In my line of work I am occasionally a purchaser of services. In my view its not up to the customer to determine who is at fault when something doesn't arrive on time,.... its up to the vendor. If the vendor promises to deliver a product on a given date, he or she should hold themselves accountable for doing so. Delivery IS part of what you are paying for! The shipper is a subcontractor of the vendor. I don't care if the vendor ships by UPS or camel, if you make a purchase from a vendor and he or she promises to deliver it by a certain date, its their responsibility to get the product to your door by the time promised. When items or services I need do not arrive when I need them, it messes up a whole chain of events and I can't afford to do business with that vendor again.
Unfortunately, many vendors do not hold themselves accountable for what goes out their door which is why they blame their shipper. Receiving u-bolts without nuts is as unforgivable as missing an install date because a product wasn't received when needed and promised. Unfortunately that's life. Its up to you and I not to get burned twice. After successfully having occasional business with Rusty for a number of years he screwed up over a small part that took him months to correct I assume because he forgot about it. He lost my loyalty over that one. My attitude is that there are plenty of places to receive mediocre service. In all fairness, mistakes do happen and I'm willing to forgive if compensation is afforded me. But I at least make a "best effort" to do business with companies that appear to value the money I spend at their door.
Unfortunately, many vendors do not hold themselves accountable for what goes out their door which is why they blame their shipper. Receiving u-bolts without nuts is as unforgivable as missing an install date because a product wasn't received when needed and promised. Unfortunately that's life. Its up to you and I not to get burned twice. After successfully having occasional business with Rusty for a number of years he screwed up over a small part that took him months to correct I assume because he forgot about it. He lost my loyalty over that one. My attitude is that there are plenty of places to receive mediocre service. In all fairness, mistakes do happen and I'm willing to forgive if compensation is afforded me. But I at least make a "best effort" to do business with companies that appear to value the money I spend at their door.