"The End of the World, Brought to You By Cthulhu Consumer Products"I can totally relate to this situation on a current remodeling project.
As per the article:
"All I needed was a replacement detergent drawer for our washing machine. And somehow I ended up at the Mountains of Madness with H.P. Lovecraft as my customer service rep."
Further along in the article:
"That night a piece of email came in from Manila. Why Manila, I have no idea. According to the email, no warranty repair would be made. We would reach an “alternate solution” — involving replacement. Call this number with your work order ID.
So I called the number; maybe they’d found a tray. But no.
The “alternate solution” was to give me a completely new washing machine — same model."
Now, in my case, Mrs. Mythos is in the process of ordering items for remodeling a bathroom. To date, she's ordered a toilet, a corner shower, a vanity, and a vanity top/sink. That's a total of four (4) items, all from the same big-box retail store.
So, the first toilet arrived badly broken. That's delivery No. 1, by trucking company A. (Company A's has two warehouses about 65 miles away.)
This first toilet was returned. That's return pickup No. 1 by trucking company B. (Company B has one warehouse about 10 miles away.)
The second toilet also arrived badly broken. That's delivery No. 2, by trucking company A.
The second toilet was returned. That's return pickup No. 2, by trucking company B.
At this point, after hours on the phone with customer service, Mrs. Mythos canceled the purchase of the toilet. As the packaging for shipment by the manufacturer is unbelievably inadequate, we doubt that 50% of these units arrive anywhere undamaged. We will, instead, purchase a similar item elsewhere.
The vanity arrived in good condition. The vanity top/sink had also been received by trucking company B, placed on the bill of lading, but had not been loaded onto the truck. The delivery crew verified this by phoning back to their dispatcher. That's delivery No. 3, by trucking company B.
The vanity top/sink arrived a couple of days later, thankfully in good condition. That's delivery No. 4, by trucking company B.
The shower assembly is shipped in three boxes. Box #1 contains the curved glass doors, Box #2 contains the base, and Box #3 contains the walls. We received only Box #2, and Box #3. The delivery crew called back to their dispatcher, and was told Box #1 had been sent to their other warehouse. That's delivery No. 5, by trucking company A.
After over a week, many phone calls, and many hours on the phone with customer service, we gave up on simply receiving missing Box #1. We were given a hefty price reduction, along with free shipping, and agreed to send back Box #2, and Box #3, in exchange for a new complete shipment. And so, a few days later, we received Box #1, and a new Box #2. But, this time Box #3 was missing. The delivery crew called back to their dispatcher, and was told that this time Box #3 had been sent to their other warehouse. The boss of the three man crew suggested we just keep the Box #3 we already had, and not waste any more of our time. We had already been thinking the same thing, and readily agreed. That's delivery No. 6, by trucking company A.
Within a couple of hours, the guys from trucking company B arrived to pickup the originally delivered shower components. I had already placed only old Box #2 on the front porch. And, when I read the return order I was requested to sign, it was only for old Box #2. That is, old Box #3 was not listed. Now, a strange exchange like this had never been agreed upon with the big-box retail store's customer service department. But, we've finally received three (3) of the items we purchased, the trucking companies are satisfied, and we have no idea how the big-box retailer manages to stay in business. And so, that's the story of return pickup No. 4, by trucking company B. (We're now on a first name basis with the guys from this local company.)
In summary, what could have simply been four (4) items purchased and received in good condition in three (3) shipments, turned into only three (3) items actually purchased, two (2) items returned beyond repair, six (6) delivery shipments, four (4) return shipments, and a hefty loss in revenue for the big-box retail store.
Anyway, here's the link to the article:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/6/30/2178694/-The-End-of-the-World-Brought-to-You-By-Cthulhu-Consumer-Products
