Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.misc Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!cunixf.cc.columbia.edu!cs.columbia.edu!kyt From: kyt@cs.columbia.edu (Kok-Yong Tan) Subject: Re: Mail Order horror/hero stories In-Reply-To: picard@milton.u.washington.edu's message of 24 Apr 91 19:32:20 GMT Message-ID: Sender: news@cs.columbia.edu (The Daily News) Organization: Columbia University Department of Computer Science References: <1991Apr24.193220.19013@milton.u.washington.edu> Distribution: usa Date: 24 Apr 91 20:37:24 Yes, here are two horror stories about MacWarehouse: The first time I ordered a SCSI cable from MacWarehouse. They sent me a defective cable. I had mentioned to their order taker that it was urgent and I needed a working cable ASAP. They told me that it was no problem that as soon as they received the defective cable (they got AirBorne Express to pick it up at their expense, as it should be), they would despatch a new one. Total turnaround time: 3 days tops (or so they assured me). Five days later (over a weekend, so it was actually 3 working days), still no cable. I call them up and they claim they'd never received a cable. I call AirBorne who then provides me with the airbill number, the name of the person who received it at MacWarehouse and the time of receipt (all received the very next day after AirBorne had picked it up from my place.) I call MacWarehouse and ask for the same person I had spoken to earlier. Same denials. I told them of the information I had obtained from AirBorne and I hear some tapping of a keyboard in the background. Then they acknowledge that "they had received it and still hadn't processed it." I told them I needed the cable urgently but they were adamant that "until we process the return, we can't send you another cable." They refused to even give me an estimate as when they could send me the new SCSI cable. In fury, I called MacConnection and received a working cable the next day. Three working days after that (for a total of 7 working days in all--approximately 10 days in all since there was a holiday), I got a replacement SCSI cable from MacWarehouse which I no longer needed. I sent them a nasty letter and got a phone call direct from the CEO, who apologized profusely and said that they would credit my VISA account for $25 (the cost of the cable) and the reason they had to process all returns was because some people had been falsely claiming defective merchandise, getting replacements and not sending the original orders back. He also said it wouldn't happen again. All over $25 worth of goods (see below for hero story to understand why I was so peeved.) Like a fool, I believed the CEO and ordered a faxmodem from them since MacConnection was out of stock. This time, instead of the "Next Day Air" promise, after 3 working days, I still hadn't received my shipment. Another delay, especially after I had asked them if they had it in stock and if they could get the order to me the next day since I needed it urgently. I had ordered two items separately but within 15 minutes of each other and charged them to the same credit card. They had some braindead security measure which required them to wait 24 hours to make sure that it was really "me" who made the purchases. (How does this help determine authenticity?) Well, okay but that still leaves one day unaccounted for. I raised Hell with the CEO and only then, did my shipment get expedited and I receive it on the 4th working day. (Note that I DON'T include the day I place the order in my experiences above.) Here's a hero story about MacConnection: I'd ordered 4th Dimension by ACIUS from MacConnection. It arrived the next day, shrink-wrapped and all. On opening the shrink-wrap, I find that Acius had forgotten to include the program with the manuals in the box. I called MacConnection and outlined my problem. They said that they would ship out a complete set immediately and that I could send the defective set back to them at my leisure and at their expense. I told them that since I had a concierge, I could leave the defective set with him and he could do an on-the-spot swap when AirBorne Express arrived: defective set for complete set, thus making the return to MacConnection that much easier. It was done and I was up and running on day 4. Technically, since it was ACIUS that screwed up, MacConnection didn't really have to do this and pay for the cost of retrieving the package. They could have insisted that I rant and rave at ACIUS to get the product. However, they did me the courtesy of retrieving it at their expense and I will never forget it. Now, MacConnection was willing to do this with a $465 program and MacWarehouse was not with a mere $25 cable. Furthermore, since I was using a credit card to pay for my purchases, if I had not returned the defective item, MacWarehouse could have just charged my card again and produced paperwork to justify the charge. It goes without saying I will never deal with MacWarehouse again. All my future purchases shall be through MacConnection. -- Kok-Yong Tan can be reached at: | "Labra lege." InterNet: kyt@cunixa.cc.columbia.edu | - George Bush, if he were Caesar CompuServe: 75046,256 | Everything that can possibly be America Online: lallang | disclaimed is hereby disclaimed.