Free Delivery and Installation – Are You Getting What You Paid for?

The answer is yes. I do not think the old saying “you don’t get nothing for nothing but nothing” applies in the case of the furniture industry, customers could very well be getting what they paid for and a whole lot more.

Many furniture and mattress companies offer free delivery with your purchase of their products. In all my years of being in the bedroom furniture business when such a promotions were being advertised, I have found it a rare occasion to see anyone pass up the generous offer of a free delivery and installation of furniture. Instead they choose to take advantage of it.

No one wants to borrow or rent a vehicle to haul something, and who’s to say it would fit in it anyway? Lets face it no one in reality wants to pick up a mattress and boxspring, figure out what and how to tie it to a vehicle. Worse yet make the attempt to lug and manipulate an enormous king or queen size mattress through a furnished house. Could it possibly be worse? You bet, how about taking a 350-pound behemoth of an armoire, wardrobe, or dresser up several flights of stairs only to discover it won’t fit.

Such is the job of the under paid furniture deliverymen. Did I say men? That’s right most companies send out 2 men and a truck. Companies often invest in a big expensive truck that can transport more than one delivery. This is important, because it speeds up the delivery process. It stops delivery men from having to run back to the warehouse for each and every delivery, only to reload for the next. This helps to reduce costs saving you money.

Unfortunately owners and warehouse managers often overbook deliveries with the hope of getting the most bang for their buck. If in a normal day they schedule 10 deliveries but make the choice to schedule 12 deliveries they have now overbooked, or have they? The dispatcher does this because often times a customer has a planned delivery and forgets about it, or they make a quick run to the store to pick something up with the hope that the delivery won’t show in the brief few minutes of abandonment. Point being a whole in the delivery schedule develops for excess deliveries to be delivered filling the void lowering overhead.

Sometimes deliveries can run longer than planned, and other times indecisive customers can change their minds on where to place the furniture requesting that everything be repositioned. Sometimes the rooms are not properly measured and deliverymen and customer find out the product does not fit. So items have to be reloaded and sent back taking up valuable time for both parties involved.

Even with fine tools like Map Quest it can be hard for drivers to locate their delivery destinations. Ultimately when they arrive at that destination they find that the carry will take much longer than projected because of stairs, distance of carry or clutter in the pathway. One of the most frustrating problems can be with the merchandise itself slowing down the whole procedure due to damage or stubbornness in the assembly process that can normally be avoided.

So how can many of these problems be fixed? Charge a reasonable delivery fee that covers the cost for a guaranteed time scheduled delivery. This method would pay for the time needed to inspect dressers, chests, and other types of furniture before they are actually delivered. Customers and sales associates go over what might or might not fit by making sure that rooms are accurately measured. Lastly everyone needs to abide by the planned delivery schedule. The room or rooms and pathways should be prepared and free of clutter in order to accept a quick delivery and assemble process. This would allow for a smooth, timely, pleasant delivery experience for all involved.