stop every hour-and-a-half. What was originally planned as a two-day trip turned into four.
To make matters worse, Jennifer also had car troubles. This cost her a few more hours and $100 to fix her truck. Needless to say with all the problems she encountered, Jennifer only managed a 3-star rating for this delivery.
"Shipping Wars" airs on A&E every Tuesday at 7 p.m. EST. I recommend taking a look. Next time you want to complain about what a hassle shipping is and how offering free shipping can hurt your bottom line, take into account what a bizarre path some items can take to get to their destination.
What would you do if you came across similar problems? Do you have any bizarre shipping stories? Let me know by posting a comment below.
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