Testimonial by Eric Sexton
As promised I am responding to give your company feedback from my order experience and end product.
On 28 May I called Relic Wood to place an order for an Air Force keep sake box. Drew took down all of my info helped me with all the details to place the order. During my conversation with Drew I had explained that this order was going to be shipped over seas to Osan AB, Korea and I was anticipating receiving the box no later than 16 July.
Throughout our conversation Drew was the utmost professional, well spoken, and provided outstanding customer service. He even personally expedited my order and ensured it was mailed on 30 May. I was very excited and grateful for the incredibly fast processing!!
Drew and I had discussed my anticipated delivery date of 16 July. Drew did the right thing by not guaranteeing the parcel would be here by that date. I understood his position and also did not demand such a guarantee from him (that would not be appropriate of me to ask). However, I told Drew that I was confident that 18 days should have been sufficient enough time for a parcel to reach me from NC. My confidence was based off of my many years being stationed overseas and receiving packages from the states on an average of 7 to 10 days when mailed priority and because your company has experience mailing to APO addresses. Little did I know once the package was mailed it was shipped as Space Available Mail (SAM). What is means is once the package reached the west coast it was the lowest priority and sat. The tracking number allowed me to track the package leaving NC (which was very fast) however, after I could not track it after leaving Greensboro. I had the post office here at Osan AB help me locate the parcel. They explained to me that tracking number is a SAM number and it is most likely siting in the west coast and could take up to 30-40 days to get here.
So this is where my disappointment set in… Obviously the package was not going to make it here by 16 July. If I had known the details concerning the priority level of the package I would have not placed the order. That decision would have been made not based on the quality of your product but simply because of time. I made an assumption based on your experience mailing to APO addresses that your company made it appoint to mail parcels priority to ensure faster delivery times. I would like to ask a favor and ask you to update your shipping polices giving more information explaining how long packages could take to reach APO addresses. I think this would help customers calculate how far in advance they need to place their order. I received my order 17 July (49 days to deliver).
My intent of writing this feedback is not to slander you company in any way. I just wanted to give you honest feedback on my overall experience and product satisfaction. Hopefully you will find the delivery details helpful for future overseas orders. I do want to end this feedback on a positive note. Drew or who ever packaged the box did a very good job protecting it. As you can see from the pictures the outer box was a bit damaged. However, the keep sake box was in perfect condition when I opened the package. Also the craftsmanship is outstanding!!
I absolutely love everything about the box. I did show it off in my office and EVERYONE wanted to know where I got it from!! I gave out your info and just let the box do the talking for itself. EVERYONE was very impressed!!! So for that I thank ALL of you at Relic Wood for making an outstanding and beautiful product. It is soooo nice to see such great quality from an all American company!!
Eric Sexton
About this overseas APO order . . .
Thank you so much for the detailed testimonial! We always value feedback and constructive criticism from our customers and especially our Veterans. It makes us a better company as we always are looking for ways to improve our customers experience when ordering our wood products.
Based on your input and advice, we have modified our APO shipping method so that we always ship our boxes USPS “Priority” Mail to APO FPO and DPO addresses. Until you told us this, we didn’t even know Space Available Mail (SAM) existed as we just recently made APO shipping available three months earlier. Knowing is half the battle . . . 
I did notice that the outside cardboard packaging took a BEATING on it’s way to Korea. We do our best to package all items shipping USPS extremely well to prevent damage to the contents. So glad it held up and arrived safely. Maybe the “Priority” USPS status will prevent some of that? We will see . . .
From everyone here involved in making your box we thank you so much for sharing your Air Force Keepsake box with your fellow AF veterans. We take great pride in making them by hand here in North Carolina. Please stay safe while stationed overseas. We appreciate your service and look forward to your safe return home . . .
EVERYONE wanted to know where I got it
With the DTOM rattlesnake and the precious words to Protect & Defend Against All Enemies, this large DTOM Constitution ammo box features a vintage US Constitution with III percent ensignia and 1776 on the hand made wood box front. Unique Ranger patch style symbol on the top with Protect & Defend Against All Enemies inside the badge as a constant reminder of the Oath taken by those Americans in all walks of life.
When searching for the perfect custom groomsman gifts that can be personalized, we invite you to consider our handmade in the USA Wooden boxes. We have a wide variety that can be personalized with prices starting at under $40.
