PU/Delivery.......is there a limit?

[sofadoc]

I've always offered free PU/delivery for my local customers. But of course, the cost to pay a helper is already figured in to the labor cost that I quote them.

I got a call today from a decorator right after delivering a sofa to her client. The sofa was upholstered in snow white ducking fabric. So I had it wrapped in plastic.

This sofa was one of the larger, heavier ones. And it was going to require a lot of twisting and maneuvering in order to get it the house. So we removed the plastic outside before we brought it in (I didn't want to try a bunch of twisting and turning with slick plastic).  The customer assumed that we had driven all the way to her house with no wrapping of any kind on her clean white sofa. So she called her decorator to complain.

We got it all straightened out, and all is well (BTW, there were NO smudges to complain about anyway).

But while I had the decorator on the phone, I informed her that I am now well into my 50's, and really not too terribly interested in hauling sleeper sofas up winding staircases anymore. In other words, in the future on large, heavy, or particularly difficult PU/deliveries, there will be a charge sufficient enough to pay 2 strapping young bucks.

Just wondering. Most of the couch guys on this forum that immediately come to mind are over 50. Do you guys still schlep couches on your backs? Or do you "draw the line" on difficult PU/deliveries?

[MinUph]

Still  schlepping away. My boss and I do most of the deliveries and he is a couple of years older than me. In our 60s we still do a better job than most younger snappers. He did attempt at using a delivery service. One that a couple of the larger design firms use. The delivery was a mess. Took us half a day to clean and steam the furniture. We are back to schlepping. It has never been easy to find people that handle furniture well. There is no reason not to charge for tuff or long distant deliveries.

[sofadoc]

It has never been easy to find people that handle furniture well.

It's a strange phenomenon. Only people who upholster furniture know how to properly handle furniture. It doesn't seem like brain surgery to me............but apparently it is.

The helper that I currently use........I swear.......I have to remind him EACH and EVERY time to raise the skirt before grabbing the frame.  And he couldn't figure out cushion placement if his life depended on it (cushions turned sideways. or zipper facing front). The only thing that he is very adept at, is knowing which end of the sofa to grab that will cause ME to walk backwards.

I still handle 95% of the sofas with no problem. But the occasional super-large, super-heavy sofa is tough on my gimpy left knee.

But you're right Paul. Hiring 2 strong young men won't solve anything if they just make a mess.

[Mojo]

Dear God:

Thank you for guiding me into canvas work.

Amen.

:)

Chris

[gene]

I provide P/U and delivery for a small charge. It covers my helper, gas, and only a part of my time.

I see it as a service that I provide and I think I would loose business if I no longer provided it.

The past few months I've gotten prices from several moving companies who deliver furniture for stores. I would like to get out of the trucking business if I can for the reason sofaD said (getting older) and I would prefer to be in my studio working.

They charge about 3 times more than I currently do. I think this also would hurt my sales - but - I will never know for sure unless I try it. ???

I love the Mercedes Sprinter van (Used to be a Dodge until Mercedes bought them back.) If I had one of these I think I would prefer to spend my day driving around picking up furniture rather than pulling staples.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1366&bih=636&q=mercedes+sprinter+vban&oq=mercedes+sprinter+vban&gs_l=img.3...934.5572.0.5815.22.13.0.9.8.1.169.1331.9j4.13.0...0.0...1ac.1.16.img.Z_qFEVbxTy4#hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=mercedes+sprinter+cargo+van&oq=mercedes+sprinter+cargo+van&gs_l=img.3..0l2j0i24l3.6750.11974.0.13419.13.12.1.0.0.0.111.758.11j1.12.0...0.0...1c.1.16.img.PmgwkGqIVQU&bav=on.2,or.r_qf.&bvm=bv.47534661,d.aWc&fp=df9937a6ee980728&biw=1366&bih=636

I also like the Aeromat. I would paint "NO I DO NOT SELL ICE CREAM" on the side if I owned this van.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1366&bih=636&q=mercedes+sprinter+vban&oq=mercedes+sprinter+vban&gs_l=img.3...934.5572.0.5815.22.13.0.9.8.1.169.1331.9j4.13.0...0.0...1ac.1.16.img.Z_qFEVbxTy4#hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=aeromat+van&oq=aeromat+van&gs_l=img.3...7034.9141.2.9529.10.10.0.0.0.0.152.842.8j2.10.0...0.0...1c.1.16.img.R_62TSh6N8E&bav=on.2,or.r_qf.&bvm=bv.47534661,d.aWc&fp=df9937a6ee980728&biw=1366&bih=636

gene

[kodydog]

We recently picked up a sleeper. We dropped the bed only to discover the doors were all to small for the darn thing to fit through. Three small doors in this room. The customer couldn't remember which one was used to deliver it. One door was 1" bigger than the rest so after moving a ton of furniture to give us a straight shot we squeezed it through. Then down some steps then through another small door through the pool table room and finally out another small sliding glass door. By this time the customer thought we were completely insane and we all wondered how we would ever get it back without ruining it. But we did.

At the place I currently work I've only made one delivery in the last 16 months. The boss and the shop helper do all that. That leaves me free to do what I do best. Upholster.

I do a lot of work for a furniture store in town. They use a big box truck and and two young men to do there deliveries. They keep me busy.

[sofadoc]

"Mr. Wide-link" has struck again. :(

My helper recently had a brainstorm of an idea.

"Hey, why don't you teach me how to upholster? Then I can stay here at the shop and cover the furniture while YOU make deliveries!"

He was DEAD serious. This idea comes from a man who has great difficulty remembering which end of a broom is the business end.

[byhammerandhand]

I like the Freightliner / Dodge / Mercedes Sprinter.  I've considered buying one and eventually converting to an RV.  Only two things keeping me from buying one:

1.  The price tag, north of $40K for the high-roof models.

2.  I've never seen one more than a couple of years old that didn't have rust spots all over it.

[scottymc]

Stay away from the merc, we have alot over here and all you hear of them is trouble. Thats one thing I noticed over in the U.S. no real small economical vans. This is what I have owned for quite a few yearsen.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:1998-2003_Toyota_Hiace_(RZH103R)_van_(2011-11-04).jpg and this is the one I hope to get into the future and use it as a camper also.www.toyota.com.au/hiace/specifications/slwb-turbo-diesel-auto
I have never seen these toyota vans over there, do you have them? Very reliable.

[Rich]

[quote.I have to remind him EACH and EVERY time to raise the skirt before grabbing the frame. ][/quote]

I know there's an off color joke in there somewhere, but I'll leave it at that.
Rich

[mike802]

I used to offer free pick up and delivery, but now I charge for them.  The cost of the vehicle, insurance, gas, time out of the shop, hiring a helper, I just could not justify it anymore.  Most people end up getting their furniture to me themselves when they hear of the charge.  I am also approaching the 50 mark and the thought of lifting heavy furniture around someones home is not appealing.  I do a lot of repair work for a furniture store, fixing damage from the delivery guys.  I have seen these guys deliver furniture to my shop and they have the skill for getting a square peg into a round hole down pat.

[byhammerandhand]

One guy that one of my customers used to have on payroll was either a klutz or really didn't care.  Force over finesse.  The service manager tried to be nice and tell him things like, "Wow, your hands are really dirty" (hinting he should wash them when moving customers' white upholstered furniture.)   He'd usually respond, "Yeah, I work really hard and they get dirty."     I had to go out and do a shampoo on a number of occasions.   He's no longer with them, BTW.


I always say that in two months no one is going to remember if it took one minute or five minutes to get a piece of furniture up or down a set of stairs, but they'll always remember if you scrape up a wall, gouge a handrail, or damage the piece.