Mind if I vent a little?
1/24/07 – I place an order for a few CDs from Redrum Media.
1/25/07 – The order ships via USPS with (nearly worthless) tracking
2/10/07 – A delivery attempt is made, but it’s coming to my work and its a Saturday, so it requeues for Monday but is listed on the tracking as “notice left” (common, I’m told by the post office)
2/16/07 – I say, “Wait, where’s my package?” and find out about the imaginary notice mentioned previously. I go to the post office to try and pick it up. It’s not there. Guy tells me it should have been delivered but that no, the status probably wouldn’t update if it was delivered. Can’t trust the status, he basically tells me. Wonderful.
I check around work, no one else has gotten it by accident and the person who distributes mail doesn’t recall the sender.
I write to Redrum through Google Checkout asking for their help.
2/23/07 – Still no response from Redrum and I’ve heard nothing from the local post office (big surprise). I write to Redrum again.
The way I see it, I have the most to lose here. The post office has nothing to lose because, basically, they never take responsibility for anything.
Redrum already has my money, so even if they ship me a second batch of CDs, they’ll be out less money (if any, depending on their markup) than me.
As it stands now, though, I’m out about $35.
Add this to the Christmas gift I ordered from Australia that never arrived and I’m not terribly pleased with the Postal Service right now.
I know it’s cliche to complain about the post office, but bite me.
Update: Redrum responded to my second e-mail within a few hours and are going to send me replacement discs as well as follow up with the post office to see what happened to the first shipment. Good stuff. That’ll make me a return customer.
Posted in Consumer Commentary
Paul February 23, 2007, 3:10 pm
Stop payment on that transaction on your credit card, maybe?
I dislike the USPS as well… the tracking system is pointless. I wish they’d just take the darn thing off their website and move that money to adding more than one self-service kiosk to their post offices.
Dave Walls February 23, 2007, 3:18 pm
I always send/receive things through UPS/FedEx, even if it’s extra. I’ve had a couple of packages end up “missing” or get, at the least, severely delayed. As far as tracking goes, it’s such a small thing, but if it’s sitting in a warehouse in Brentwood, Tennessee, then at least FedEx and UPS has the balls to tell me. The Post Office tracking system never seems to get updated until I actually receive the package.
Ryan February 23, 2007, 3:24 pm
“The Post Office tracking system never seems to get updated until I actually receive the package.”
And sometimes, not even then!
Terry M. February 24, 2007, 12:04 am
I have good luck with receiving packages with USPS. At the apartment complex where I live they have these large metal lockers by the mailboxes. When you receive a package they put the package in the locker, and put the key for the locker in your mailbox. It is flawless. However, the only packages I ever receive via USPS are from my mom – few businesses will actually ship this way.
I still truly hate UPS. Recently I replied to a Ping about how my debit card number was stolen. Well, they sent the replacement card via UPS (why, oh why, send a credit card through UPS instead of normal mail). Normally they do the three delivery attempt squaredance, but this time they only tried two times before giving up on me (maybe they figured out that I work, and am never ever home during the day). I called the bank and requested to send me another card but specifically told them to send it US Mail and not UPS, and they said fine. I was surprised on Monday when UPS showed up at my door with my replacement card. What luck – President’s Day – the one and only single day out of 365 days of the year that UPS is out delivering packages and I am actually at home because that is a holiday at my employer for some reason.
FedEx is the only delivery company which I trust. They are business friendly and also know how to deal with residential delivery.
Merle February 24, 2007, 12:28 am
That’s better than Airborne Express’s package tracker. Last thing I ordered that went though them, their site claimed it had been mailed and delivered to Singapore a year prior to my ordering it…