Ah, what a pisser of an order my latest vapemail has been...
Pre-Thanksgiving, sometime - VJ posts Black Friday code for FT. Wow, FT never runs a sale, and I've got like $500 worth of stuff in my cart. Checkout, please.
Post-Thanksgiving, a couple days later - VJ posts Xmas code, even better. My order hasn't begun to be processed yet. Try to cancel and re-order using new, twice-as-good code. No go. Oh well.
Early December - order still not shipping, Cloupor T8s that were supposed to ship days ago are now "discontinued." Oh well, I've been hearing bad things about Cloupor and second-guessing my purchase for a while anyway. Since FT can't supply the mods I ordered, I switch to 1st gen Sig 100s. FT won't even give me the discount that was present on the day I ordered, which is a bummer because I'm replacing discontinued merch, not necessarily adding anything new.
December 8 - FT finally ships.
December 10 - package arrives in Los Angeles, odd because everything I've gotten before goes through San Francisco.
December 14 - ah, Los Angeles customs sits on packages for days instead of shipping out the next day like San Fran always has...package finally released from customs.
December 15 - "package marked undeliverable, returned to sender." WTeverlovingF? I've ordered a bunch of times using the same shipping address, and FT always sends you a pic of the package as it ships out, showing that the shipping label is completed correctly.
December 16 - call USPS. Phone woman says package is at local post office, go pick it up. Upon arrival, get told package was already sent back to China. Nothing they can do about it - too late to request a hold or re-route at the next sorting center. Argument ensues, ends with several ripped up change-of-address packets tossed like confetti about the lobby upon my exit. Another phone call, phone woman is very sympathetic this time, details my case, sends me to local consumer affairs office, which is only open until 3 p.m.
December 17 - call local consumer affairs, re-tell sob story about wife and kid's Christmas presents being shipped back to China because of stupid carrier misreading address (well, there is a Sig 100 for the wife and some little trinkets for my daughter in there). Phone woman is less friendly, says probably nothing I can do, my order's going back to China. Suggests I call local post office. Explained they've already told me they'd do nothing.
Later today - got a new package update: package is being forwarded. Forwarded where? Call USPS main line (which, by the way, is programmed via caller ID to ask if you're calling about a package you've called before, and then hang up on you regardless of package status unless you're creatively manipulative in defeating the phone tree to reach a human). Phone woman says package was forwarded. Where? Don't know. Try calling post office. Call consumer affairs instead - oops, they close early. Call post office - phone rings for 5 minutes, then cuts out. No message, no answer, nothing. Call back 11 times - 60 total minutes of solid ringing, no answer.
My $500 package, containing 2 Sig 100s, a half-dozen mechs, 10 drippers, some flashlights, and a bunch of other little Christmas present goodies is being forwarded somewhere. I wish I knew where - if one of you gets it, Merry Christmas!
Pre-Thanksgiving, sometime - VJ posts Black Friday code for FT. Wow, FT never runs a sale, and I've got like $500 worth of stuff in my cart. Checkout, please.
Post-Thanksgiving, a couple days later - VJ posts Xmas code, even better. My order hasn't begun to be processed yet. Try to cancel and re-order using new, twice-as-good code. No go. Oh well.
Early December - order still not shipping, Cloupor T8s that were supposed to ship days ago are now "discontinued." Oh well, I've been hearing bad things about Cloupor and second-guessing my purchase for a while anyway. Since FT can't supply the mods I ordered, I switch to 1st gen Sig 100s. FT won't even give me the discount that was present on the day I ordered, which is a bummer because I'm replacing discontinued merch, not necessarily adding anything new.
December 8 - FT finally ships.
December 10 - package arrives in Los Angeles, odd because everything I've gotten before goes through San Francisco.
December 14 - ah, Los Angeles customs sits on packages for days instead of shipping out the next day like San Fran always has...package finally released from customs.
December 15 - "package marked undeliverable, returned to sender." WTeverlovingF? I've ordered a bunch of times using the same shipping address, and FT always sends you a pic of the package as it ships out, showing that the shipping label is completed correctly.
December 16 - call USPS. Phone woman says package is at local post office, go pick it up. Upon arrival, get told package was already sent back to China. Nothing they can do about it - too late to request a hold or re-route at the next sorting center. Argument ensues, ends with several ripped up change-of-address packets tossed like confetti about the lobby upon my exit. Another phone call, phone woman is very sympathetic this time, details my case, sends me to local consumer affairs office, which is only open until 3 p.m.
December 17 - call local consumer affairs, re-tell sob story about wife and kid's Christmas presents being shipped back to China because of stupid carrier misreading address (well, there is a Sig 100 for the wife and some little trinkets for my daughter in there). Phone woman is less friendly, says probably nothing I can do, my order's going back to China. Suggests I call local post office. Explained they've already told me they'd do nothing.
Later today - got a new package update: package is being forwarded. Forwarded where? Call USPS main line (which, by the way, is programmed via caller ID to ask if you're calling about a package you've called before, and then hang up on you regardless of package status unless you're creatively manipulative in defeating the phone tree to reach a human). Phone woman says package was forwarded. Where? Don't know. Try calling post office. Call consumer affairs instead - oops, they close early. Call post office - phone rings for 5 minutes, then cuts out. No message, no answer, nothing. Call back 11 times - 60 total minutes of solid ringing, no answer.
My $500 package, containing 2 Sig 100s, a half-dozen mechs, 10 drippers, some flashlights, and a bunch of other little Christmas present goodies is being forwarded somewhere. I wish I knew where - if one of you gets it, Merry Christmas!