One of the essential ingredients in any business that makes stuff is shipping. Your customers have to get the stuff you make. In my case it is paint. None of our current customers are large enough to need a dedicated pipeline to their facility. As a result we ship our paint via truck.
Before a company decides they want to use our product they usually talk to one of us to make sure we are providing the correct product for their needs. The next step is to send a sample of the paint. For this we would normally use a reputable shipping company such as FedEx or UPS.
Sometimes, the shipment does not make it to the customer. The shipment could be damaged, the container could leak, it could smell funny, etc. We ship our samples in paint cans... like this one:
Notice the shape, a cylindrical metal can with a metal lid. This is basically the same can that we use to ship paint to customers. We add a special plastic ring around the lid that helps prevent spills and also make the can difficult to open.
Sometimes they come back to us because the customer didn't want them, or they made a mistake. Sometimes we send the wrong paint, but very rarely.
One time we sent a free sample to a customer for a trial they wanted to run. They needed to test the paint for a new program they were working on. Appearantly there was something wrong with the shipment's paperwork and they tried to file a claim against us for about $200, simply because there was a problem with the shipping paperwork. The product was correct, it was what was requested. Oh, and it was a FREE sample.
Another time we shipped a sample material to a customer. It came back to us because it was leaking, a little.
OK, maybe it was leaking a lot. It also kind of looks like frosting. I promise it isn't.
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