Wonderful (part) solution. I love things like this that tap into the mind so subtly.
My favourite is how it's easier to sell a couch for $20 than it is to give away. Proven three times in undergrad.
Bike manufacturer sees huge reduction in delivery damage by printing TV on box
41–50 of 245 posts
Re: Bike manufacturer sees huge reduction in delivery damage by printing TV on box
#42Most things arrive fully assembled. With that TV you just plug it in and that is it. You don't have to adjust the HDMI sockets with a screwdriver or double check the earth lead is correctly bolted on. You don't have to get a spanner out to adjust that five degree tilt to one side in the base.
But with a bicycle, it is an entirely different story. The seat is not centered on the rails, nice and level. Much has to be assembled and that is understandable, however, the brakes and the gears rarely work as well as Shimano intended. The bike is part assembled and the consumer is left to do the rest. Rarely is the finished result as polished as the fit and finish that the TV arrives with.
If a bicycle manufacturer jost got that final assembly together so that only seat height adjustment was needed with nothing else needing a double check, then they might be able to sell to the end customer properly. As it is there is no quality in the final delivery, bikes sent to the customer will be far from expertly 'tuned'.
Re: Bike manufacturer sees huge reduction in delivery damage by printing TV on box
#43Earlier quoted context omitted.
Shippers huck stuff around with little regard for the contents, particularly if they aren't blazoned all over with fragile/biohazard stickers. Fedex and UPS tend to be just about one-half step above the folks handling baggage at the airport, and how many times have you seen those people wing around suit-cases like they were throwing the hammer in the Olympics, and seeing just how far back they can toss from and still…
So you're saying that Amazon doesn't honor your insurance policy? I guess if that's generally true for shipping companies, and there's not much competition, that explains it. (in which case, tricking them into being more careful seems more ethically appropriate).
He said that they do honor it:
> ... If I had a nickel for every time I've had an Amazon purchase refunded or replaced because ...
Re: Bike manufacturer sees huge reduction in delivery damage by printing TV on box
#44I wonder if the number of stolen boxes (either while in shipment or when left on porches) went up?
I would say that is likely
Re: Bike manufacturer sees huge reduction in delivery damage by printing TV on box
#45Earlier quoted context omitted.
Organizations are bad at communication. How do you disseminate that the information that "look guys, bicycles are fragile too" to ten of thousands of logistics workers? This is an awesome hack, and it's a great way to fix behavior without having to collide with bureaucracy. It's not ethically fraudulent because the shipper shouldn't be breaking anything. And I'm sure they do pay fees for what they break, and the ship…
> How do you disseminate that the information that "look guys, bicycles are fragile too" to ten of thousands of logistics workers? A 3 paragraph email.
My apologies if I failed to detect humor here. But in my experience a 3 paragraph email usually get's the message to about 10% of the audience. The other 90% will either not read it, read it but not take it very seriously, maybe they take it seriously at first, but then the effect wears off, etc. Especially if there are dozens of competing memos going out each month.
A photo of a TV on the side of the box tells the worker right then and there that this is both expensive and delicate, handle with care. It does it more than even "FRAGILE" does, because that's been abused to death already.
I suppose if everybody starts claiming their boxes are TVs, then the effect will wane as well. But this is way more effective than an easily-ignored memo.
Re: Bike manufacturer sees huge reduction in delivery damage by printing TV on box
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
Organizations are bad at communication. How do you disseminate that the information that "look guys, bicycles are fragile too" to ten of thousands of logistics workers? This is an awesome hack, and it's a great way to fix behavior without having to collide with bureaucracy. It's not ethically fraudulent because the shipper shouldn't be breaking anything. And I'm sure they do pay fees for what they break, and the ship…
> How do you disseminate that the information that "look guys, bicycles are fragile too" to ten of thousands of logistics workers? A 3 paragraph email.
Sarcasm? Reading comprehension for emails is so bad. And these are blue collar workers that you're targeting. If anything I'd have it be an item in a weekly team meeting, but don't you think these workers are _always_ hearing the same thing? "Hey guys, HQ said we need to break less stuff. I know we're only at 0.2% breakage but corporate says we can do better." They probably don't really give a shit, or are already doing their best, and the picture on a box targets their subconscious.
Re: Bike manufacturer sees huge reduction in delivery damage by printing TV on box
#47Unfortunately, the boy who cried wolf will apply if this is more widely adopted, and then pity the poor folks who order TVs.
Maybe the resulting increase in shipping insurance payouts will finally force logistics companies to actually give a fuck about their quality. It's about time.
More shock stickers on all products please!
Re: Bike manufacturer sees huge reduction in delivery damage by printing TV on box
#48Earlier quoted context omitted.
Organizations are bad at communication. How do you disseminate that the information that "look guys, bicycles are fragile too" to ten of thousands of logistics workers? This is an awesome hack, and it's a great way to fix behavior without having to collide with bureaucracy. It's not ethically fraudulent because the shipper shouldn't be breaking anything. And I'm sure they do pay fees for what they break, and the ship…
Well I didn't say it was a huge deal necessarily. Just not totally clean. Perhaps fraud was a bad choice of words and I changed it. And I agree it's a very interesting hack. I don't necessarily agree that a shipper shouldn't be breaking anything. I think that they should meet whatever the agreement was. If the agreement is "we'll try super hard not to break stuff" and they're clearly not holding up their side of the…
I think it's ethically questionable to carelessly break things people are waiting for just because the thing is perceived to have low monetary value. The shipping company may have to eat the dollar cost of the item, but the cost to the sender and receiver in time and hassle is non-negligible.
Re: Bike manufacturer sees huge reduction in delivery damage by printing TV on box
#49Earlier quoted context omitted.
So you're saying that Amazon doesn't honor your insurance policy? I guess if that's generally true for shipping companies, and there's not much competition, that explains it. (in which case, tricking them into being more careful seems more ethically appropriate).
He said that they do honor it: > ... If I had a nickel for every time I've had an Amazon purchase refunded or replaced because ...
> ...I could probably buy a candy bar.
Hah, looks like I forgot how expensive candy bars are. Okay I get it.
Re: Bike manufacturer sees huge reduction in delivery damage by printing TV on box
#50I wonder if the number of stolen boxes (either while in shipment or when left on porches) went up?
Will any delivery company actually just leave a TV on your porch?
In the same week UPS made me sign for a set of $5 kitchen utensils I'd ordered off Amazon but left a Mac Mini on my doorstep no problem.