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With Christmas quickly approaching, we have to announce a delay in our large item deliveries- This includes our Log Cabins, Gazebos, Verandas.. All of the buildings that we offer.
Because of this, the earliest delivery week we offer is now week three – the week commencing on the 13th of January 2020.
We are sorry for any inconvenience caused. However, we do hope you have a great holiday!
We here at Tuin offer a wide range of Garden Timber used for all manners of projects. But with timber, as any merchant will tell you, delivery can sometimes be tricky due to the lengths they’re sold in and the overall weight.
If we were lucky enough to have a number of branches scattered all over the UK then it would be easier as we could employ our own local drivers on our own fleet of flatbeds… but we aren’t quite there yet and only have the one depot here in Norfolk.
TUIN – Norfolk
So how do we deliver these products which can be rather awkward at times, you may ask yourself.
We have two ways of doing it and it all depends on one important aspect which is the total weight of your order, If ordering the odd couple of lengths then chances are we can safely dispatch them with a smaller and cost friendly multi-drop courier.
But, If you’re ordering larger and bulkier lengths.. or high amounts then we may have to offer our secondary delivery method which is actually a full blown, Artic truck driving haulier with specialist Moffett forklifts (the same haulier that delivers our log cabins and other garden structures).
The website is all set up to calculate this for you so you don’t have to start doing any unwanted math, just add what you would like to order to your cart as well as your address to obtain a delivered price.
Or perhaps you don’t want to pay for someone else to deliver your timber, In which case a Click and Collect option is available on all timber pages.
Both the courier we use and the haulier have different prices for each zone of the UK so its important to input your address correctly to ensure the correct price is displayed
After talking with one of our drivers the other day over a cup of tea while leaning up against the truck I’ve really come to the conclusion that we’re missing a trick in our selling technique and have so far underplayed how we deliver to you, and believe it or not, with log cabins delivery make a HUGE difference to the whole customer experience.
So, to fully explain what sets us apart regarding deliveries, all our log cabins are delivered to you using these clever things and generally within 14 working days:
Log Cabin Delivery
These clever things are a Moffett Forklift and each of our articulated lorries are equipped with one. You might have seen them on the road, mounted to the rear of specially equipped lorries. They’re very useful in as much as they can go sideways and forwards, it’s not unheard of our drivers taking these up to a half a mile away from their lorry in tricky situations when the full articulated lorry can’t get there. They need about 3.5m width drive through clearance and they will be as long as the log cabin package. They will need about 4m to actually unload the package.
All though ‘technically’ delivery is kerbside if you speak to the driver really nicely and of course us, and maybe a cup of tea for the driver together we will do everything we can to help including entering your property and placing the packages where you need them so long as the driver can sensibly get the Moffett where you need it. He of course is responsible for his vehicle and health and safety. He will not enter your property without your express permission and provided you accept liability.
We try to deliver our log cabins to the location you need.
The drivers will not though, unpack and move the items for you into your garden or garage but they do help as much as they can, they’re very accurate and can often get into difficult spots you would not believe possible.
As well as asking for reviews on our products and services it’s nice to also receive them about delivery:
“Hi.
I am writing to say what an excellent job your delivery did for me on Wednesday. He was operating the forklift under difficult circumstances from a narrow country lane through an inclined driveway 9ft 6in wide. He then managed to position it exactly where I wanted. He remained cheerful and chatty all the time and it was a pleasure to have him deliver the log cabin.
Please convey my thanks. Unfortunately I did not catch his name. I offered him a cuppa but unfortunately time was pressing for him to get to Plymouth before 4. I guess he did not succeed as it was close to that when he left me.
Regards
Barry Scaffold”
Delivery of our log cabins using a Moffett Fork lift, if you’re nice to the driver he will help as much as he can to get the packages where you need them.
Log Cabins make for a pretty big package, most of them will be the same length as the longest log and about a meter wide and up to one meter tall.
You will notice our log cabins are all wrapped in plastic and they can be left out side for a good while before you have to worry about unpacking them. It is advisable though to remove the felt shingles from the top of the packs as these could melt together due to the bitumen strip within them. This can make installation of them a bit of a bugger as you try to prise them apart, and failing, and then calling us for new ones, which we’d rather you didn’t so please remove the shingles and hide them from the sun.
Please also just check for any little nicks in the plastic that may have happened during delivery and put a little packaging tape over any you see to keep the package water tight.
You will notice the foundations and if applicable the floors are also on top and these really do need to be moved somewhere under cover, the main log cabin package can be left where it is though until you are ready to install it and in fact we prefer you to do just that as if you unpack it and do not store the logs correctly you may suffer some warping. Warping is never a problem and can easily be rectified but it helps to keep everything together until the day of installation.
A log cabin is an unwieldy thing, I think customers forget that it’s not a book or a CD or a fridge or a sofa. These are big packs of wood, they weigh from 250kg up to our heaviest stock cabin of 4500kg.
We try to make this process as painless as possible with the method we use. We try to also explain to customers that these are tricky things to deliver, they take a specialist vehicle and specialist handling and we can’t just sling them on a lorry and be done with it.
Size of articulated lorries we use for our large item deliveries
Please bare in mind the size of vehicle. The demountable forklift can travel independently but we still need to get the main vehicle within 1 mile of your location.
Chatting with Steve, one of the drivers he was telling me all sorts of tales he has seen on the roads and heard from our customers. Steve does love a gossip:
One major company which advertises heavily, offers a ‘one man’ delivery service as standard. You have to be in all day AND then take it all OFF the lorry yourself. Oh and you have to be able to lift 25 – 50kg. If this is not possible you can have a ‘two man delivery’ where they will off load it for you, to Kerb Side ONLY and then charge you an extra £400 for it …. Ouch!
Another company he was talking about offers you the same ‘one man’ service but at least the driver will help YOU off load it, but again, only to kerbside, but you have to have tarpaulins available to cover it, so no weatherproofing.
I looked up both these companies tonight and then several others to see what they are all up to. I looked through lots of suppliers small print regarding delivery in their terms and conditions. I suggest you do as well when considering a supplier.
Oh and also another point in an easier delivery with us is that we don’t require you to be there, just let us know within reason where you want the packages placed and we will do that for you.
The best horror story I heard from Steve was as he watched a builders type lorry delivering a log cabin from another competitor using a Hiab crane, again to kerbside. The cabin was secured at both ends and was about 5m in length. As Steve watched he saw the cabin visibly bend in the middle and then CRACK, the driver said ‘It’ll be fine”!
Steve walked back to his Moffett chuckling. Oh and the VERY best story he told me was when a competitor was delivering further up the road from him, the driver came over and asked if he could ‘Borrow’ the Moffett ….. It’s best if I don’t repeat the exchange they had.
Another suppliers delivery method to kerbside using a Hiab equipped lorry.
It’s interesting to see what other companies are doing these days, I guess it’s all to do with keeping costs down and giving you the ‘best’ prices.
We give the best prices and we give you a bloomin’ easy delivery process.
I don’t think we’ll be changing any time soon though to the new delivery methods currently favoured by others. I think our customer appreciate the ease with which they take delivery when compared to the other options of off loading themselves to the kerb.
We’re not perfect and things do go wrong but at least you don’t have to off load yourself.
We’ve had complaints in the past that the driver was late. All drivers we use try their hardest not to be but they are also told to help and be accommodating as much as possible, we know a log cabin package is not a lot of fun to have, it takes up loads of room and logistically for you and us they’re a bit of a pain. Imagine having to take it all off a lorry and then having to move it again, store it correctly, protect it from the weather and then install it. I really don’t know how I’d cope down my little lane. And what about customers such as we have who take delivery and then can’t get around to installation for a week or two.
Unlikely, but If you find your particular driver is an hour late please remember he may have been helping a previous customer and you need help as well to take the packages away from ‘Kerbside’ so please don’t moan at him too much, think of the alternative, do you really fancy unloading a 4500kg log cabin on your own from the side of a lorry or pay £400 more for someone to take it off to kerbside only?
Please, in your research for log cabin suppliers, also consider how your cabin is being delivered and what extra additional costs there might be if you want an easy life.
A few of the ‘good’ companies in my research tonight deliver the way we do, so I am not saying we have the best delivery service. The way we deliver and other ‘Good’ companies deliver is the only way, in my opinion, to safely and conveniently deliver a cabin.
My advise is to check how your cabin is being delivered from a supplier so there are no hidden surprises you should be aware of.
We try to offer the most convenient delivery method and also the safest and of course still maintain an extremely competitive price for log cabins
Express Log Cabin Deliveries
Please see the delivery page here: https://www.tuin.co.uk/Tuin-Deliveries.html for more details on deliveries and the areas covered:
Delivery Area Map
UPDATE – Recent customers Email about one of the drivers.
Good morning. I would like to commend your delivery driver who delivered your product to us yesterday.
I received a telephone call to say that he had arrived at my house but couldn’t drop off there as the lane was too narrow. I couldn’t take the call because I was teaching a class so simply had to say that I would be finished in a further 15 minutes and would then hurry on home. This was all 45 minutes early because of course the driver couldn’t have predicted exact time of arrival having travelled from elsewhere in the country and Holland the previous day.
I rang him upon arrival home because the lorry was nowhere to be seen. Call me cynical but in the UK my thought would have been – I wasn’t here and so he has turned around in disgust and refused to leave the delivery. He told me that he was two miles away. I got rough directions and set off to find him. Sure enough he had driven two miles from my property to find somewhere wide enough to unload and was unloading onto the forklift.
Again, call me cynical about our level of customer service, but I thought that he may be unloading in the nearest possible location and it would then somehow become my responsibility to get the product to my own door.
He drove the two miles on the forklift sideways along the narrow country lanes to deliver to the exact spot on my driveway I requested.
I am staggered by this level of customer service and above all else, he did all this with courtesy in a relaxed manner and with a smile!
The coffee and biscuits seemed a very meagre recompense for all of his difficulty but even this was accepted gracefully with a cheerful “better than the usual British coffee”!
I am just hoping that there isn’t some crazy health and safety twaddle that means that me putting his actions into an email causes any difficulty. He should be commended for a superb level of customer service and attitude to the customer.
You may be also interested in other customers buildings posts and thoughts:
Phew, We didn’t enjoy that much, all the chaos the snow brought us. Thankfully all our deliveries are now back on track. Another lorry is coming in this week from Holland to top up our stock levels and as usual everything will be sent out the same day for items we’ve had on back order. We’re gradually getting our delivery times down as we strive for the ultimate of next day, or even ‘pick a time’ which is our ultimate goal.
It’s tricky with our log cabins though. We average a 14 day lead time but what would you the customer prefer? On many of the Log Cabins we hold here in the UK we offer a 7 day delivery but more often than not we’re asked to hold them for a few weeks while the customer prepares the base which of course we’re happy to do, we try to be as flexible as we can be. I do wonder though if there’s any benefit for striving to offer a next day delivery with our log cabins.
Regardless, shortened delivery times are a target and much of our range is now down to 3 days. For items that we don’t stock in the UK we’re finding they’re arriving a lot sooner than they used to, this might be the reason why:
Speedy log Cabin deliveries
Fast log cabin deliveries from Tuin
Log cabins delivered just that little bit faster
The weather is still severely effecting our deliveries. We’ve just had an update from one of our hauliers who have sent us a list that covers virtually all the country. It makes interesting reading. You can download the status here if you’d like to see the update. We have made most of our customers aware who have been expecting their delivery.
The phones and emails have been very quiet today as people struggle with the snow, or, as I hope they’re at least in part enjoying it. With that in mind I decided to ‘chip off’ for a while and ‘enjoy’ the snow for a little while with my kids.
I’m sure I’m getting too old for this!
So i’m back in the office, a cup of hot chocolate later (and bruised ribs) and it’s back on with work, except there’s a lack of it. Are everyone else out sledging as well? On Twitter a link was posted to this video, is it wrong to laugh?
I’d feel very guilty if I posted on our companies blog without mentioning at least one of our many products, so here it is: Our lovely and very bedraggled snow covered Hardwood Picnic Bench
Hardwood picnic table covered in snow
I’ve had this table for years, we’ve got a small play area for the children and the poor thing has been out in all weathers and, rather lazily I’ve never treated it. But like all our products it’s still going strong.
Here’s a picture of one of these tables in a far better setting and climate:
Tuindeco hardwood picnic table.
We were so worried, this was the first product of it’s kind sold in the UK. We hadn’t really promoted it as we thought we were going to have a hell of a job. Then, the product was spotted by a retailers customer in the current brochure and they fell in love with it. Then, we started to worry.
The whole sauna comes ready assembled including the fire and chimney, all the accesories and the roof is even felted in lovely felt tiles. All of our products, and especially our buildings are flat packed and packaged so well that nothing can go wrong, a fully installed product and a round one at that caused a lot of head scratching by us and our hauliers. Hovever, we needn’t worry as all was fine in the end. All that’s left now is get it safely to our eager customer waiting for his Sauna Barrell
Safely arrived
Will we get it off?
It made it safely
safe at last for this sauna
