The Holiday Season is Upon Us!

The holidays are coming, and with it the frenzy of shopping -- and shipping. At Pak Mail, we've already packed and shipped a number of Christmas packages for customers who plan much further in advance than I do! But if you will be sending gifts and goodies to friends or family across the state or across the country, it's wise to plan ahead - and ship ahead. Giving your packages plenty of time to get to their destination provides 2 important benefits:

1. It's less costly. You can send them via ground carrier rather than air, and know they'll still arrive in plenty of time.

2. You avoid having your packages get lost amid the confusion of the HUGE number of packages that get shipped during the last week or two before Christmas. That's when lost, damaged and delayed shipments are most likely to occur.

If you have any questions about holiday shipping deadlines, the best way to pack an item, or what it'll cost to get that box of goodies to your daughter in Dallas, give us a call at Pak Mail. We're here to make your holidays pleasant!

A Customer Service Experience

My husband and I went to dinner last night at a local restaurant, and had a very interesting customer service experience (not!). I ordered steak medium rare, and when I cut into it, it was medium to medium-well. The waitress volunteered to take it back. Two minutes later the chef appeared at our table with my plate in hand. "This steak is medium rare," he said. "If you wanted it cooked less, you should have ordered it rare." He then set the plate in front of me. Stunned, I looked at my husband and commented, "Obviously, I don't know how I like my steak cooked. "

Minutes later, the waitress was at our table, apologizing profusely. Assuring her we didn't hold her responsible, I said, "Too bad the owner doesn't know how his chef is treating customers." "He is the owner!" the waitress responded.

As the owner of Pak Mail, I can assure you that premium service is a critical aspect of the experience you have when you become our customer. This begins with the friendly greeting you'll get when you walk in the door; it continues with safely packaging your item and giving you the best rate for whatever you are shipping, and it doesn't end until your item has been delivered safely and on time. If there is a problem at any point with the shipment, we'll be your advocate with the carrier, and we'll take care of any problems or claims that may occur. Customer service is as important to us as it is to you, and if ever you are disappointed with the service you receive at Pak Mail, please let us know.

Recycle, Re-use, & Keep It Out of the Landfill

We take in a lot of used styrofoam peanuts at Pak Mail. We believe strongly in recycling, and if packing peanuts are clean and odor-free, we're happy to take 'em off your hands. In fact, we belong to the Plastic Loose Fill Council - a fancy name for packing peanuts. Better us than the landfill, which is too often the dumping ground of stuff that's not even worn out. Of course, that's changing -- with the tough economy, people are hanging on to things they once would have discarded without a second thought. Resale shops, Goodwill and other places that depend on "gently used" discards are reporting increased sales but decreased donations.

So yes, bring your peanuts to us - and while you're at it, check in your closets and garage for useful but no-longer-used items to donate to the charitable resale shop near you. They can use your stuff!

How NOT to pack a shipment.

Recently, we received a shipment for a customer who had a rare chair and vase set sent across the United States. The delivery arrived in amazingly poor condition. Worse yet, the chair was severely damaged due to improper packaging. After talking with the customer, it was revealed that the chair had been in her family for many generations. It had dated back to when her family came across the U.S. in covered wagons, and was irreplaceable. The picture shows just how poorly these items were packaged. Had we been the ones to package and ship it, we would have done things VERY differently to ensure safe arrival. This is an excellent example of how not to ship a rare item. It goes without saying that next time, the customer will contact us first, and the shipment will be done right!

Vacation Travel Minus the Luggage Hassles

Want to take the hassle and some of the cost out of vacation travel? Why not ship your luggage to your travel destination? With airline fees for a 60 pound suitcase as high as $100 or more each way, and a high chance of bags being lost, shipping ahead is an easy way to take the worry out of air travel.

Pak Mail’s Ship Ahead service offers a ground shipping rate of $60 for suitcases up to 60 pounds going anywhere east of Colorado. For destinations west of the Rocky Mountains, the rate is $45. If the suitcase is lightweight and the actual shipping rate is lower than $45 or $60, the lower rate prevails.

Shipping ahead is a sensible solution to minimize the hassle of travel. Pak Mail has shipped golf clubs, boogie boards, skis and snorkel gear as well as suitcases across the U.S. and even to Europe. Think about how pleasant it would be to to check in to your hotel and have your bags waiting for you! Pak Mail can also provide a return shipping label so the bag can be shipped back home.

Airlines are cracking down on carry-on luggage as overhead bin space is in high demand. Checked bag fees start at $15 for the first bag, and there's a weight limit of 50 pounds; it's
$25 for the second bag and up to $100 or more for additional bags. Then there’s the hassle of lugging those bags through the terminal. . . .

How to Package So Your Shipment Arrives Safely

The shipping environment is notorious for rough handling. Carriers are designed for speed and efficiency, not careful handling. Packages must be able to travel through numerous conveyor systems, withstand a 30 foot drop, and still be intact. Cardboard boxes should never be reused, as wear occurs each time the box is shipped, so it loses its integrity and may damage the contents. Corrugated boxes come in different thickness -- single wall, double wall, triple wall etc. Use a double wall box if your item is very fragile or heavy; this will protect the contents in transit.

All items should be wrapped and packed separately from one another in bubble wrap, paper, cloth, or foam sheets. Always pack items so there is no movement in the container, floating them in packing peanuts or similar loose fill. Newspaper is not a substitute for styrofoam peanuts - it compresses, allowing items to shift and bear weight against each other. Fragile or delicate items such as artwork, glassware, dishes or electronics should be double-boxed, with 2 inches of packing material between the item and the box walls.

Bear in mind when shipping via air or ocean, the dimensions of your shipment may determine the costs to ship it. It's best not to mix breakables with nonbreakables, but if you have no choice, always put the heavy items at the bottom, and put sufficient packing between items. Rattles or movement means there is too much space, and your item needs more packing.

Always provide a shipping label on the outside of your package with the person's name, address, and a contact number to insure proper delivery. It is also a good idea to provide a "ship-from"
label to let the person know who is shipping to them. If you are sending multiple packages to one address, label each box in a series, (1 of 14 etc.) to insure all packages arrive together on time. Listing a phone number is very important; in the unfortunate event one of your packages is misplaced, the receiver can be contacted.

Use a good strong tape to seal boxes. Scotch tape, masking tape and duct tape don't have enough bonding strength. We recommend packaging tape 2-4 ml thick. If your shipment is fragile, mark it Fragile! and remove any old labels or stickers that do not relate to this shipment. Also, don't use liquor, wine or beer boxes for shipping, or boxes labeled "ORM-D (meaning contents are hazardous) - it's illegal to ship these items without special permits, and even if there's no liquor or hazardous material in the box, it'll be returned. Never mark what the internal contents are on the outside of your package. This also applies to using - or reusing - boxes identifying the contents, such as computer boxes or boxes with the manufacturer's name or logo on it. It's an open invitation to thieves that something valuable is inside.

Dandy, the Pak Mail Princess

Dandy is our "shop dog" - a Yorkie-Shi Tzu mix. She's six months old, and comes to work every day. . . and if she's not at Pak Mail, our customers complain! Dandy loves people, and our customers love Dandy. She brings joy to the world . . . not a bad thing these days!

We Ship Anything, Anywhere!

It happens almost daily. A customer comes in to Pak Mail and sees an item on the retail floor being packaged prior to shipping . . . a dresser, grandfather clock, auto parts, multiple boxes of personal belongings. The next comment: "I didn't know you shipped (fill in the blank)!"

"Yep," we respond. "We do it all the time."

We really do ship anything, anywhere. We have shipped a well drill to Peru, grandfather clocks to England and New Zealand, household items and furniture to Norway, Australia, Khatmandu, Mexico and points around the globe. We've packed and shipped fragile bone china across the U.S. and to England. We've shipped cars to Utah, Arizona, Florida and elsewhere. (We're working right now on shipping a Toyota to Norway.)

But if you have a small package (or a large one) that just needs to get to a destination a few hundred miles away, we can do that too. We use UPS, Fed Ex, and the U.S. Postal Service, as well as freight carriers like Roadway, USF Reddaway, UPS Freight, R&L and others to get the most economical rates for you.

On this web log, we'll be telling stories about some of the jobs we've done, and we'll also offer tips for how you can save money on packaging and shipping. We have some funny stories we'd like to share with you, and unique items we've shipped (or been asked to ship - and declined.) We'll tell you about them here. Check back often! And let us know if there's something you'd like to learn about when it comes to packing or shipping.