Extra Mile Service – Whatever it takes!
When we determined that a critical shipment wasn’t going to make it for an important trade show, we reran the order and boarded a plane. We flew the labels (in suitcases) to the venue in Chicago so the customer could have them for the show. The customer loved the labels. The stickers were a big hit at the event. Whatever it takes, we are here to provide extra mile service. Here’s the full story:
Friday Night
At about 10pm Friday night, we figured out that this shipment would be delivered Monday, not Saturday as requested. We contacted UPS and tracked the packages, but with no luck. The packages were stuck in Louisville, KY and nobody would get to them in time.
Saturday at Noon
By noon saturday we had an emergency crew in the shop to re-run the job. While the job was running, we explored DHL, FedEx Freight, and continued to look for ways to retrieve the job from the UPS facility in KY. The customer was willing to drive from Chicago (297 miles) to pick up if this would be an option. Unfortunately, the only viable option was to buy an airline ticket and fill suitcases with labels. Saturday afternoon we were out buying suitcases to make this happen.
Saturday Night at PDX
The gate agent checked the overweight bags onto the United Airlines direct flight to Chicago. The staff was very cordial and helpful – it isn’t very often that a person only checks their bags one way! The passenger was just there to escort the bags, but it was faster and less expensive to have a human getting a free ride to Chicago.
Sunday 5am in Chicago
After a nice relaxing night on the airplane, I was in Chicago by 5am and ready to hand off the bags to my customer contact. Labels aren’t always sexy or exciting, but this handoff seemed like a monumental achievement to keep the free world safe. Very exciting to see the labels in the proper hands.
Later, we got notice from the trade show that the labels were a big hit. Finally, by the end of the day the trade show staff gave away the entire 200 lbs. (4 suitcases) of hand delivered labels. Success!
Sunday 10am – back in Portland
About 95 minutes after the big handoff, I was back through security and eating breakfast at the airport. Sadly, I didn’t see any of Chicago on this trip! The flight back was easy, and with the time change, I was back before lunch time. In less than 12 hours I covered 3,500 miles and made a huge impact on an important customer.
Extra Mile Service – Anything for Labels!
This is, admittedly, the craziest delivery story that I can recall in the last 24 years, but it’s really just an extension of our daily way of doing business. Customers come to us with crazy problems all the time and we go out of our way to fix them. Extra mile service – that’s what we are all about. Call us today!