[Andy Graves]

We ordered ten Kohler 2210 porcelain vanity sinks from Domain Industries. They all came neatly stacked on a pallet with a plastic wrap holding them all together.

We forklift them off the truck and sit them by our roll up door.  All was fine, we signed for the shipment and off went the delivery truck.

Couple hours later we cut the plastic off and started to load them into our sink rack. One of my guys noticed one of the boxes had a little crunch to it (see picture), picked it up and the sink made noise. He opened to find a broken sink.

Now I was gone at the time so when I saw him the following day, he told be about the sink. I told Valerie and she emailed Domain. They said the needed a picture. So we sent a picture. Apparently my word wasn’t good enough.

Here is the response we got back from Domain:

Valerie,

 

Sorry for getting back a little later than I wanted to, I just wanted to go though all my options before getting back with you. Nobody is willing to help me out with getting a replacement covered for you. Usually I can get the sales team to meet in the middle or work out something on replacements from us but these sinks you have are not ours, we do not stock them and they are special order as all Kohler products are from us.

 

Unfortunately I have no way of getting you a replacement out he door without charging you. Please stress to the people receiving pallets they need to be inspected. Some drivers are hard to get to agree with letting you break down the pallet while they are there (they believe if there are no damages to the pallet, shrink wrap or items on the pallet visable no inspection needs to be done.) The box was clearly delivered a little bent up (not in good shape) so seeing this should have sparked a look into and inspection.

 

Let me know how you would like me to proceed. If I need to get you involved with my supervisor I can do that as well and would take no hard feelings to it. I just want to get you taken care of and what I can do has been denied all around.

 

Kindest regards,

This is the ultimate in customer service. Guess we will purchase our Kohler 2210 sinks from somewhere else.

I find it hard to believe that everyone opens every box and inspects the sinks before the driver leaves. They don’t have time to wait and honestly I don’t have time to open every box.

We purchased some other sinks from them a year ago. We bought 20 and three of the sinks had little pits in the porcelain. I just threw them away. I was probably supposed to inspect all 20 of those too.

Customer service sucks nowadays.

[Steve , NY]

If they don’t replace the sink they will lose WAY more business than if they replaced it and just ate the cost, regardless of if it is their sink or not. They sell them don’t they ?

[Andy Graves]

They sell em. I don’t think it was drop shipped but who knows.

We are never going to buy anything from them in the future. It is too much trouble to go through all this nonsense to get a replacement sink.

Take a picture of the sink is ridiculous. If I was pulling a fast one, why wouldn’t I just break a sink, take a picture and send it. I would hope that my word is good enough but obviously it wasn’t.

I spoke with the owner one time about buying the China made porcelain vanity sinks. He basically told me they were a loss leader and by me placing an order for 30 didn’t mean a whole lot. Thinking back, I am surprised I even continued to order. Stupid me.

[Tom M]

So you have done business with them in the past and they still burned you on this.

Says a lot, really. At least you won’t have to worry about any problems with them in the future.

[Andy Graves]

Yea, we have purchased from them in the past. I am really surprised. Imagine what the post would have read if they would have said, “Oh no problem, let me either credit your account or send you a new one. Whichever you prefer, just let us know. Sorry for the inconvenience.”

This post would have been much different and maybe some of you all would have purchased from them. Of course I am not suggesting you do not purchase from them, just letting you know what you are going to get when you do.

[Wayne]

Our experience…
A few years back we ordered ~25 of the China made undermounts and ~5 were smashed.
We called Domain while the trucking company driver was still here, signed the shipper as damaged with the drivers signature.
Took pictures & emailed them to Domain.
We were credited back all the broken sinks.
…Wayne.

[Dani Homrich]

I have been involved with receiving freight all my life, my Dad owned a trucking Co with a ware house and received freight many times a day. The rule when receiving freight is: if you sign the bill of lading and the driver leaves you have agreed to the fact that you received the freight in good condition even if there is hidden damage. No claim will be allowed. When we received anything breakable like chairs, lamps, china, etc. every box was opened to check for hidden damage. If there was hidden damage then it was noted on the bill of lading and a claim could be flied. The driver will say if you open the box I can’t take the back, that’s OK because if there is damage it will be on the bill of lading and you can file a claim.

The fault is not with Domain or the shipping Co. The fault is with the receiving dept. for not checking the boxes before signing the bill of lading and definitely with a box showing damage.

[Andy Graves]

Dani, you are absolutely right. Problem is, we have never had this problem with Chemcore, Karran, Dupont, Rugby (Staron), Livingstone, or countless other places including items shipped through UPS, FedEx, DHL. Never had a problem with the hundreds of items I bought from Amazon, Bruce Adhesives, Wesley Tools and countless other companies.

Amazon ships the package, we sign the little computer screen and they drive away. Later, we open the package and gaze into the little brown box only to have our newly purchased item damaged. What a bummer. I login to Amazon, click on my order history and file a claim. They swiftly send a packing slip and refund my money to my account.

Now I have personally met the owners of Domain, they know I am an honest guy and have done business with them for years. I have promoted their products, written reviews about their sinks.

So when I get a broken sink I expect a new one.

Is that too much to ask? Oh wait, I forgot, it’s my fault.

[Tom M]

Dani,
Imagine the trucking company delivering two or three kitchens worth of cabinets. Will that trucking company really want their guy to hang around while the company takes its time opening each cabinet box and then replacing it (which takes longer)?

We have never had a cabinet company refuse our word with any difficulties or damage.

[Wayne]

It’s a third party order (direct from Kohler).
Unless your a whale of a customer, can’t expect Kohler to take it back, if signed for without documentation.
Just saying…

[Dani Homrich]

I am only going to say this. I’m only stating the facts when it comes to road freight. The driver can not leave until you sign the bill of lading no matter how long it takes and if the driver has a problem with waiting then all you do is call the main office and they will set him straight. If there is hidden damage in the shipment and it is not noted on the freight bill it is a done deal and you have no right for a claim.

[Andy Graves]

Posted By Dani Homrich on 23 Aug 2013 09:54 AM

I am only going to say this. I’m only stating the facts when it comes to road freight. The driver can not leave until you sign the bill of lading no matter how long it takes and if the driver has a problem with waiting then all you do is call the main office and they will set him straight. If there is hidden damage in the shipment and it is not noted on the freight bill it is a done deal and you have no right for a claim.

Dani,

I agree with you 100%. But I would bet that when I place an order with you for Perfect Finish you would not treat me the same as Domain.

I would be willing to say that if the bottle was broken with the Perfect Finish leaked out into the box, you would immediately replace the Perfect Finish. You would not require me to send a picture, check the box before signing or jump through hoops to get this resolved.

You would just chalk it up to customer service and move on. I would probably post a comment on the FabNet about how great your customer service is and more people would buy your products after reading the rave review of how you took care of a customer.

That is how I should have been treated and I wasn’t.

Like I said, we never get this type of treatment from other vendors.

[Andy Graves]

Posted By Wayne on 23 Aug 2013 09:44 AM

It’s a third party order (direct from Kohler).
Unless your a whale of a customer, can’t expect Kohler to take it back, if signed for without documentation.
Just saying…

I didn’t expect Kohler to take it back, I expected Domain to credit my account for one sink.

Let’s be realistic here. These are vitreous china bowls. This cannot be the first time this has happened.

Guess I learned my lesson. From now on we will stand there and inspect every last one before signing the shipper.

I do have a question, if one sink is damaged, do I refuse the entire order?

[Jon Olson]

Whenever you sign for something always write no apparent damage . If you do see something that looks  strange you need to open. Sure the driver has to wait. But he also isn’t going to pay for the replacement .

[Dani Homrich]

If there is damage you don’t need to refuse the order only note it on the bill of lading and then it goes to claims and the freight co insurance co will cover the cost. Also if a box has been opened the driver can’t take it back anyway.

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