On June 14th I posted this thread:
http://www.aguitarforum.net/viewtopic.p ... 81a#p29211
I had just ordered a Celestion Greenback from Sweetwater after I was alerted that they were back in stock. On June 16th my tracking info said my package was in town, on the truck, and out for delivery. The package never came. When I checked tracking it said that it couldn't be delivered because the address was incorrect. I knew that this wasn't true. Let me tell you something about whoever drives this FedEx route.
Not too long ago I had @andrewsrea wind me a set of Johnny Winter mini humbuckers for my Gibson Firebird. He had them delivered to me FedEx. I went through holy hell to get them. For two consecutive days the driver had them on his truck, yet failed to deliver them, saying on the tracking info that the attempt was made but the "business was closed." That was a a flat out lie. The shipping address is my residence, I work at home, I'm the only house at the end of a private road, and believe me, I know when anybody comes down here. I had to call FedEx, literally got hung up on, then finally managed to speak with somebody who somehow compelled the driver to drop the package in my mailbox the next morning. So I know that whoever drives the FedEx rout in my area is a first class lazy bum.
So I contact Sweetwater by phone, telling them that the address I gave them is correct (I triple and quadruple checked it on the order confirmation they sent me). The person I talk to suggest that maybe the label has been damaged and the driver can't read it. I ask him to please relay my proper address to FedEx, so that the driver can deliver my package the next day. I also inform him of my previous problems with FedEx, and that I do not trust the person who runs the delivery route in my area. He assures me that the person at Sweetwater who is in charge of shipping, and who has connections at FedEx, will take care of it. This person at Sweetwater sounded competent and reassuring, so I felt fairly confident that my package would be delivered the next day.
Next morning, Thursday the 17th, tracking info says once again that my package is on the truck for delivery. I wait all day and it doesn't come. When I check the tracking info it says once again that it couldn't be delivered because the address was incorrect.
I correspond with my Sweetwater salesman via email. He tells me that I will have to go pick the package up at an address he provides me, and that I will be required to have a government issued ID to enter that building. Now I don't have to tell a lot of you how busy I am as a working musician, and last week was particularly crazy for me. I had gigs all during the week and also shows scheduled for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The Friday and Sunday gigs were with new acts I'd be performing with for the first time and I had a voluminous amount of material to familiarize myself with and rehearse. Not to even mention the fact that I needed the Greenback I had ordered for said gigs. I did not have time to retrieve a package that a FedEx driver was too lazy to deliver. So I email back my Sweetwater rep, asserting that the FedEx driver is lying about not having my correct address, and I attach photos of three documents to prove this. The first is my Sweetwater confirmation order with my exact correct address. The second is a package I recently received from @tobijohn (sent USPS) with that same address. The third is a copy of my government issued ID (drivers license) with, yep, you guessed it, the exact same address. This is my correct address, I get all my mail here, including packages, and I have only ever had a problem in this regard with FedEx.
To tell you the truth, I was testing Sweetwater. I wanted to see what they would do for me. After all, they're the ones who make boasts like this about their service:
Please note the words and phrases, "Single goal in mind- to make a satisfied customer." "Focused on delivering the best possible service." "Count on reliable free shipping."
What, you may ask, could Sweetwater have done? I'll suggest just some of their options:
*They could have had whoever is in charge of their shipping department get on the phone with FedEx, tell them that they were paid to deliver this package to their customer, used the documentation I provided to prove the driver is lying about having the wrong address, and demand that they deliver said package.
*They could have offered me a discount for the extreme inconvenience of having to take time out of my hectic schedule, drive to the FedEx building, go through the hassle of showing my ID to get in, and retrieving my own package.
*They could have overnighted me another Celestion Greenback speaker by another carrier while they waited for FedEx to return the "undeliverable" one back to them.
Instead of offering any of these solutions they just cut me loose; they didn't even attempt to make me happy. So I asked for a prompt refund of my funds. I've still yet to check with my credit card to see if Sweetwater deducted the cost of shipping the "undeliverable" package back to themselves from my full refund. If they did, I will contact my credit card, tell them this entire story, and stop payment.
I know that Sweetwater has customers that make much bigger purchases than me, in the hundreds of thousands and probably millions. The new Gibson Les Paul Standard 50s I bought from them six months ago is small potatoes to them. Still, I'm a customer. But not anymore. I'm done with them for good after this experience.
What burns my azz is that shortly after pulling out of my driveway this morning I actually saw the FedEx delivery van that works my neighborhood. They know exactly where I live.
