Hey guys, in the coming days, many of you will start seeing that we have made a major change in our shipping processes. In an effort to give more options and more control over what you pay for shipping, we made the decision to bring in FedEx as a shipping partner. There are a number of advantages for us to using FedEx as our main shipping partner. We had to stop using certain packaging types with UPS because of drastic cost increases, specifically with heavier packages, but with FedEx, we will be able to resume using some of our previous packaging which should improve deliverability and lower damage rates. UPS will remain an option and will be used occasionally when it remains cost effective. All online orders will be automatically selected for the most efficient delivery method between FedEx, USPS, and UPS by weighing the value of low-cost and quickest delivery. We know that some of you will love this change and others not so much. Which shipping carrier has a better reputation seems to be mainly based on the area of the country that people live and personal preference, so if you have a strong preference for a specific carrier, we can still ship any carrier, but our default will be the most efficient. If you want a different carrier than what we determine is the most efficient, you can still place orders over the phone with our customer service team and request a specific carrier and service type, and you just have to pay the difference between the most efficient carrier and service and what your preference for your shipment would be.
Now, we also reported early this week and late last week that a few people had received their 20 or 30-lb electric stuffers and 4 people so far are having an issue where the motor is not turning the gearbox in either direction. Obviously, we pulled units and tested them before they were sent and never saw this issue, but one customer sent us a video of it happening, and I have talked to him on the phone this week twice now and whether the motor is hooked up to the unit or not it does not turn the gear.
We had an emergency meeting with our vendor on Monday morning, and they believe the issue to be with the speed regulator. That knob is basically a voltage regulator, and if it is broken (they said they had a special hammer they hit it with), they found this problem. So, the knob isn’t telling the motor to pass any voltage to the motor to power it up or down. So, their theory is that they are being damaged in shipping and need to be replaced. We have a small stock of motors that we will be sending these customers as temporary replacements. I say temporary replacements because these are not the production motors; these are motors that QA testing on our end found a possible issue with their longevity of them, so when the next batch of production motors come in, we will be replacing those temporary motors with the version they should have gotten. The vendor assures us that they are doing everything in their power to get this fixed and have the motors shipped ASAP. We have also requested that the motors be packaged differently as the case they come in did not protect those motors through shipping.
Then, on the One-Shot stud issues, I have an update as well. First, I am still not sure how large of an issue this is, as I have done north of 500, maybe as much as 700 lb through mine, and not have any issues. However, I realize it is odd and people don’t like that it is doing it, and I can absolutely understand why. The good news is that there appears to be both a short-term and long-term fix. Short term fix is that we have replacement studs for the augers, and I tested removing one and replacing it, and it is fairly easy to do. Just a wrench and either a vice grip or a buddy and a pair of channel lock pliers should be enough to loosen it. Long term, we are having the auger stud designed, so it has a round surface right against the end of the auger, so there is nothing for the round hole of the kidney plate to wear through.
Other than that, it’s been a pretty easy week…yikes, I guess we know the busy season is here when there is hardly time to get everything done! Every year it is something, whether changing websites twice within the space of 12 months, changing shipping partners, not being able to get enough of a product to meet demand or just running around here with our hair on fire Sept-Jan always flies.
At least we have had the time this year to (re)shoot a few good videos recently like How to make snack sticks, How to Make Ring Bologna, How to Make Weisswurst and just today How to Make Bratwurst, provide the FAQ
Also, we are having our Livestream today as the 1st is a Saturday and we are doing it a little earlier at 2 pm CST. So join us at either waltons.com/live or just click the Live Icon at the top of Meatgistics. We’ve got Tumblers, Aprons, Jerky and other things to giveaway. Also, the Giveaway for October is already up at waltons.com/win, just scroll down on the page. See ya guys at 2
