A few posts back, you read about our bow thruster/ shipment issues. Well, here’s round two of The Shipping Gremlins At Work.
Michael sent one of our Mermaid Marine air conditioners back to the factory for some warranty work. Those folk are professional, courteous, and dedicated to keeping customers happy. We recommend them and their products highly.
But shipping companies are a different matter. Mermaid packed the rejuvenated air-conditioner unit in dense foam with screws and a stabilizer board. The box had stickers pointing UP and declaring FRAGILE, DON”T STACK on every side. We wondered if the delivery driver could read when he set the carton so that the UP arrow pointed left.
As far as we can tell, the shipper either tossed the heavy box around or dropped it during loading or unloading. The screws had come all the way out of the plywood, the foam was distorted, and the unit damaged just enough that it’s bound to rattle during use.
What are we dealing with here? Mismanagement? Unhappy and uncaring employees? Or is Something Else trying to keep Sea Venture from sailing again?
You can understand why I ask.
You know, it could be spiritual harassment. I’ve had that kind of thing happen, when Satan targets an area of my life. On the bright side, it means Satan isn’t making much traction with your soul if he’s resorting to harassment. But it’s still very frustrating.
When this kind of thing happens to me, I try to offer up the frustration, suffering, delay or loss up to God as a prayer, and I will often offer it for the intention of “whatever it is Satan is trying to prevent.” I figure let him work against himself, right?
If you’re just dealing with a chain of human stupidities, it can’t hurt to accept these setbacks prayerfully. And if you’re dealing with something more, well, God’s bigger.
Whatever the cause, may God’s holy angels defend you and defend your boat!
Thank you, Jane. I tend to agree with your assessment, as well as with your remedy.