I've had this experience with a prominent Amiga retailer and I have to ask - am I just unlucky?
Let's set the stage: a friend wants me to order some Amiga Mags, so we can read up on our favorite pastime - Amiga.
I go to a prominent retailer and order up the latest Amiga Future - and as we are ordering I might as well get some items for myself as I am embarking on expanding my A1200.
The items get rounded up and I order.
I have regrets (I didn't order enough mags) - and I create a new order with the previous month of the magazine - since I see that there's a two-parter in it that I otherwise would miss the first part of.
I get order confirmations and all.
Now, I know, things can get busy, so I give them time after all this is a hobby for enthusiasts.
As time go by and I hear absolutely NOTHING from them, I go on their website and fill out the contact form to implore them of just sending out the mags as I really want to have a fun night with my Amiga friend.
I still hear nothing and I go to their website yet again to fill out a contact form begging them to just send the mags - nothing.
A month goes by and I am boiling over - so I send them an email asking them to cancel the orders and in the meantime I have ordered the mags from Amigastore.eu and they have been brilliant - delivery within a few days and a postcard that is Amiga-themed thanking me for the order.
Within mere minutes I hear from the prominent retailer:
I get curious as I've been waiting a long time for this, so I send them an email:
Now they try to pin this on their payment processor for sending them garbage address information - but if that were the case - then why did they not send me an email: "Sorry we didn't get your address correctly, please fill us in" - and they claimed that they didn't receive my contact form in their support email, so this is what I sent:
See the part where they say that the package was "sent out already" - I wait another fortnight before I contact them and ask what's up since I haven't received my items yet.
They send me a link to a package tracking - and it clearly says that the package was not in the hands of the postal services until ten to twelve days after they said it was "sent out already".
Besides and more importantly, when I get the package my heart sinks and I internally think to myself: "I REALLY REALLY HOPE they shipped the magazines seperately" as the package is obviously too small for the magazines to be in there without folding them.
Unfortunately the magazines were also in this shipment and they were just bent to get them in there.
This isn't the first time I've had to wait for so long for my orders from that retailer - it has happened at least two times before.
Am I just unlucky?
I've already more or less decided to steer clear of them, but that's almost impossible - then I would have to order the cables for my Amigas from some place like e-bay or something of the like.
- - - Updated - - -
A couple of minor items:
I paid double postage, but they only sent out one package - which is even more infuriating as they could just have sent the magazines separately, so they didn't get bend.
I showed one of my other Amiga friends one of the cables - he's technically more proficient than me - and his comment was just: "Could you care any less about the cable?", it's obvious they make these cables themselves.
And I was previously a web developer - back when I was a web dev the international characters might have been a valid excuse (around '98-2000), but not in this day and age.
Let's set the stage: a friend wants me to order some Amiga Mags, so we can read up on our favorite pastime - Amiga.
I go to a prominent retailer and order up the latest Amiga Future - and as we are ordering I might as well get some items for myself as I am embarking on expanding my A1200.
The items get rounded up and I order.
I have regrets (I didn't order enough mags) - and I create a new order with the previous month of the magazine - since I see that there's a two-parter in it that I otherwise would miss the first part of.
I get order confirmations and all.
Now, I know, things can get busy, so I give them time after all this is a hobby for enthusiasts.
As time go by and I hear absolutely NOTHING from them, I go on their website and fill out the contact form to implore them of just sending out the mags as I really want to have a fun night with my Amiga friend.
I still hear nothing and I go to their website yet again to fill out a contact form begging them to just send the mags - nothing.
A month goes by and I am boiling over - so I send them an email asking them to cancel the orders and in the meantime I have ordered the mags from Amigastore.eu and they have been brilliant - delivery within a few days and a postcard that is Amiga-themed thanking me for the order.
Within mere minutes I hear from the prominent retailer:
"...
Thanks for the email. Sorry for the delay.
The final items for your order were assembled yesterday and the package has been sent out already.
It should be with you very shortly.
Apologies for the inconvenience.
..."
I get curious as I've been waiting a long time for this, so I send them an email:
"Hi there,
I tried contacting you two times via your website contact form - but
never heard anything from you.
The orders were still listed as "pending" right before I sent you that
email - which is why I tried to cancel - a little under a month and not
a peep from you about anything related to my order - not even a "We are
swamped - please have patience", which I have suggested to you on
earlier occasions.
Or just an update of "some items are missing - please wait while we
acquire them".
I hear nothing until I try to cancel the orders and now I have
duplicates underway from elsewhere since it seemed you couldn't be bothered.
Regards
..."
Now they try to pin this on their payment processor for sending them garbage address information - but if that were the case - then why did they not send me an email: "Sorry we didn't get your address correctly, please fill us in" - and they claimed that they didn't receive my contact form in their support email, so this is what I sent:
Now they inquire if I used special characters - if your website can't handle international characters then you are really misplaced - as we were in 2019 that should no longer be an issue."Hi again,
I would suggest that you look into why you are not receiving anything
from your website's contact form - something must be wrong with it.
I was logged in both times that I tried to contact you through the web form.
Best regards
..."
See the part where they say that the package was "sent out already" - I wait another fortnight before I contact them and ask what's up since I haven't received my items yet.
They send me a link to a package tracking - and it clearly says that the package was not in the hands of the postal services until ten to twelve days after they said it was "sent out already".
Besides and more importantly, when I get the package my heart sinks and I internally think to myself: "I REALLY REALLY HOPE they shipped the magazines seperately" as the package is obviously too small for the magazines to be in there without folding them.
Unfortunately the magazines were also in this shipment and they were just bent to get them in there.
This isn't the first time I've had to wait for so long for my orders from that retailer - it has happened at least two times before.
Am I just unlucky?
I've already more or less decided to steer clear of them, but that's almost impossible - then I would have to order the cables for my Amigas from some place like e-bay or something of the like.
- - - Updated - - -
A couple of minor items:
I paid double postage, but they only sent out one package - which is even more infuriating as they could just have sent the magazines separately, so they didn't get bend.
I showed one of my other Amiga friends one of the cables - he's technically more proficient than me - and his comment was just: "Could you care any less about the cable?", it's obvious they make these cables themselves.
And I was previously a web developer - back when I was a web dev the international characters might have been a valid excuse (around '98-2000), but not in this day and age.