I just read Jon Owens’ article on ending free delivery (April 2008). I thought it was great. No one ever wants to talk about this and I know the technicians say they refuse to pay for delivery. But as your article points out, do those same installers ever get a UPS shipment at home or the office? Are all of those shipments free? I don’t think so. We probably need to peg a price for gas over which there will be a surcharge. I just visited a location that calculates their delivery cost regularly. The cost is $9.73 per delivery (gas is over $4 per gallon in his location.) How could he possibly deliver a $5 part if that was all that was on the order?
With the ever-rising cost of gas how can we keep “burying” the cost in the product?
Mike Lambert
Automotive Distribution Network
Parts Plus/IAPA