It wasn't hindsight concerning the temperatures when those crickets were ordered on Thursday. It is extremely doubtful that the OP didn't know what the temperatures were like outside. And one would assume that the OP would have been aware of the forecast over the next couple of days. How long does someone have to live in MA to know what temperatures are like there in January?
Surely you avail yourself of weather FORECASTS when you ship, don't you? That has nothing to do with hindsight, that is prudent use of available resources for your business decisions.
Yes, I've shipped my share of animals, and I would not ship if the overnight lows at the destination was going to be below 32 degrees. People didn't like that? Tough. They were MY animals till they got into THEIR hands. Regardless of heat pack and insulation I just would not ship during cold temperatures. Insulation only slows down temperature transfer through the medium. Heat packs can only generate so much heat without being so hot inside the box to negate extreme cold temperatures outside the box that they cook the animals inside. I did a LOT of testing with heat packs so I would know their capabilities before I ever shipped my first animal that way. Plus heat packs utilize oxygen to generate heat, and in a closed container with animals that NEED that oxygen to survive, the heat packs themselves can kill if they take the upper hand with the oxygen supply. Yeah, you can put holes in the side of the box so there is some airflow, but at those cold temps, that air coming in is going to be COLD air, which kind of defeats the purpose of the insulation and heat packs.
Quite frankly, in my opinion again, it was a poor choice and unwise decision on the OP to even choose to have crickets shipped at those temps to that part of the country. But to be fair, the cricket company HAD to have known that there was no chance in hell those crickets were going to show up alive at the destination. They SHOULD have just refused to ship. But yes, to some companies, the customer is ALWAYS right, even if that customer is making an obvious mistake.
On this, we agree. My point was that perhaps the customer had some basis to believe that they would still arrive OK, although the risk that they would not is huge.
Regarding all the talk of charge-backs, etc., let me first note to all here who do not deal with shipped insects, and especially crickets, that I do not believe there is a cricket company out there that guarantees beyond next-day delivery. That may be either of:
1) Next Day Air or Priority Overnight, depending on carrier; or,
2) The customer is within one-day Ground radius.
Rich, you mention the crabs you received. The question would be whether or not they were shipped as per the TOS. If a company agrees to ship you fresh crabs, I assume that the means of shipping is outlined. Pay to have it shipped this way and you will get fresh crabs. Anyone who ships perishables understands that they have some sort of contract to have a viable product delivered as expected.
However, in this instance with the crickets and superworms,
the buyer opted for a less expensive form of shipping, that specifically waives a live-arrival guarantee. Frankly, I would be surprised if a charge-back was honored as such. If that were the case, then imagine what it would do to the cricket business ? They would have to curtail non-guaranteed shipping, lest they constantly face frivolous charge-backs.
To a point raised by another, a good vendor will make it quite clear when a shipment is not guaranteed. Whether because of a 2-day delivery option chosen, or bad weather, etc. For instance, in my case, we typically guarantee everything that we ship. However, if the customer requests such as a Saturday delivery, we only guarantee it providing it is delivered on Saturday. Whereas we guarantee all weekday Mon-Thu shipments, even if there is carrier error or delay, as we then expect the shipment to be only one day late, with a missed Saturday delivery, the shipment defaults two days, to Monday.
Probably already mentioned, but as the customer seemed to expect a Saturday delivery, that was not going to happen. Saturday deliveries are a unique category of shipping with both FedEx and UPS. For instance, if one ships on a Friday via such as UPS Next Day Air, it is going to be delivered on Monday. One must choose "Saturday delivery", and pay a premium, usually $15-20, to then have Saturday delivery.
Sometimes we are responsible for calling the customer on their nonsense.
