OOPS is guys in Bermuda shorts sent from God to put the regular postal service out of  business and deliver our packages on time and cheaper that we ever thought possible.  Unfortunately, all that glitter is just bug dust.  It seems that OOPS undercuts the other delivery services by hiring mentally underprivileged morons.

After a year of scrimping, saving, pinching pennies, calling in old loans, doing without vacation and other forms of debilitating and humiliating miserly sacrifice, I finally scraped together the money for a new PC.  I was so excited.  For some time I had been eyeballing the latest and slickest models.  I gladly handed over my hard-saved moolah for the privilege of having delivered right to my door a brand-new PC.  Yes, I hardly even looked around.  I had dealt with Gateway before.  No use fooling around with those other companies.  This was exactly what I wanted.

Having bad experiences with OOPS in the past, i.e. finding a motherboard on my seldom used front doorstep two days after “delivery,” I had my reservations about the delivery part, but the salesman promised me:  “Just call a day or two before the projected delivery date.  We will give you the tracking number and you can call OOPS for an exact date or ask them to hold it.”  HOLD IT?  What a superb idea.  Home delivery is no longer a convenience for residential customers.  It means taking off work and waiting around all day.  I would much rather just go there and pick up my goods in person.

Well, I called two days before the projected delivery date  for the number, just as requested, and a check of the infamous online tracking system showed that it was “delivered.”  DELIVERED?  How can that be?  It’s two days too soon and I’m not at home – besides, it’s raining outside.

“Not to worry, they will leave you a note and you can be home tomorrow or put it on hold.”  Somehow, I just had a knawing feeling that there was a problem.

When I drove up in my driveway at home, I could not believe my eyes.  There was a pile of black and  while spotted cow boxes, an entire computer system, piled up neatly right beside my garbage cans – SOAKING WET.  Idiots!  How can anybody be that dumb?  It is  obviously a computer.  Gateway is written all over it.  They know it is raining.  Are they nuts?  Obviously, they must be.

Hell hath no fury like a computer geek scorned.  A call to  Gateway resulted in the usual busy signal at customer service – so I packed up my soggy  goods, risking flood damage to my vehicle, and floated off to OOPS blind with rage.

To their credit, there is one sensible person at OOPS.  The manager was very understanding and took back the damaged goods without question.  My anger was defused.  I see how she became manager.  She is the only person who works there that graduated kindergarten with an “A” in common sense.  Seems that Gateway no longer checks the box that says “signature required for delivery,” so the driver decided it was okay to just leave the shipment.  What can I say?  He has been working for OOPS for 20 years the manager said.  Twenty years and still not enough sense to not leave a computer in the rain.  Sad.

So what about Gateway?  Well, days later when I finally got through to customer service (Seems they are closed after hours and weekends and have a phony recording that says, “all representatives are busy.”) They said I should have kept the computer and contacted them.  I should have opened it and seen if it was wet inside.  Yeah, I bet.  Let me have a damaged computer, let me worry about fooling around with the service people, let me have a piece of junk that will probably never work right, let me suffer for their carelessness.  No thanks, Gateway.  I need a computer not a goldfish bowl.  I paid for a new, undamaged computer, through the teeth, and that is what I want.  Sorry the delivery did not work out.  I asked to have it marked “hold” when I bought it.  Now you or OOPS can eat it.

Am I mad?  Depends.  Like I said, I’ve dealt with Gateway before.  They do have an excellent product and good support services.  They once talked me through a C drive crash that took weeks and support reps at levels so high, they probably had halos and wings. After that experience, I still have enough confidence in the company that I believe they will make it good. I simply want what I paid for. I’m not stupid and I don’t expect to be treated as if I am.

You are thinking they will just re-package it and ship it back to me, aren’t you?  If so, it better work right or they will get it back again. I’m sick of being taken advantage of.  I’m sick of throwing money away and not getting what I bought, and I’m sick of consumers’ rights being violated.

And if the truth were known, I’ll bet there is not one employee at Gateway or OOPS that would want to be treated any differently than I do. Be fair – give customers what they pay for and they won’t be on the Internet screaming to the world about it!

©1999 Sheila Moss

Question: I don’t have to ask, but have you ever had a bad experience with a delivery?