Measure Correctly, Mistakes are Costly

For many years, there have been rules associated with shipping that vary according to the mode,

or how you decide to ship your items.

For example, it used to be the case that for most domestic ground packages, your charges would be

simply based upon the actual weight of your shipping container, but today, there are rules about the

how big your package can be, or maximum limits on weight, or even limitations on how long an item can

be for shipping.

For as long as we have been in the shipping business, we have seen it all.   UPS used to have a rule for many

years that nothing could be shipped if the length, width and girth (yes, girth) did not exceed 140 inches, and

they used to give out chains to their customers to use to see if the package in question did not exceed the length

of the chain…….

Today, almost every package that goes into a system (ground shipping, air shipping and international shipping)

has rules associated with how big or how heavy a given package can be.   For the international arena, the rules

get more complex as several nations have their own set of rules about size, etc.   For those of you who have also

had to take a box or a package on a plane trip or use an airline’s cargo division, to ship a pet or something else,

the rules can be not only daunting, but I tell anyone and everyone who asks, to check no less than twice when

getting the permissible sizes.

I had been visiting one of our locations in Nevada and I happen to meet one of our customers, actually a young

married couple with a story that illustrates how these rules for shipping can be complex, easily misunderstood and

often they can end up with some harsh results…..

This couple has two Saint Bernards, and you can tell, to this couple, they are as close to being their children as any

pets can be.   They needed to travel by plane and in their research, the airlines told them they had rules for shipping

pets, that they needed pet carriers, and gave them the maximum size permissible for flying animals on a commercial

airliner.

Long story short, the couple arranged for us to make them crates for their animals, as there were no pre made pet

carriers for dog breeds as large as Saint Bernards (how they can even get a Great Dane, Newfoundland,  or a Mastiffs….

into one of those smaller dog crates is beyond me…..our crates are custom, so we made them to the maximum size,

and we had air grates on both sides so the air would flow, we made wood receptacle frames for food and water

containers, easy access doors, to ensure that there would be no issues.

Our customers loved them, as they were genuinely concerned that these containers were safe, complied with the rules

of the airline, and would house their “loved ones”  for the trip to visit their grandparents.   Only problem is that our customer

was misinformed by the airline, and this resulted in them having to have two more crates made to conform to the airline’s rules.

I know there is more to this story, for sure, but the point is that we were directed to make a set of custom crates for a specific

purpose and this was not a happy ending for them since they had to have the crates remade, through no fault of their own.

So, always be careful when you need to comply with shipping rules, as they are easily misunderstood, complex and largely

inflexible in many cases.   Or if you need to, it never costs more to ask us to confirm measurements and maximum sizes for

different modes of shipment—at Box Brothers and this is the best advice when you need to ship something to a faraway place.

I am very proud of the way we worked with our customers as they told us that almost all other crating firms they contacted were

not interested in helping make a crate with the features that we added for the safe transport of their large family (dogs) members.

For Box Brothers, the customer and their needs are what we come to work for each and every day.   Ask any of our customers,

they know who we work for, even if they are Saint Bernards.  Kudo’s to our staff in Las Vegas, for doing such a great job helping

our customers.

Mark S. Frydman

Box Brothers Corp.

1-800-842-6937

www.boxbros.com

Another Way to Save on Your Long Distance Move/Shipment

People have many reasons for moving or shipping goods from one area of the country to another

area….jobs, schooling, family reasons, economic reasons, retirement are just a few of the reasons

people move great distances.

However, many people in this group, think there are only two options for getting their possessions across

the country.   A professional mover, or you can do it yourself in a rented truck.

Of course, this is a simplistic description, but all too valid.   In my company’s case, we provide a shipping service for

household goods and personal possessions, that allows the consumer to opt for any number of savings over the

traditional services of a full service mover.

For example, one of our benefits, is that we give our customers an option for both pick up service and delivery service

of our loads.  We can save the consumer money on the pick up, if the consumer brings the goods to one of our service

centers, as that allows us to pass on the savings we obtain by not having to use labor, fuel, a truck and other costs

incumbent on pick up the goods to be shipped.   By helping yourself out on the pick up or origin services, you might be

able to realize from 10 to 20% savings of your entire shipment cost.

Likewise, we offer another money saving option for our deliveries.   If you can bring the shipment into your own storage

unit or into your own garage or home, we can also save you up to 15% of the shipment cost by bringing the goods in from

the street, into your home or unit.

In these difficult economic times, you have to look harder for money saving options, but if you want them, we have them at

Box Brothers .   The Leaders Interstate Shipping, for over 28 years

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

What does a box and transportation firm have to do with reminding people that October is

Breast Cancer Awareness Month?   Not much, but today, as they say, anything goes and

Box Brothers is proud to announce that, in recognition of those who have been assaulted

by this terrible disease and for the countless survivors who have fought the good fight to be able

to tell all of us--that with help, assistance and support, as well as determination, beating

back breast cancer (and other cancers too) is now not only possible, but probable.

But the fight is not over, not by a long shot, and we still need to make sure the message of

how difficult and how trying, this battle actually is, still needs everyones recognition and efforts to

eradicate it and make it a long ago memory, as we did with the terrible polio disease, when I was

a child.

I still remember, my late immigrant mother (she was a survivor of the Holocaust in Europe), she was

not only devoted to her family, but she retained some of her old ways, including some interesting

superstitious acts, that I will never ever forget.

One of those was if someone mentioned that they knew someone who had cancer, she would turn

away and act like she spat two or three times.  Almost like she would be mouth spitting, but not

actually doing it.   In her day, cancer was a death sentence, no one thought it could be overcome

or that one could get treatment for it and survive.

I recall my father having a bad pain in his neck and shoulder and I asked why he did not go to the doctor

and my mother told me he was afraid it might be cancer.   So when he went to the doctor later that day,

he did not have cancer, he was having a myocardial infarction (heart attack).  This just illustrates the

long term fear they had of having cancer.

I also remember as a young child, my mother taking me to get my polio vaccine.  The sugar cube.

They had friends, a next door neighbor, whose son was afflicted.   I heard stories of iron lungs and

how this friend of my brother's lived in one until he passed, as age 14.  I heard the stories of how they

heard his mother cry and sob all night about her son getting afflicted with this terrible deadly disease.

I personally have not had anyone in my immediate family who has had breast cancer, but I understand

how difficult and debilitating the treatment process is.   So as a company, we at Box Brothers, decided,

to do our part.

From today on, and until the end of October, we have changed the imprint on the three main moving

boxes from our blue print to pink print, and we have put a pint ribbon on each and everyone of these

moving boxes, so that we can bring more and more awareness to this cause.

One thing I can tell you for sure, that our moving boxes go all over the place, just like our customers,

to all parts of America, to all parts of Europe, Asia and in garages everywhere.  We are more than happy

to do this, as this message of caring, and of hope, is a message we are proud to be a part of this very

important and serious cause.   After all, the victims of this terrible disease and the future victims, deserve

Please join with us and do your part, whatever that is, in the ongoing battle to overcome cancer.   I know both of my parents would be proud that we have changed the outcome from impossible to promising, in one

generation.   And we will not rest until there is only a story to tell, just like in cases of polio.  We shall overcome.

Here We Grow Again....Nostalgia or Are Times Really Changing?

While it is difficult to always answer a question about what true direction our economy is actually
heading in, I am fortunate to be able to announce that Box Brothers is officially growing again, like we used to......

Box Brothers of Las Vegas, is officially getting a new expanded facility, just across the highway
from the famous, Las Vegas Strip.

What is most exciting is that our Las Vegas operations will now have a centralized location near all
the Casino's, and adjacent to Highway 15; that our Custom Crating Division and our Casino Services
Division will not only be closer to our clients, but these two key divisions of Box Brothers, will have expanded capabilities to do more of these services, as demanded by our clients.

This is our 19th year in the Las Vegas market, and we are very proud of our staff and our operations
as we have a reputation in Las Vegas as being one of the best service providers in this large and ever
changing environment.

We look forward to our grand opening celebration, which is scheduled to take place just before the
July 4th holiday, but our operations will begin in our new facility on June 4, 2012.

Our new location is at 4255 Dean Martin Drive, Unit H, Las Vegas, Nevada 89103.   We can be reached
at 800 355-7917, or on our website, boxbros.com

We can actually attest to the fact that we are growing again.......

I have been thinking of one of our employees

This week, seemed so full, that I felt as though I needed to remind everyone,
that while we seem busy with our customers and our families and there is always
a rush to get everything done--that needs to get done, that we need to remember
that there are others out there, who are not doing well and who, through no fault of
there own, continue to experience pain in their lives, for a multitude of reasons.

I am thinking that we all have our troubles, our issues and our problems to work out,
but I have been thinking of one of our employees, and the fact that his wife is very ill.
It is not just that this family has two young children, and that his wife is battling a terrible
disease, but I just wanted to give a little credit to the man who has to not only deal with
work, children, and a household, but also has to manage to take care of his wife.

If you ask me, and no one really has....that this man is going through quite a bit, and I wanted
to give him some kudo's for being so strong and for being able to do all he needs to do, for his
family and for us at work. I have to confess, that I am not sure if I were that man, I would
be as strong and even keeled as he has been, given what he is going through, daily.

I can only imagine his pain and admire his perserverence, and I find it difficult to be able
to know where he gets his strength, but I want to pay an anonymous tribute to him and give
thanks that he is on our team. You get to find out a lot about people when they go through
tuff times; like how they handle adversity, or if they take it out on others, as so many of us seem to do.

I am just not sure, how he does it, but I want the world to know how proud of him I am and that
just thinking of what he is going through makes me realize how lucky we are to have him a part of our extended family, at Box Brothers.

If nothing else, this man shows us how to live life, and we should all take note, as bad things happen to good people all the time, it seems, and I have to admit, how we react to them makes all the difference in how we really live life.

While this post may seem a bit distant to the subject of boxes, packaging and shipping, I am of the belief that we all need to be reminded of how important some things are and how we tend
to focus on less important matters, all the time. Traffic, errands, policies, procedures, and stuff like that.

I do not often ask people to pray for others, especially for those who we might not even know, but I am hopeful that we can all learn from the pain of others and be better people for it. To the extent that we can foster than kind of attitude here at Box Brothers, I feel that anything is possible, even a complete recovery for our employee's wife. Lets employ the power of positive
thinking and then we can all get to be much better place.

Vintage Gas Sign !

Oh the good old days. They say gas prices are going down. It's hard to believe after almost hitting $5.00 per gallon in Los Angeles that they had no place to go but down. After seeing this antique sign with gas prices at .20 cents and a penny tax boy we really miss those days. But when was gas .20 cents you ask? In 1919 gas prices were .25 cents a gallon around the end of world war one. In 1946 it went up to 27 cents a gallon. And stayed below .40 cents until mid 1970. Wow what happened after that? the first 30 years it went up less then .30 cents a gallon the next 30 years it went up over $4.00 where did we go wrong? If you were at the Box Brothers store in Santa Monica today you also would have seen gas prices at .20 for a limited time that is until they packed up this antique sign. here's a link with some fun facts. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20110425/bs_ac/8360093_us_gas_price_history_from_25_cents_to_nearly_5_a_gallon

Wow Awesome Review on Yelp

Dave Collins you get the best reviews. You rule !! This one is from Yelp . And this will get some great feedback. Dave is at the Box Brothers at Wilshire and Barrington and you can call him at 310-478-4008

Holidays from the Heart

We unfortunately have to close our collection boxes for the "Holidays from the Heart" campaign. All the toys we collected will be turned over to the California Moving and Storage Association tonight, so they can pass them on to the Childrens' Hospital of Los Angeles. I am proud to have been a part of this and equally proud of everyone who participated in this most worthy cause. For the past week we have had several conversations about this charitable act and the response we have received from our customers. Most of you mentioned to me today that you want to start the collection earlier next year, so we'll see...

While we had several stores that received toys for these children, it became a close race at the end of the collection time. Geoff Colcord in Tarzana collected 13 toys and Dave Collins in Brentwood received 20.

When we decided to make each store a collection point, we offered our customers discounts for any contribution and a $25.00 gift card to the Cheesecake Factory to the Manager whose store collected the most toys. When I told Dave this morning it looked like he was probably going to be the winner, he asked me if we would take the $25.00 and buy more toys for the kids instead of giving him a gift card. As you can imagine, I accepted his offer immediately and we dispatched Mark to get more toys, which he did right away. We all want to thank Dave for his efforts and his unselfish act of kindness.

We hope this brings a few smiles to the faces of those poor kids that will have to spend the holidays in the hospital.

To everyone who participated, thank you so very much. I believe your efforts and actions will be returned to you.

Charles

NFL Football is here.......

The sweet smell of NFL Football is finally here.... I'm happy to say that my New York Football...... J..... E...... T...... S....., Jets..... Jets..... Jets...... will be on HBO Hard Knocks this evening...... Buckle your chin strap and get ready to watch a team on it's way to another Super Bowl.... Yup; You heard it here on the Box Bros Blog that the JETS will go all the way to the Super Bowl....... Here are some photos of the Super Bowl team signed Steelers helmet from one of our clients here in the Vegas Valley...... LET'S GET PUMPED!!!!!!!!!

Box Bros Bay Area.....

Hello Blog readers.... I just finished up with a marketing trip to The Bay Area last week and thought I would share the photos of the hard working staff..... The smiles are only for the camera.... The photo of Bill is while he is riding in the co-pilot marketing seat.... The Photo of Kiyoshi is while he is waiting for the meter guy to threaten his life if he gives our clients another ticket.... He does look like an Asian Paul Bunyan..... Rodger actually makes it down stairs from time to time.... Always sporting " The Hat " and taking care of freight and transportation for our Oakland warehouse..... We finally have a female worker in The Bay.... She has a back ground in crating and art handling.... She is capable of working in the office, in the warehouse and is able to cover the store in San Francisco...... Sherry is going to be part of the family for a while.... I was unable to get a photo of Javier and Ganzo to share due to the fact that this Blog-site only lets me download 5 photos.... I'm sure I can come up with Javier and Ganzo photos next time I'm there.... Until then, keep up the great work in The Bay.....

Bonhams Storage under lock and key

Bonhams storage, under lock and key, and the watchful eye of these sentinels. http://www.boxbros.com/fine-art-shipping
Ornate furniture, chandeliers, massive paintings, and one pious statue, perhaps praying for safe passage?-- Bill Carter, Regional ManagerBox Brothers .........Northern California.....2321 Filbert St....Oakland, CA .....94607.....510-628-8450.......510-628-8454 fax http://www.boxbros.com/oakland-california