Might not get HBP until Monday.

[icarus]

I worked for Amazon.com once. Oh man, what a study in chaos theory. Anyhow, it turns out those bozos shipped all the Harry Potter books via UPS... to the post office. Which means we don't even get a tracking number.

They sent an email today saying some of the HP books won't arrive till 7pm. My box (where it's being shipped) closes at 1pm. If I had known this before they shipped, I could have changed to ship-to address to home.

After talking to the Amazon.com's customer service, my irate (if somewhat amused) email:

I pre-ordered Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince with the understanding Amazon would ship in a timely manner. In 2003 Amazon guaranteed Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix would arrive in the morning -- and it did. I trusted Amazon as a result.

Now, at the last minute I've been informed via email that some of your shipments won't arrive until 7pm. This is a problem because I have it shipped to a box which closes at 1pm, in which case I won't be able to receive it until Monday.

You were unable to give me a tracking number or tell me if my order is one of those that would be shipped later.

This is a mess because I've cleared the house for Saturday. My friends will be discussing it Monday.

This is a little like missing the Superbowl: it's almost impossible not to hear the final score.

Right now I'm merely panicked. If it doesn't arrive by 1pm, I'm going to be really pissed. One thing's for sure: There is no way I'm ordering the next Harry Potter book from Amazon.com.


All together now: AAAAAAUUUUUGH!


ETA: Thanks to heidi8 more info on Amazon's guarantee. It doesn't apply to me, I've had it shipped to my box which is considred a commerical address, but anyone else, if yours arrives after tomorrow, you'll receive your copy free.

Comments

[alchemia.livejournal.com]

oh crummy. =( we're ordered w them to, but I'm not desperate to have it by any particular time. I hope for those that it matters to though like you they at least refund the cost if the change in timing does cause you not to have the book when promised

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

I feel like Han Solo in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back --

"I trusted you!" he shouts to his con-artist, good-for-nothin' ex-smuggler friend.


I really ought to have known better. I have no cause to trust them except that they did come through last time. But jeeze, you know, I worked for them once. I know better. The managers are all kids, running around with their hair on fire with limited managerial experience and less organizational ability. They've yet to learn to delegate, and every day is a new exercize in reinventing the wheel.

Their receptionists ignore the people in the waiting room, blast their boom boxes, and pop bubblegum. Business people with appointments are terribly confused, if amused. It's like walking into IBM and finding out it's run by Willy Wonka.

The waste is rampant: they had me "camp out" (and it's not a good sign they had a term for this) paying me to surf the net while they got their act together. I watch the employees roll in casually, looking like so many high school kids. A golden retriever roamed the halls. Friends in production tell me the people down there have the work ethic of junior high kids.

I have great things to say about their IS department however; those guys were fast and efficient. They had me connected with a log-in with 45 minutes.

Surfing the net. Because no one else had their shit together.

"But - but.. I trusted you!"

Maaaaannnn...

Well, there's always a chance I'm one of the lucky ones who'll receive it in the morning.

Icarus

[alchemia.livejournal.com]

Wow, what a great description. I actually laughed and had to read pats outloud to buglnd. =P

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

*grinning from ear to ear* Thank you!

Icarus *who's now more cheerful, though that could also be the Percy/Snape slash*

[pinkfinity.livejournal.com]

Didn't they promise it would be free if not delivered tomorrow? We linked to their page about it on TLC earlier this week...

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Hmm. They didn't mention this on the phone.

I wonder what they consider "delivered." If the door to my box is locked and no one's there to receive the delivery, does that mean that they "delivered" it but no one was home?

I'm gonna check this out. Thank you!

Icarus

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Does not apply to commercial addresses where no one is present to accept delivery.

Unfortunately this guarantee doesn't apply to me because I had it sent to my box, which is considered a commercial address. I'd have had sent to home if I'd known they'd screwed up they weren't going to deliver it in the morning like they'd promised initially.

Thanks anyways though.

Icarus

[park-hye-in.livejournal.com]

Oh, ouch. I sympathize.

This, though, is a great line:

Right now I'm merely panicked.

: D

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

*grinning*

I worked with someone at Immunex once who specialized in letters of complaint. He was extremely funny and sarcastic, and company presidents have framed his letters as they send him a gift certificate for a thousand boxes of whatever.

One man told him, still laughing, "What can I say? It was a great letter.

Icarus

[dphearson.livejournal.com]

Oh, just ugh, ugh, ugh!

I was looking forward to calling you and squealing like a little girl!

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Well if I get it tomorrow, you can. I'll let you know.

Do you still have my phone number?

Icarus

[dphearson.livejournal.com]

*searches frantically*

No! I don't! email me your number! ems97219 AT yahoo. Then we can squee!

[juice817.livejournal.com]

They're just covering their own asses by saying seven. Do you know what time your box normally gets mail? And is it an actual post office box, or something like mail boxes etc was?

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

It's a Mail Boxes Etc., and it usually gets the mail around 11 or noon. You give me hope. (Oh dear, I just finished that sentence... "to carry on...")

What worries me is that the Amazon rep said some of the books are being sent a sort of special delivery, and some are being sent UPS. I get the impression they were overwhelmed.

Icarus

[juice817.livejournal.com]

trust me, the post office is very well aware of how huge this is. my own boss is a little pissy that jkr is getting special treatment from us *g*. the special delivery is called a drop shipment, where ups delivers a ton to the local post office, who then delivers them. amazon should have given you a ups tracking number, and you can look at that to see if it shows arrival at your local ups distribution center yesterday. our office got about 200 drop shipped yesterday, and then we got another 100 or so last night with the regular mail dispatch.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

It was definitely drop shipped, and arrived at the UPS distribution center on the 14th.

Does this mean that it won't arrive with the regular mail at my box this morning? *worried*

Icarus

[juice817.livejournal.com]

not at all. it means that the ups center had it the 14th and took it to the office who delivers your box the 15th, and it should be with your regular mail today. that's what happened with mine, which i have in my hands right now.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

You were right! *bounds and bounces*

But the next one I'm not ordering through Amazon. This was stressful, getting a last-minute email saying "oh, by the way, we might be late!"

Gah.

Icarus

[bsafemydeers.livejournal.com]

Wow. What a fiasco.

A good friend of our family works for the post office. I think that the kicker in all of this, then, is that at least the post office he works at (and I'd bet many others) have mountains of books that they had to leave sitting today. I'm not sure exactly when they arrived today.

The post office he works for is for a suburb, and he estimated that for them, the books would simply add an hour or so of delivery time. Sooo, while I don't know your location or city size, I have a slight window into it.

I suppose it would have made sense to start getting them out today, but they're under strict orders, and after a post office in Oregon apparently jumped the gun and is being sued, they wouldn't dare.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Well, I can see how they didn't want front page news: "Annnnd the Half-Blood Prince is....[ta-da]!"

Turns out it was a false alarm. My book arrived on schedule and the threat that it would be late never materialized. But hell... I dunno about ordering the last one from Amazon. Jeez.

Icarus

[selkielass.livejournal.com]

Well, you cannot trust B&N either.
Back when 'Quidditch' and 'Fantastic Beasts' were released I pre ordered to be "among the first to get them..." as they advertised, and what happened> A week after the release date, I was still waiting for my copies.

I called to complain and got nothing but a big shrug of indifference from them. It seems that since I was content to wait a couple days for *regular* shipping (Rather than next day mega-expensive {no deals available for this one} My order got shuffled to the bottom of the pile and wasn't even filled or shipped until *days* after release.

I've scarcely ordered anything from them since.

Got my copy of HBP locally. Waiting to read until I can sit down and really enjoy it- have a day long class today and I really don't want to get sucked in and then have to set it aside.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Turns out the email they sent was "just in case it's late." *wipes brow* I'm not sure that it helped much, because I sure panicked when I got it.

WG has been very good while I read it. Wonderful story. Had to jump online immediately afterward to discuss it though.

Icarus

[harveywallbang.livejournal.com]

not up to a midnight madness party?
i got mine at midnight... finished it this morning at 9....now i'm just...*sigh*...

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

I may just do that next time -- I'm sure not up for another round of heart attack-inducing emails from Amazon, that's for sure.

Just finished it a few hours ago. Loved it.

Icarus

[aquatryst.livejournal.com]

I read your post earlier today and felt for you. I hope it comes soon.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Turns out it was a false alarm after all. Amazon.com was just inducing heart attacks covering their bases.

Just finished reading it a few hours ago.

Loved it.

Icarus

[cheshyre]

*hugs*

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I did get it on time -- Amazon was just covering their asses bases.

Icarus

[taligator.livejournal.com]

I'm catching up on all the posts that I was hiding from ..

I ordered mine through Barnes & Noble and they did exactly the same thing with UPS/USPS. I'm still irritated at this point. I didn't receive it on Sat. and it might be at the house when I get there tonight. Either way I'm returning it .. I went to Wal-Mart and bought another copy so I could read it this weekend.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Holy shit.

Amazon actually did come through, but the day before the delivery they sent me a scary email "oh you might not get your book on time, sorry it's too late to order elsewhere (chortle)..." I freaked, but on Saturday morning: there it was.

I don't think I want to go through this with the last book. They didn't do that to their customers in 2003 when OotP came out. In fact, last time they sent soothing emails saying "It's on time!" and "It's shipped!"

B&N sounds awful and I'd definitely never order from them.

Icarus