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

Is Bigger Better?

As the President of Box Brothers Companies, I am often in the proverbial hot seat when it comes to issues

with personnel, customers or in the shipping business, matters to do with shipping damage, delays, as well

as all kinds of other issues.   Just part of running a robust and diverse company with multiple locations and a

very strong commitment to our customers, for the last and only 27 years of since our beginning in 1985.

Of course, with hundreds of packages shipped daily from our retail stores, and dozens of LTL shipments

being shipped daily to our crating services, where this week, we will complete and deliver over 100 crates

to our respective customers---there are bound to be some customers or employees who have issues that

go no further than my desk.

It is important today, to be accessible, as that is the one GINOMIS trait that all of the larger well to do firms

have in common, no matter what their industry segment is, that no one in senior management will purposely

engage any of their customers.  Ever.

While there are exceptions, if I were to be able to give out “academy awards for bad service or a Lip Service Award”

(which means they all talk service but do not talk to their customers), one would have to go to American Express, for

having the biggest phone room without any supervisor ever being present, let alone any corporate officer, as that

info is more than top secret, I know cause I tried…..but UPS wins one of those awards, so does Home Depot, and how

about Avis and Hertz and United Airlines, who is supposed employee owned……

On the contrary, when a customer has an issue, they want to take it to as high a place as they can, so they can

communicate how they feel to be one of your customers.   What I do not get, at all, today, is how they all get

away with it.   I think these firms, who undoubtedly use focus groups, but why imitate what you have already,

customers and why are you afraid to speak to them?   Again, why people patronize these firms when they have

options to patronize firms who are smaller and for whom, your purchase means so much more than just about

anything else.

Today, I got a letter sent to me by a customer in the top (upstate) corner of New York.   One of our managers in

the Bay area, received a letter from this customer after our efforts to get her a set of antique chairs, to her remote

residence, was something we undertook for a customer we did not know prior.   This customer was so amazed at how

personable and friendly and committed to get her this small shipment, at a cost less than any van line in America could

or wanted to do………that when she got the chairs—and even though they were purchased online and when she finally

got them---they turned out to not work for the area she intended them to go----she wrote to us that it did not matter

that they chairs would not work as she intended them to, but that our service and our outreach by our manager, Connie.

was so great, it did not matter, cause now, our customer, has a friend in the shipping industry.   A fan too.

I tell this story as it helps define what we do at Box Brothers and why how we do things, makes all the difference to our
customers and that is why each and every one of our customer, rich or poor, small or big, are crucial to our ongoing success,

and I would not have it any other way.   Any one of our daily thousand customers a day, can call me anytime, or any of our

managers, employees or staff, as customer service, the real customer service is alive and well here at Box Brothers, as that

is who we come to work for each and every day, and to the rest of the world, spend your money where it counts as true

value comes when someone cares about you as a customer and your needs, you are not just a footnote on a balance sheet

and you are not just a number.   To us at Box Brothers, you are the reason we are here.   May we help you?

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

Goodby 12 Hello 2013

As we enter the final days of 2012, one has to wonder what will be with 2013?

Will it be a better year economically?  Will the Fiscal cliff issues, somehow, get

resolved?   Will we have the types of tragedies we saw so much of in 2012?

The funny thing about the future, is that no one is right and everyone is right, as the

answers to these questions and many more, are still left to be determined.   In some

small way, a lot of these answers have to do with how we, as consumers and as we,

as Americans, act in the future.

Economically, they say that 70% of all of our economic activity is about you and me as consumers

and how we feel about the security or the future of our jobs, homes, and overall economy is dependent

on if we spend and obviously, if we rack up the charges on our credit card bills (the English translation anyway…)

With all this talk about the fiscal cliff, it seems to me, will simply result in more fear and more reluctance to spend

on things one might need or want, but feel the need to cut back when times are uncertain.   So, the obvious question

is why do those in power keep doing it?

As a small businessman, we rely on our customers to come into our businesses and buy our products and use our

services.   But being both a business person and a consumer, I feel the pull both ways and I find myself making excuses

not to move forward on fixing one thing or the other, or delaying projects, or just feeling as though I don’t need to buy

that item or need that service quite yet.

At the same time, this is getting old and our leaders obviously do not get it, or feel the same things I do as a small

business person.   I just do not get it, as none of their actions make any sense, as all they do is blame each other and

of course, nothing gets fixed, at best, the issues get pushed down the road.  It is anyone’s guess what will happen next.

But I want to be on the side of optimism, even if there are some signs that optimism, in our world, is on short supply.

I am hopeful for increased retail sales and increased customer activity not just for us, as owners of a business, but for

our employees and our customers, its time all of us move forward, as the problem with this recovery is that it is uneven

and unfair to smaller businesses, as opposed to larger businesses, who have greater access to capital and better buying

opportunities that those of us in small regional businesses.

While it is said that the bigger you are, the better you are, and in some ways they are right, but there is no large corporation

on this earth that can provide the level of service to its customers than small business does, as has been proven for many,

many years.   Some people forget this, like the politicians who decide that it’s their way or no way, and all they are doing it

hurting the small guy.   I wish we had a better voice, but I am not give up hope that notwithstanding all of these issues,

we are going to have a good year, both economically and socially, as we need it, its overdue and we can’t wait any longer.

Bring on 2013, but let’s leave the politician’s behind…..

Heard on the Street....Malarkey.......

I was going to be like everyone else in the world and start talking about politics, as it is that
time again, and there is no shortage of "lying," "half truths" and, of course, what we often call "the spin."

We are all used to it, by now, it is hard to tune all this noise out, and for most of us, at least, we do
not live in one of those "key battleground states" (sounds like a military term, no?), as I understand
that one can hardly come up for air in Ohio without someone using all forms of media to hammer their
message home.

I know this is all partisan, but that is not where I am coming from today.   I just think this it is ironic
that both parties feel that the economy has a good of room for improvement, but at the same time,
all of this noise as I call it, seems only to make people more cautious and less likely to engage new
purchases or spend money for fear of the unknown future.   Like a catch 22 type of thing: that everyone
wants people to go out and spend money cause they are confident about the future, but their actions to get elected or re-elected only serve--it seems to me, and other small business people--make people more likely not to spend as there is a great deal of uncertainty as to who our leaders will be both in the White House and in Congress.   Maybe it really does not matter, anyhow, but boy, these politicians can spend the money, to no end

One of the key terms used in the Vice Presidential debates last evening was "malarkey."   I understand that this word is now challenging "amazing" as the most overused word of the day--by both sides of the political
spectrum.   But at the same time, to me, it only shows that these politicians are really far away from the problems of small business and in particular, for those in the moving and shipping business.

I have heard some owners in this business describe the times today as "some of the slowest times in the
moving and shipping business that they have seen in over 30 years.   Three decades, that is a long time and
I really feel that while small business is a big issue in this campaign, most of us feel unrepresented in this large
political circus.  I often joke that I never get a chance to speak to my lobbyist, like I even know a lobbyist, in the first place.

Yes, it is true that Box Brothers is a member of California and Texas Mover Associations, as well as being
a member of the American Moving and Storage Association--who do employ lobbyists, I am told, but
every single small business person I know who puts a paycheck into their employees hands so that they can put food on their families tables, is not having the best of times and most of us feel that no matter who is elected and when the NOISE stops, nothing will change and that is our greatest fear of all.

At the same time, I have not been appointed to speak on any mover's behalf and while most of my comments are truly subjective, I am not speaking out of turn.  Like other firms, we at Box Brothers
have the greatest respect for both our customers, and for our employees, which is why times like this are so hard on all of us.  We have a great reputation for packaging, crating and for helping our customers get their
belongings or merchandise safely, anywhere in the world.   We all just wish we were busier and our issues were how to handle the flow of work, instead of how to translate the work we have into paychecks for all.

Do you think if we locked these guys in the back of a moving van, told them we would not let them out until they made things better for all, and instead of spending 2 billion dollars on ads, they decided to cure a disease and get this economy moving for all of us.....it would work?....I do not think so either.

Here is hoping things get better, no matter who you want to be elected to any office.

Charging Moving Customers by Cubic Feet: Trick or Treat?

I recall a few years ago, Box Brothers had a few competitors who used to sell shipping and moving
services by charging customers by cubic foot rates, only.  

At first, it seemed on first glance, that these firms, seemed to offer the public lower shipping quotes
based on charging purely on the total cubic feet, that their shipment or goods, amounted to.   Sounds
fair, right?  Pay only for what you have and are shipping?...Right, by the way, what is a cube?  How
is a cube measured and charged for, anyway?   Are their cubic yardsticks or cubic measuring tapes, or
how amount a scale that measure cubic feet?

It was a blatant and rude trick to screw the customer, plain and simple, as when people speak about
cubic feet, it is not, however, an irrelevant measurement in terms of how your move or shipment is costed or charged for, by"professional movers" and that is the key.

The truth is that professional movers use per set cubic foot designations to estimate moves all the time, but the difference is that once the total cubic feet of a particular shipment or move is tabulated, it is then converted into pounds at standard conversion rates.   Today that conversion is like this: total cubic feet
times (x) 7 lbs per cubic foot.   The movers use a standard cube sheet that most movers use; they should not
differ from mover to mover, and as noted earlier, if you have greater density in your shipment (e.g. an all box shipment, no furniture or bulky articles), you can adjust to a higher factor (using a higher conversion rate.
Allow me to explain.

If you had 20 medium or 3.0 cartons, or 60 cubic feet, plus 50 book boxes (50 x 1.5 cubic feet per book box), you would have another 75 cubic feet.   If you had 20 more 4.5 or large boxes, you would have another 90 cubic feet.  Together we have, in this example, we have 225 cubic feet.   If you multiplied the cubic feet time the conversion rate, 7 lbs per cubic foot, on average, you would get 1575 pounds, but if you
used the lower dim rate factor, due to the higher density of your shipment, you would do this as follows:
225 cubic feet x 6 lbs per cubic foot, that you would have 1350 lbs.

Here is the rub; movers pack their trucks from floor to ceiling, using all available space they can, as they get
paid on the total weight they haul and handle.  The better that they use their space (their trailer), the more income they can make doing the same runs.

In the case of movers who only charge by cube, they often do not pack up to the ceiling and when you calculate total cubic feet used, they could all space whether you use it or not.   It is just a trick to get you
to think their price is less, but if this were true, why would they not just offer you the lower of the two calculated costs: weight or cube, whichever is lower--but they don't, as their intent is to take advantage
of what the customer does not know.   To say this is wrong, is being nice, as these carriers intent is clear,
and it is not to give the customer the benefit of any lower price, but to increase the cost to the customer
based on a phony ploy.

I wanted to bring this subject up, as we are starting to see this means of cheating the customer coming back
to the market again.   I have no idea why, except that all the leaders of the moving industry would rather
just talk about rogue movers than do anything about them, as they are all operating in the open, with no fear
of repercussions.   To me, this purely and clearly suggests that whoever's job it is to regulate this industry, they are not doing it.

My suggestion is to find out the facts when you move; do your homework, your due diligence and make
sure you have an understanding of the costs and terms involved, as a little bit of knowledge goes a long way
in making sure you choose the right vendor and not the best price (initially) for your relocation.

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.