Post by whovous on Dec 2, 2012 13:38:30 GMT -5
On Monday, after an extended period of dithering, I finally made my third Emo purchase, this time for components to go with my vintage pair of Dahlquist DQ10s and a Linn turntable that I plan to put back into use with my record collection.
MONDAY AM I place an order for the ERC-2 CD Player, the XPA-2 Amplifier, and the XSP-1 Pre-amp, all for just under $2,000. A few minutes later, I get my confirmation email and realize I've told them to ship to my billing address. I promptly send an email to customer service and tell them to ship to my office, instead. I also ask them to confirm that I will receive a free pair of balanced cables.
MONDAY PM I get my notice that the entire order has shipped. Three packages, 133 pounds, all headed to my home, not my office, and scheduled for a Wednesday arrival. OK, too late to fix things, I decide, and make arrangements for someone to be there to sign for the packages. At least now I won't have to load them in the MINI and haul them home.
TUESDAY AM I read my email at about 530am, and discover that Emo Customer Service wrote to me at 1030pm the previous evening. They confirm that I will get the balanced cables and apoligize for not opening my email sooner. They say they will have to contact FedEx in the morning and redirect the packages to my office.
At about 6am, I send them an email to tell them not to make any changes. I also call customer service, find they are not open so early, and leave a voice mail message to the same effect. To date, I have received no reply to the email nor the phone message.
WEDNESDAY AM At about 6am, I check FedEx tracking and learn my toys reached the local sorting facility at 350am and were loaded on a truck for delivery six minutes later. We put a sign on the door telling FedEx we are are here (they've been known to ring the bell and run) and work on other projects. FedEx and UPS have been known to reach our house as early as 10am and as late as 9pm.
WEDNESDAY PM Around 7pm I check tracking again, and learn of a 918am Shipment Exception "Cannot Locate Recipient". I call 800-go-fedex and learn that my toys were placed on the DC truck, but an address correction from Emo told them to deliver my toys to my office address instead. Emo ignored my instruction to leave the address intact and obeyed my earlier instruction instead. But they must have found my later instructions eventually, and yet they never contacted me to tell me what they'd done. FedEx tells me the packages are now en route to WhiteMarsh, from whence they will be delivered to my Baltimore office on Thursday.
THURSDAY AM I check FedEx tracking and learn that while all three packages left the DC facility at about the same time, only one package is now on a truck for delivery to my office. I call FedEx and learn that the other two boxes (CD and Amp) arrived too late for Thursday delivery.
THURSDAY PM 5pm comes and goes, and no pre-amp has arrived. The office closes, I go home and find from tracking that my pre-amp was signed for by a building custodian at about 630pm.
FRIDAY AMThe other two boxes are on a truck for delivery, and the pre-amp finds its way up the stairs to my office.
FRIDAY PM I have to leave the office early. No toys. Tracking later tells me delivery was attempted at 530PM, but no one was found to sign for my toys.
SATURDAY AM I conclude this office delivery thing is not going to work if they cannot get there during office hours. I call FedEx and tell them to redirect the packages to my home for a Monday delivery.
The agent tells me two things: First, the packages are already on trucks for Monday and cannot be redirected until Monday, which means I will get them Tuesday, at the earliest. More important, she tells me that some shipping facilities get fed up by multiple re-directions of packages. There is a 50/50 chance that they will simply return the packages to Tennessee. I decide to leave the packages on the White Marsh truck and hope they find a maintenance man on Monday if they again arrive after the office is closed. She tells me she will put a note in the system asking the driver to try to deliver before 5pm, but there are no guarantees.
It is now almost a week since I placed my order, and I still have no idea when I will get to play with my toys. To add insult to injury, I have opened the Pre-amp, and there are no balanced cables in the box. So much for the assurance from customer service that I would get the free cables.
Emotiva is known for its excellent customer service, but it seems to me they have dropped the ball on this one. FedEx has not covered itself with glory, either. How long must I wait to play with my toys?
MONDAY AM I place an order for the ERC-2 CD Player, the XPA-2 Amplifier, and the XSP-1 Pre-amp, all for just under $2,000. A few minutes later, I get my confirmation email and realize I've told them to ship to my billing address. I promptly send an email to customer service and tell them to ship to my office, instead. I also ask them to confirm that I will receive a free pair of balanced cables.
MONDAY PM I get my notice that the entire order has shipped. Three packages, 133 pounds, all headed to my home, not my office, and scheduled for a Wednesday arrival. OK, too late to fix things, I decide, and make arrangements for someone to be there to sign for the packages. At least now I won't have to load them in the MINI and haul them home.
TUESDAY AM I read my email at about 530am, and discover that Emo Customer Service wrote to me at 1030pm the previous evening. They confirm that I will get the balanced cables and apoligize for not opening my email sooner. They say they will have to contact FedEx in the morning and redirect the packages to my office.
At about 6am, I send them an email to tell them not to make any changes. I also call customer service, find they are not open so early, and leave a voice mail message to the same effect. To date, I have received no reply to the email nor the phone message.
WEDNESDAY AM At about 6am, I check FedEx tracking and learn my toys reached the local sorting facility at 350am and were loaded on a truck for delivery six minutes later. We put a sign on the door telling FedEx we are are here (they've been known to ring the bell and run) and work on other projects. FedEx and UPS have been known to reach our house as early as 10am and as late as 9pm.
WEDNESDAY PM Around 7pm I check tracking again, and learn of a 918am Shipment Exception "Cannot Locate Recipient". I call 800-go-fedex and learn that my toys were placed on the DC truck, but an address correction from Emo told them to deliver my toys to my office address instead. Emo ignored my instruction to leave the address intact and obeyed my earlier instruction instead. But they must have found my later instructions eventually, and yet they never contacted me to tell me what they'd done. FedEx tells me the packages are now en route to WhiteMarsh, from whence they will be delivered to my Baltimore office on Thursday.
THURSDAY AM I check FedEx tracking and learn that while all three packages left the DC facility at about the same time, only one package is now on a truck for delivery to my office. I call FedEx and learn that the other two boxes (CD and Amp) arrived too late for Thursday delivery.
THURSDAY PM 5pm comes and goes, and no pre-amp has arrived. The office closes, I go home and find from tracking that my pre-amp was signed for by a building custodian at about 630pm.
FRIDAY AMThe other two boxes are on a truck for delivery, and the pre-amp finds its way up the stairs to my office.
FRIDAY PM I have to leave the office early. No toys. Tracking later tells me delivery was attempted at 530PM, but no one was found to sign for my toys.
SATURDAY AM I conclude this office delivery thing is not going to work if they cannot get there during office hours. I call FedEx and tell them to redirect the packages to my home for a Monday delivery.
The agent tells me two things: First, the packages are already on trucks for Monday and cannot be redirected until Monday, which means I will get them Tuesday, at the earliest. More important, she tells me that some shipping facilities get fed up by multiple re-directions of packages. There is a 50/50 chance that they will simply return the packages to Tennessee. I decide to leave the packages on the White Marsh truck and hope they find a maintenance man on Monday if they again arrive after the office is closed. She tells me she will put a note in the system asking the driver to try to deliver before 5pm, but there are no guarantees.
It is now almost a week since I placed my order, and I still have no idea when I will get to play with my toys. To add insult to injury, I have opened the Pre-amp, and there are no balanced cables in the box. So much for the assurance from customer service that I would get the free cables.
Emotiva is known for its excellent customer service, but it seems to me they have dropped the ball on this one. FedEx has not covered itself with glory, either. How long must I wait to play with my toys?
