Shipping Light Bulbs
Shipping Light Bulbs
Hello, Today I received an order that I had placed for six 5' 80 watt t5 bulbs. All the bulbs were broken. Your customer service rep that I spoke to was helpful & new bulbs are being shipped out. I am just kind of concerned that the same thing might happen again. The bulbs were sent in a triangular box box that seemed fairly sturdy, but obviously didn't stand up to UPS's shipping. Do you often have problems shipping bulbs, or do you think it's unlikely the second shipment will get damaged? I live in GA & the bulbs coming all the way from CA means it takes about a week to get to me. Have you considered using some other type of packaging for these bulbs, like a more ridged "tube" type container? I guess I am just kind of worried.
Hi,
Lig. Thank you for your post. We were disappointed to hear about your broken bulbs and offer our sincere apology for the inconvenience, delay and any undue frustration this situation may have caused you. We are pleased to hear the rep you spoke with is sending out new some new replacement bulbs to remedy the situation. Our warehouse supervisor personally ensures replacement bulbs are properly packaged so you won't have to deal with this a second time. He usually includes a letter in instances like this to let you know he oversaw the processing of your replacement order.
We certainly understand your concern about shipping the bulbs cross-country again using the same packaging with the same shipping courier. Fortunately, bulbs arriving broken is uncommon. You may read the occasional post in our RC thread about broken bulbs, but those reports are a small percentage of the hundreds of bulbs that get delivered safely each and every day.
As far as box choices go, we are experiencing great success with the triangular-shaped package you mentioned. We keep meticulous records of returns and shipping claims and regularly review this information to watch for trends. Yeah, we're nerds"”we love data! It helps us isolate and resolve shipping issues to help ensure everything we send out arrives safe and sound. The cost and waste that result from the delivery of damaged goods is higher than if we ship a properly packaged order the first time, so that is definitely our goal.
We are absolutely open to using different types of boxes and packing materials. If you know if any particular type we should check out, please post a link and we'll pass it along to our warehouse supervisor and director of operations. In the meantime, we'll supply them a link to this thread so they can look into the rigid tubes you described. We feel fortunate to have a tight-knit relationship with our shipping supply company. They visit us every month to chat about what is working, resolve what isn't and enlighten us about the latest and greatest in box and packing material technology.
We want to be the best we can possibly be, so we absolutely value your feedback. We are also confident your replacement order will be delivered without incident this time. Should you encounter any issues, however, please do not hesitate to contact us. Many facets of our business were built based upon customer comments, so we always encourage you to get in touch with us anytime you have something to share. Obviously you're concerned about your bulbs, but the fact you also showed concern about our business and even offered up an alternative shipping solution is very humbling. We appreciate the care and look forward to making you happy with this next delivery.
