I guess I am lucky with shipping...as a small business also, I ship
transmissions via UPS...After 30+ yrs in the auto business, I long ago
learned to just make the customer happy  pretty much at all costs to me
to maintain the almighty reputation...I had double wall 100lb test boxes
custom made to ship Vanagon tranny's..$$$$..and bought a huge roll of
bubblewrap to wrap them in...$$$..but worth the piece of mind...UPS still
knocks a boss off them on a regular basis, but nothing that
matters....every time I ship one from the west coast, it gets there
intact...when they get sent back from the east coast, they are much more
likely to get beat up...partly due to the second use of the box I guess.
 It is up to the owner of any business to set the tone of that particular
business...If you have made it clear to your employees how you expect
problems to be adressed, then you have little to be concerned with...If
you just expect things to run smoothly without any guidance, then you can
expect troubles...customer service is key....my .02..
Daryl of AA Transaxle
Duvall, WA.(Seattle area)
(425) 788-4070
1-877-377-0773 toll free
http://www.aatransaxle.com (web site)