I would normally call out a specific company and list them in “Customer No Service”. However, I have stopped trying to bring sanity to each clueless company individually.
I go to buy a $44 switch (which by the way is an OEM part and already 3 times what it should actually cost). I look across the Internet and find multiple dealers of various parts places. I log in, put the part in the cart and go to check out. Whenever possible I try not to add any other info but the shipping ZipCode because I know what is going to happen.
Look at their calculation:
Yes, the shipping cost for a switch that fits in a prescription pill container has 3 times the cost for shipping. OK, so you say, but Lavarock, you live in Hawaii. That is true, it is a bit higher to ship here but not like that. They can actually place this switch in a padded bubble envelope and send it first class mail for a few dollars. However, they and many other companies either have a restrictive deal with a carrier (This has UPS) or they just don’t want to use the Post Office.
I have had to call companies directly and talk to their shipping department and try to encourage them to just stop on by the post office or even better, put it in a small flat rate box and the Postal Service will actually pick it up from them.
When Amazon first allowed Hawaii to have items shipped here, we filled their memberships with local customers. However some companies now use Amazon to sell items but do not use Amazon shipping. A 3 day delivery date turns into a week and a half and a ride on a container ship.
In the case of the above shipment, the company could have almost bought a 1 way coach airfare from the west coast to Hawaii and given an employee a mini half-paid-for vacation.
For those who don’t believe me… Southwest on Sept 23:
So I highly suggest CEOs and the IT guys, review your shipping practices with real-world examples and use common sense. Some of you are forcing customers to other suppliers and are losing customers that you never knew you might have retained.