New Heresy III speakers arrived damaged... WWYD?

[ironman]

38 minutes ago, Sam S. said:

Man, sorry to see that. I did return mine today with prepaid label to go back --- but consider that I had to burn a day off work on the day they were delivered, and I happened to be off today anyway, but I had to lug them over to UPS. I've thought about how long it would take me to drive to Cory (yes I did PM him), or even to Hope to pick up in person. It's a shame that that would even be necessary. Good luck with your return, Ironman. I was going to drop an e-mail to Klipsch today, but when I went to their contact page, I got a 3rd party site that looked unaffiliated, so I didn't. Maybe the mods on this board can pass info. like this on --- and maybe some policies might change.

 

Or bubble wrap around the speaker might also help in shipment.

 

Thanks Sam.  I just got my prepaid return label and will be shipping them back to Electronics Expo.  I got a bit of a discount on them, which makes me wonder if they already knew the speakers were damaged.  I am going to order another pair from B&H and they tell me they will be shipped directly from Klipsch, hopefully with better luck.  I wish I lived closer to Hope so I could drive there and pick them up myself... and also talk to someone in person about their ridiculously poor packaging.

[richieb]

 

- We recently ordered a custom granite lavatory top from the manufacturer and during the waiting process I worried 

about shipping damage to such a piece. This thing literally took about 45 minutes to remove from its vault like box. 

Yep, expandable spray foam that I firmly believe would have allowed the top to be dropped from 20 feet with no damage.

Klipsch could have 2-piece boxes made with about 3-4 inch oversize, wrap the speakers in pallet wrap, spray the open box with expandable foam,  put on the top half, band and be done. Granted these foam "machines" and  foam supplies are not cheap but neither are Forte and CW, particularly those that are returned damaged. I've received items of Much less value that have been packed this way. 

And I believe the foam is Eco friendly.

[ODS123]

2 hours ago, Arrow#422 said:

Even with placing the speakers in an insulating & padded double wall carton & then INSIDE of a 2nd double, or even triple, wall carton won't necessarily guarantee their safe arrival.

These items we so relish are both heavy and bulky so damage is surely to occur from drops, mis-handles, and speed demon lift truck operators. 

Direct shipping to end user will continue to be risky with the current packaging being used.

Exposure to such losses may be lessened by bulk shipping to various distribution points (by pallet) & then requiring Pick-Up-Only (within end user's same county or some predetermined distance radius).

YMMV

 

 

Guarantee?  No, but it certainly will cut wayyyyy down on the percentage that arrive damaged.   My Paradigm S8's and Vandersteen 3A Sigs were both 100lb/ea speakers and both had far better packaging.  Way more heavy foam and far thicker boxes.  Either would have survived being shipped over seas.

 

Heck, my Cornwalls weren't even fully covered in plastic.  ..There was a single sheet that draped from the top to the bottom but definitely did NOT cover the whole speaker.  Even if the boxes were never dinged, any moisture that worked it's way into the box would have damaged the finish.

 

C'mon Klipsch, you're better than this.  

[garyrc]

My Klipschorns were delightfully overpacked, with a wood and Styrofoam box within a box ... but that was in 1982. 

 

They were sent to the local dealer, who inspected the outside of the boxes, and said, "any problems, just call."  There were none. 

 

The same with my Heresy IIs.

 

I love brick and mortar stores.  Paul Klipsch would drop into the two I frequented whenever he was in the Bay Area.   He conducted a seminar at one of them, in celebration of his 80th birthday. 

 

Then we moved to a "small" town (~~50,000).  There was no Klipsch dealer nearby.  My Belle Klipsch and RSW 15 subwoofer were delivered by a dealer, in his van, with a store more than an hour away.   No charge.

 

Those were the days.

[Arrow#422]

38 minutes ago, garyrc said:

My Klipschorns were delightfully overpacked, with a wood and Styrofoam box within a box ... but that was in 1982.

That IS the way to package for safe arrival, but adds considerably to the cost.

Seems like it would be offset by less claims or returns.

A single sheet of plastic - laughable - does nothing other than keep someone employed & mere dust off the finish. 

[ironman]

8 minutes ago, Arrow#422 said:

That IS the way to package for safe arrival, but adds considerably to the cost.

Seems like it would be offset by less claims or returns.

A single sheet of plastic - laughable - does nothing other than keep someone employed & mere dust off the finish. 

 

There is no need for such expensive overpacking.  Simply adding four thick styrofoam pieces that run the length of the four edges would prevent the vast majority of shipping damage, while adding very little to the cost.  It makes absolutely no sense that Klipsch doesn't do that.

[MEH Synergy]

Agreed Ironman 

[Arrow#422]

57 minutes ago, garyrc said:

My Klipschorns were delightfully overpacked, with a wood and Styrofoam box within a box ... but that was in 1982. 

 

They were sent to the local dealer, who inspected the outside of the boxes, and said, "any problems, just call."  There were none. 

 

The same with my Heresy IIs.

 

I love brick and mortar stores.  Paul Klipsch would drop into the two I frequented whenever he was in the Bay Area.   He conducted a seminar at one of them, in celebration of his 80th birthday. 

 

Then we moved to a "small" town (~~50,000).  There was no Klipsch dealer nearby.  My Belle Klipsch and RSW 15 subwoofer were delivered by a dealer, in his van, with a store more than an hour away.   No charge.

 

Those were the days.

  Yes, yes they surely were.

This was back when a customer was truly valued & doing the right thing was ALWAYS the right thing to do.

YMMV

 

Sorry to read about the OP's damage issue - best of luck with an amicable resolution.

Sincerely.

#422

[wstrickland1]

My Palladiums were packed very well. I seem to remember my LaScala II's being packed well too, Ehh, maybe they really weren't and I got lucky.

[tigerwoodKhorns]

It only takes one idiot a little time to do a lot of damage.  If the boxes are undamaged, the damage happened before the product left the factory.  One moron banging things around and hiding the damage is all that it takes. 

 

I had my car and motorcycle bags painted at the same time.  The guy had his brain damaged son pull my car around a corner to park it.  Apparently he could not handle the task and the motorcycle bags slammed around in the trunk and had to be repainted.  One moron...

 

At one of the major hotels, they had to replace all of the brand new plumbing, as well as remove the drywall, because the drywall crew decided to flush the unused drywall mud down the new toilets instead of taking it to the ground floor and dumping in a designated clean out.  A whole tower's brand new plumbing ruined.

 

It only takes one idiot...

[jimjimbo]

15 minutes ago, tigerwoodKhorns said:

If the boxes are undamaged, the damage happened before the product left the factory. 

This may or not be true.  You don't know what happens when the product leaves the factory and reaches a dealership or a warehouse.  Someone might want to take a look at them, maybe demo them, and then VOILA!  dings and dents.  It is certainly not outside of the realm of possibility.

 

If I remember correctly, when I had a set of Chorus II's with factory boxes, they had a generous amount of foam packing, and yes, the 4 lengthwise corner pieces.......

[ironman]

2 minutes ago, jimjimbo said:

This may or not be true.  You don't know what happens when the product leaves the factory and reaches a dealership or a warehouse.  Someone might want to take a look at them, maybe demo them, and then VOILA!  dings and dents.  It is certainly not outside of the realm of possibility.

 

In my case, I am certain the damage occurred during shipment, not at the factory.  I can see that the edges of the boxes have at some point been impacted and pushed in along the same areas as where the speakers are damaged.  And in those areas there was nothing between the corner of the box and the corner of the speaker inside except for an inch and a half of empty space.  Replace that empty space with a few cents worth of dense styrofoam and.... damage averted!

[Tony Whitlow]

 
In my case, I am certain the damage occurred during shipment, not at the factory.  I can see that the edges of the boxes have at some point been impacted and pushed in along the same areas as where the speakers are damaged.  And in those areas there was nothing between the corner of the box and the corner of the speaker inside except for an inch and a half of empty space.  Replace that empty space with a few cents worth of dense styrofoam and.... damage averted!

The shipping co. Is to blame. Contact the dealer and arrange for them to pay for the return shipment. They will have to settle up with the shipper. Those fork truck drivers don’t give a damn about the frieght. They just want to move as fast as possible.


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[Paducah Home Theater]

5 hours ago, Sam S. said:

I did return mine today with prepaid label to go back --- but consider that I had to burn a day off work on the day they were delivered, and I happened to be off today anyway, but I had to lug them over to UPS.

 

Is that how they came?  Well there's your problem right there.  Any dealer that sends out Heritage speakers via UPS ground ought to be horse whipped.  

 

[Schu]

^ I could not agree more... UPS is the shipper that smashed my La Scala II's.

[MEH Synergy]

UPS has destroyed three large and expensive pair of speakers for me now, well packed also! I felt bad for the shippers.  Fedex for me, specifically fedex freight, not one by comparison.  

[Paducah Home Theater]

7 hours ago, jimjimbo said:

I guess it's fine to contact Cory, who is an authorized dealer, and a good guy.....but be aware that he can do absolutely nothing after the products are released from his warehouse, just like any other dealer.....after it's in the hands of Big Brown or Fedex

 

Well, mostly true, but I at least know how to handle it like a pro.  So here's how this should go:

 

1. The dealer should ship Heritage speakers via freight, period.  

 

2. The trucking company will call you to set up an appointment.  You have to be there when they unload it.  

 

3. Inspect the boxes immediately with the driver still there, before you sign. 

 

4. If there is any significant damage to the boxes make the driver note it on his form at the minimum, no matter what.  

 

5. If at all possible, open up the boxes and inspect the actual speakers while he is still there, at the minimum if there's a big hole in the box or whatever then look and feel inside the hole, see if there's any chunks missing out of the speakers.  

 

6. If there is anything at all wrong with the speakers, then right then and there refuse the shipment.  Let the trucking company deal with their own ineptitute.  

 

7. If this is not possible, then at least you noted it on the form.  Get them inside, get them out of the box, and inspect.  

 

8. If you find anything at that point, contact the dealer, who will then make a claim with the shipping company.  

 

9. Either way, at this point you should have a new set of speakers sent to you while the dealer goes after the shipping company.  

 

10. If you want to bypass some of these steps, then pay extra for white glove delivery service.  Certified Heritage Dealers such as myself have to be able to offer this as an option.  

 

 

When you deviate from the steps outlined above, it results in conversations like this.    

 

[dbomberger]

Forgive me as I didn't read each previous post, but it's been clear to me for a while that something is wrong with the design of the shipping containers.  In the past two months I have seen two sets of Cornwalls, and one set of Forte's for sale on CL in Arizona with similar damage.  Fortunately mine were delivered "freight" came on pallets with no damage whatever.  Still, changes need to be made at the Factory-this is really not good and doesn't speak well for the brand. Hate to say that with my 50 year allegiance to Klipsch, but this needs someone's attention.

[Paducah Home Theater]

This is what happens with you let UPS ship Fortes.  

 

 

 

 

[MEH Synergy]

Looks about right from my experience