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Ken Schramm

Ken Schramm
I try not to be needy on this bored, but the advice I got when I asked for help on picking out a bottling line was so incredibly helpful, I need to take a second pass.

I am going to put out a plea WRT a problem, and I have receipts, so I'll be naming names.

Lately, I've been ordering bottles that are hard to find in Detroit directly from shops in Europe. I end up spending less on the wine, more on shipping, but the wines have better provenance and have been treated better than stuff from a cargo ship. So far, a string of great luck with shops in France, Germany and Italy.

In September, I placed and order from Fine + Rare in London. Six bottles of Produttori del Barbaresco 2016 that I can't find here (that Jean loves), and six 2015 Jouan Morey St. Denis that I haven't seen in a while here. Fine + Rare packed it up and sent it to Seabrook Export, their shipping broker. It was in the comfortable temp shipping window, so I did not pay for the extreme temperature protection package. The shipping was more than twice what I have ever paid from a supplier on that side of the pond. I did pay to insure the shipment.

It got within 15 miles of my home and UPS reported it damaged.

I have made multiple contacts with both Seabrook and Fine and Rare to get this claim paid. Nothing but delays and disappointments. Got multiple broken commitments from first Seabrook and then Fine + Rare. This was supposed to have been resolved weeks ago.

I will starting a claim with my credit card card company. I will be starting complaints with the Dispute Resolution Ombudsman.

My asks: Does anybody know any of these people and have any insight in getting them to honor their word? Patrick O'Connor at Fine + Rare responded in a timely fashion, but nothing has happened. No commitment from Robert Byrne or Lauren Hall at Seabrook has been fulfilled.

Does anybody have any advice on what methods can be used to apply pressure in the UK? Is using the Action Fraud office effective?
 
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originally posted by Ken Schramm:
HelpI try not to be needy on this bored, but the advice I got when I asked for help on picking out a bottling line was so incredibly helpful, I need to take a second pass.

I am going to put out a plea WRT a problem, and I have receipts, so I'll be naming names.

Lately, I've been ordering bottles that are hard to find in Detroit directly from shops in Europe. I end up spending less on the wine, more on shipping, but the wines have better provenance and have been treated better than stuff from a cargo ship. So far, a string of great luck with shops in France, Germany and Italy.

In September, I placed and order from Fine + Rare in London. Six bottles of Produttori del Barbaresco 2016 that I can't find here (that Jean loves), and six 2015 Jouan Morey St. Denis that I haven't seen in a while here. Fine + Rare packed it up and sent it to Seabrook Export, their shipping broker. It was in the comfortable temp shipping window, so I did not pay for the extreme temperature protection package. The shipping was more than twice what I have ever paid from a supplier on that side of the pond. I did pay to insure the shipment.

It got within 15 miles of my home and UPS reported it damaged.

I have made multiple contacts with both Seabrook and Fine and Rare to get this claim paid. Nothing but delays and disappointments. Got multiple broken commitments from first Seabrook and then Fine + Rare. This was supposed to have been resolved weeks ago.

I will starting a claim with my credit card card company. I will be starting complaints with the Dispute Resolution Ombudsman.

My asks: Does anybody know any of these people and have any insight in getting them to honor their word? Patrick O'Connor at Fine + Rare responded in a timely fashion, but nothing has happened. No commitment from Robert Byrne or Lauren Hall at Seabrook has been fulfilled.

Does anybody have any advice on what methods can be used to apply pressure in the UK? Is using the Action Fraud office effective?
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I don't know about the UK side, but what did UPS say? Could you inspect the package? I am guessing they may have broken a bottle that soaked the package, but all 12? It's unlikely.

I have had excellent results in vendor disputes with Amex; they have generally taken my side when the case is well documented and not some of the vendors' claims.
 
The record indicates it was returned to Madison Heights and destroyed. I never even got to see the package.

Your advice mirrors my intuition. I started a complaint with AMEX.
 
originally posted by Ken Schramm:
The record indicates it was returned to Madison Heights and destroyed. I never even got to see the package.
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Still, from experience I would escalate the UPS side requesting an investigation (probably need to speak to a supervisor). But what if someone in the warehouse just took the 10 intact bottles home and said it was destroyed. Maybe more to the story?, but I would not give up on that front yet.
Your advice mirrors my intuition. I started a complaint with AMEX.
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Yeah, I got about $1000 back from Norwegian Air over their furious objections citing all sorts of contractual fine print, which I countered. So that may bear fruit if the UK side does not.
 
Mostly just lurk around here, but I can jump in to say that the shop I work for has had a few orders come from overseas via Seabrook, and they all have been packed terribly. Mish-mash of boxes, broken down cardboard, etc.

If we're aware they will be the shipper, we request someone else, or cancel our order.

This has been only 4 orders, so YMMV, but your story tracks.
 
originally posted by Marc Stubblefield:
Mostly just lurk around here, but I can jump in to say that the shop I work for has had a few orders come from overseas via Seabrook, and they all have been packed terribly. Mish-mash of boxes, broken down cardboard, etc.

If we're aware they will be the shipper, we request someone else, or cancel our order.

This has been only 4 orders, so YMMV, but your story tracks.
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I have seen this complaint online from others. Wish I had dug deeper before I let them ship.

As of yesterday, a staffer at Seabrook reports that he has issued a credit to the CC account I used. It hasn't shown up on my statement yet, and AMEX says it can take a week or so to get back through their CC processing firm and the respective banks. If it clears, you'll hear about it. If it doesn't clear, you'll hear about it.

I am no huge fan of styro shippers, but everyone else has used them, and they all crossed the pond and got to me in fine shape. It is not hard to buy a proper wine shipper. There are also reliable compostable/recyclable options. We go through them by the pallet load. If you are shipping for a company called "Fine + Rare" you'd think that might be a priority.

Wine is supposed to deliver joy and help me alleviate stress. Faaahk.
 
Maybe all I needed to do was vent here for the Karma Gods of Wine Commerce to cooperate, but the credit was issued and has shown up on my card balance.

In the words of Emily Latella: "Never mind."
 
Glad to hear everything was resolved.

I’ve read on another bored that UPS Will sometimes “destroy” an entire shipment if one bottle breaks and soaks the box
 
originally posted by Jay Miller:
Glad to hear everything was resolved.

I’ve read on another bored that UPS Will sometimes “destroy” an entire shipment if one bottle breaks and soaks the box
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Apparently that was the case here. Or some UPS cat got 11 very nice bottles.
 
I've been collecting at a good clip for more than 15 years (I know, I know, this is a pittance compared to some of the comrades, but I assure you that the volume of wine purchased in those 15 years is at least respectable). A couple of months ago, for the first time in my career as an enthusiast, a bottle on its way to me broke during shipment. (As an aside, after repacking them, FedEx actually did send the other bottles that were in the box, which were a bit sticky because the broken one was an Auslese Riesling.) Now, I mostly am buying from reputable retailers (and generally for shipment within the US), but it just goes to show that this is rarely an issue for well-packed shipments sent during seasonally appropriate times. No personal experience with Seabrook, but if they have received enough complaints about this issue that they have a reputation, then clearly they are doing something wrong.
 
originally posted by mark e:
I don't know about the UK side, but what did UPS say? Could you inspect the package? I am guessing they may have broken a bottle that soaked the package, but all 12? It's unlikely.
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originally posted by Ken Schramm:
originally posted by Jay Miller:
Glad to hear everything was resolved.

I’ve read on another bored that UPS Will sometimes “destroy” an entire shipment if one bottle breaks and soaks the box
Click to expand...

Apparently that was the case here. Or some UPS cat got 11 very nice bottles.
Click to expand...

hahahahahahahaha damn...

After the sixth time that wine boxes popped up as "Damaged in Transit - Destroyed" I was watching as the FedEx truck pulled up to deliver the next shipment -- nine cases of samples from clients. Driver got out of the truck, saw that they were wine boxes and returned to the cab and immediately afterwards the dreaded tracking data of "Damaged in Transit - Destroyed" popped up on my computer.

I immediately called FedEx, told them what had happened and said that if they didn't contact the driver and stop the truck I was going to call the Sheriff (despite the depiction of the Malibu Police Chief in "The Big Lebowski" we didn't have a local police department so the LA County Sheriff dealt with malfeasors). As the driver pulled away I ran to my car and began following the FedEx truck down Pacific Coast Highway. I was honking my horn, attracting some attention when the driver pulled over and without saying anything threw my wine boxes onto the street and drove off. No bottles for him and his buddies that weekend, and FedEx just said sometimes drivers make mistakes. Never saw him on the route again though.

And that's not even the worst situation with FedEx!!

Early last year an Aussie client shipped a pallet of samples. 50+ cases, wrapped in plastic. Paid extra for express service, but after a week I began getting concerned. First they said there was a holdup at customs. I sent them all of the proper paperwork that had been pre-approved. Then they said there was something else wrong, but the people I was talking to weren't sure what it was. Then I got the vague and nebulous "Damaged in Transit - Destroyed" message. Finally got to someone higher up on the FedEx food chain and they said that something bad had happened and that the boxes were destroyed, and that they were in their original boxes, not shipping boxes, and that was the problem. I told them that this had been accepted by them and the winery was told there'd be no problem. Then I found out that the pallet had been shipped to their office at SBP and went down and demanded to see it. They went through their chain of command and I was allowed to view the remains. A forklift had pushed through one side and five bottles had broken, putting wine stains down the outside of the plastic. I asked the local manager if five broken bottles constituted "destroyed" or any problem at all and she told me that I shouldn't be drinking so much wine, it was bad for my health and "it sets a bad example for the local youth." I asked her to release the wine and she said she couldn't because it'd been marked as destroyed so she couldn't release something that didn't exist. I told her that the police department (I've since relocated to the relatively bustling metropolis of San Luis Obispo, not rural Malibu, so there IS a local police department) might not agree, given that the stack of wine was right there in front of us. She said that rules are rules, but that it might set a bad precedent for customer service, and since I was willing to take the remaining bottles (all 50+
cases of them) without filing a damage claim, she'd allow me to take them if I'd sign a waiver of liability. Turns out she didn't have one, so I wrote "I won't sue FedEx for giving me my wine" and it took me three trips in my Prius to bring them back to my office. That woulda been some party at FedEx!

-Eden (wine shipping has gone to hell since DHL left the US domestic shipping market. I now ship only via UPS)
 
I wish I would have been able to take the time to go to the local UPS office and demand to see the shipment, but it was not possible in real time.

In light of everything else going on right now, this was just one indignity and disappointment heaped on a laundry list of bullshit. They suspended the MMWR today. What have we come to?
 
originally posted by Ken Schramm:
They suspended the MMWR today. What have we come to?
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Insanity. That was SFJoe's favorite reading material. A topsy-turvy world where conspiracies trump science.
 
originally posted by mark e:
originally posted by Ken Schramm:
They suspended the MMWR today. What have we come to?
Click to expand...
Insanity. That was SFJoe's favorite reading material. A topsy-turvy world where conspiracies trump science.
Click to expand...
Der Republicansfuhrer doesn't want you to find out whether there is another pandemic so he can't be blamed for their deaths because Die Republikkkansen did nothing.
 
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
originally posted by mark e:
originally posted by Ken Schramm:
They suspended the MMWR today. What have we come to?
Click to expand...
Insanity. That was SFJoe's favorite reading material. A topsy-turvy world where conspiracies trump science.
Click to expand...
Der Republicansfuhrer doesn't want you to find out whether there is another pandemic so he can't be blamed for their deaths because Die Republikkkansen did nothing.
Click to expand...

Speaking of the Axis (und der Republicansfuhrer), I am currently about 200 pages into "The Ciano Diaries."

My soul, it is chilling. Has anybody else here read it?
 
originally posted by Ken Schramm:

Speaking of the Axis (und der Republicansfuhrer), I am currently about 200 pages into "The Ciano Diaries."

My soul, it is chilling. Has anybody else here read it?
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I hadn't even heard of the man or his diaries, but looked it all up and it looks like compelling reading, given what's swirling around here these days. I've ordered a copy, but having read up on the Count's background, I'm thinking that maybe we should all chip in and send a copy of the diaries to Jared Kushner, just to warn him of the downsides of throwing one's lot in with your father-in-law. Maybe Kushner, as a "Former Senior Advisor to the President of the USA" is in better shape title-wise to avoid the firing squad than was Count Ciano, who was officially the "Italian Minister Of Foreign Affairs,' but doing things like this always catches up with the malfeasors, backbiters and syndicators, right?

-Eden (Ivanka has probably already sold the rights to her tell-all book, to be published as she glides shamelessly through her dotage)
 
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