Checking a charcoal delivery at the door: count, weigh, record

A charcoal delivery is usually accepted the quickest way possible: the driver unloads, someone signs the delivery note, the sacks go into the store. The trouble shows up two days later, when a sack feels light or the bottom is full of crumbs. By then it is hard to prove anything, because the new stock has mixed with the old and the driver is gone.

Checking a charcoal delivery at the warehouse door does not need long. Fifteen to thirty minutes, done in the same order every time, catches most problems. This is the order.

Before the goods arrive

Prepare three things the day before.

• A copy of the quotation or order. Pin it up near the unloading spot: type of goods, number of packs, net weight per pack and delivery address.
• A scale you have tested. A hanging or platform scale that can take one sack. Test it with a load of known weight, such as a water jug or a rice sack with a printed weight.
• One named receiver. Decide who may sign. If receivers keep changing, the records fall apart.

Step 1: count before unloading

Count the packs on the vehicle before they come down, and again as they come down. Write the number on the delivery note before you sign. If the count differs from the order, write the real figure on the note. Never sign for a number you did not count yourself.

Step 2: look at the outside

Study the outer packs before opening any:

• torn, wet or open-mouthed sacks;
• a marking that differs from the type you ordered;
• an unusual smell or a sack that feels warm.

Photograph any damaged sack close up, with the delivery note visible in a corner. One picture that shows date and place is worth more than five blurred ones.

Step 3: weigh a sample

You do not have to weigh every sack. Pull a few from different parts of the stack, for example one from the top, one from the middle and one from the bottom. Weigh each and write it down. Compare with the net weight in the quotation. A small gap from moisture or the scale itself can happen, so before ordering ask sales what gap counts as normal, and put that agreement in the order notes.

If several samples fall well below the stated weight, weigh more sacks before you sign anything. The extra weighings are what you bring to sales.

Step 4: open one sack and look inside

Choose one sack at random and tip part of it onto a tarpaulin. Look at:

• lump size: do most pieces suit your stove, or are many too small or too large;
• the amount of crumbs and chips at the bottom;
• foreign matter such as stones, soil or wood;
• whether it looks damp.

Photograph the whole spread with an object of known size beside it, such as a ruler or a bottle. If you bought briquettes, check for breakage and for pieces that changed shape.

This site does not set limits for lump size or crumb share. Those limits are discussed and agreed with sales before you approve a quotation, and written down.

Step 5: record and decide

Fill in one receiving sheet with these columns: date and time, receiver name, packs counted, sample weights, condition inside, photos taken. Then you have three choices.

1. Accept. Everything matches the order.
2. Accept with a note. Write the gap on the delivery note and contact sales the same day.
3. Refuse part. Only if you agreed in advance how refusal and return work.

The third option belongs in the quotation discussion, not in front of the driver.

Contact sales with something clear

Send the receiving sheet and photos on WhatsApp the same day. Name the order, the gap you found in the charcoal delivery and what you ask for. A message with figures and pictures usually gets answered faster than one that expresses disappointment.

Start from a clearly written order

A check of a charcoal delivery is only as good as the quotation behind it. See what Kora prints for lump charcoal on the lump charcoal page, and write into your quotation the items it does not print, such as lump size range and weight per sack. When you are ready to draft a request, send it through the contact page and we reply within two business days.