Pellets & hay arrived in damaged box. Would you still feed it to your piggys?

[webjetter]

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Hi! I would like to ask some advice about something. I ordered some Timothy pellets and Timothy Hay from Kleenmama's Hayloft and when the package arrived, the box was damaged. The corner looked like the box had been dragged on a rough surface, so it ripped. Plus there was a 2 inch hole in the box. Whatever caused this hole penetrated through the contents because the bag of pellets had a large hole in it and the white bag containing the hay had a small hole in it.

Here's my question: would you feed this to your guinea pigs? I am hesitating to do it because there's just no tellin' what pierced the box or what could have gotten into the box. These compulsive leanings of mine make me think I should just throw everything out in the trash because I worry about what might have gotten on the food. But, that seems like such a waste. Kleenmama's suggested using the hay and pellets as fertilizer for my garden but I don't have a garden and it would look funky around my plants in the front yard.

What would YOU do with it? Throw it out? Feed it to your guineas? Give it away to someone not as compulsive who'd be okay with pierced bags? Explain this to the humane society and see if they want it for their guinea pigs?

Thank you for any input.

00piggy00

P.S. -- I'm pleased with the way Kleenmama's handled this problem for me and their attitude, just as a side note.
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[VoodooJoint]

First, let KM know about it (nicely). She may also be able to reassure you as to it's safety.

I would probably feed it as long as the box wasn't wet. Delivery time doesn't take very long so it's doubtful that there was a hole in the bag for more then a day.

Hay bags should have holes in them to allow some air circulation and shouldn't be stored in plastic anyway. Plastic is only used for shipping purposes.

[Alusdra]

I'd return it and make her send more. Or make her give you some money back or whatever. It came damaged, so you shouldn't have to be put out by it. Especially as you are concerned she should replace it as a customer service.

[PiggyPaws]

I second VoodooJoint. I would use it - couldn't harm the piggers. Just make sure you check the contents for 'foreign objects' that could suggest something such as vermin (which is very unlikely).
If the bags seem fine other than the hole, personally I would feed it to my pigs.

[Ly&Pigs]

I'd like to say that first off, KM has excellent customer service. Anyone who has ordered from her should know this.

If the box is not wet, I'd go ahead and use it. You can always check the pellets over that are near the tear/hole and see if they are damaged.

Sometimes the people loading/unloading the shipping trucks aren't always careful with what they are doing. It more than likely was just an accident during shipping.

[Piggersrule]

Is KM sending you a new shipment? I would use it as long as everything looks good and clean. My last shipment came damaged but I still fed the hay to my piggies.

[VoodooJoint]

Originally Posted by Alusdra

I'd return it and make her send more. Or make her give you some money back or whatever. It came damaged, so you shouldn't have to be put out by it.

I'm certain KM didn't send out a ripped bag. The bag was broken by the shipper, who KM has no real control over. If a complaint is to be made it should be to the shipper.

Originally Posted by Alusdra

Especially as you are concerned she should replace it as a customer service.

KM may very well send out a replacement as she has very good customer service. She seems to run her business like I run mine.

I carefully pack items but sometimes the shipper breaks things anyway. My customers have the option of purchasing insurance. Technically, if something gets broken in shipping, and the chose not to insure it, it's not my problem. I replace the item (or refund money) anyway because I'm a nice person with good customer service.

It's never a good idea to get rude or pushy if the problem lies with the shipper. I have had a couple of customers get that way with me before even trying to resolve things amicably. I can tell you that they aren't treated as nicely but because of who I am they usually come out happy in the end anyway.

The only time a true complaint should be made to the supplier is if the item you received is not of the quality or type you were led to believe it was. As an example; I ordered a good bread knife off of the internet years ago. It was stated as being 18 inched long. When I received it it was only 14 inches long. I let the company know of my displeasure but, as I suspected, they never responded--they didn't care. I kept the knife because it was a decent knife and the price (even for a 14 inch knife) was good but I never shopped with them again. Their online store no longer exists--mine is still running strong with at least half of my business being repeat customers and referrals from customers.

[luvin_my_piggy]

That has happened to me before and I still used the product and my pigs were alright. As long as the hay and all looks fine I would not worry too much.

[rabbitsncavyluv]

Ditto Voodoo. I doubt it is KM's fault. The UPS man probably wasn't careful, or whoever was handling it along the way. I haven't had problems when ordering from her.

[Alusdra]

Personally I would probably just use it, because it's too much effort to send it back. But, not knowing the shipper like you do, I wouldn't advise to do that. I've been burned too many times by internet shopping, and I don't even do it that much. If anything is wrong it makes me irritated, at the least, though thinking on it again, last time I sent something back I lost $100s... so... *shrug* Sorry if I came off as being antagonistic.

[Percy's Mom]

Originally Posted by webjetter

[FONT=Comic Sans MS]P.S. -- I'm pleased with the way Kleenmama's handled this problem for me and their attitude, just as a side note.[/FONT]

From this, it sounds like you have already contacted Linda about the situation. If it's anything like the experience I once had, I'm sure you were able to come up with a more than adequate solution with her. She's usually incredibly quick about answering emails and wants to keep her customers happy.

That said, I would probably use the product unless there is some sign of mold or critters getting into the packaging. The holes may well have been created when the shipper was getting them to your porch.