12/22/2021
Blanket Order Update (email from Stadium Blankets I just received)
Wednesday, December 22, 2021
The good news is that ALL 2021 orders are complete and in transit. Most of the final remaining Christmas orders have been or will be delivered this week. However, the Grinch has certainly been working extra hard this year. Although we’ve been able to overcome many of the obstacles he’s thrown our way, he’s been relentless in his efforts which have caused delay after delay at every turn. Delayed material deliveries have resulted in an extra day here and a day there from manufacturing to packaging, We felt confident that we had overcome all of those setbacks and would still be on track for Deliveries. However, we are now battling the fiasco that is 2021 shipping. Due to supposed driver and trailer shortages, finding carriers to transport loads has been challenging and expensive. Despite the additional costs we have made every effort to find and book reputable and reliable carriers. It has always been as easy as making a phone call 2 hours in advance and a load would be picked up. For the past few months pick ups have had to be scheduled 3-5 days in advance, only to have missed pick ups with a myriad of excuses. For the final leg of the transportation, we have chosen to pay additional shipping rates and go with what we believe is still the fastest and most reliable method to your final location, FedEx ground. However, FedEx ground has presented trials as well. Multiple missed pickups and despite clear instructions they’ve sent smaller trucks that can only take 100-200 boxes at a time. FedEx like many companies across the country have reported a massive reduction in staff including drivers. We have been subsidizing efforts by using contractors where possible to move product to the FedEx ground terminal. We’ve just never experienced anything like this before.
We are grateful for those hard working individuals who have helped hundreds of schools and clubs receive their blankets. Despite our very best efforts, there are some orders that may not be able to be delivered in time for Christmas. As you can see we are actively doing all we can within our influence and control to push along and expedite all deliveries. We have prepared in advance the FedEx ground labels and have provided the tracking number for you. Many loads have been split up in transit. As you track your packages with FedEx.com, please know that once the package scans at the FedEx terminal, it will say “in transit” and show an estimated delivery date. If the status shows, “label created”, that typically means that FedEx has either not yet picked up that particular box from the sorting facility or it has been picked up but not scanned in yet. Please be patient and keep checking the status with FedEx.com.
We are so very sorry if your order does not make it to you before Christmas as intended. We haven’t missed a Christmas delivery in over 4 years. The challenges of the craziness going on in the world is affecting us all. We will continue to monitor the status of all orders and hope your customers will find these amazing blankets well worth the wait.
From the entire HighSchoolBlanket team,
We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
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