Bad Can Sometimes Be Good!

I ordered a few last minute toys online before Christmas. I got a great deal on the toys, and also on the expedited shipping! There are always good last minute deals to be had online right before Christmas. Alas, I did not plan for the weather in Denver being so awful that the airport was closed, and I did not count on the courier that was handling my package to lose it "in transit." Whatever that means! I personally think it is a euphemism for "we have absolutely no idea where you package is.

Needless to say, I didn't get the toys, which necessitated a last minute trip to Wal-Mart. (Horrors! The crowds, the lines, the nearly empty shelves, etc!) However, it wasn't too bad. I brought my husband, and he picked out some things I would have never thought of but my children really enjoyed.

I was in a panic Saturday when I emailed the site I ordered from, wanting to know where my package was. It should have arrived on Wednesday or Thursday at the latest. I searched the site for a phone number so that I could contact them. No phone number to be found, which is kind of a pain, so I emailed their customer service with no hope that they would get back to me before the holidays. I received a reply so quickly I could not believe it. They apologized for the lost package, and offered my several options as to what to do instead. This impressed me, because there are some sites that would simply say sorry, but we can't do much at this point. They offered to ship the order again, and pay for the expedited shipping themselves; they gave me a discount on my order, and also refunded me the costs for the expedited shipping that did not happen. The only drawback was that two of the items I had previously ordered were out of stock, so I won't be getting them.

Let me just say that I appreciate the fast resolution of my problem, the ways in which the site tried to compensate for my lost package, and the apology that came with it. While I was upset that I did not get the items I ordered in time for Christmas, I am getting a heck of a deal on part of it, and I will simply put it away until my children's birthdays, which are in the spring and I can be one or two presents ahead when that time comes.

Never let anyone say that there aren't advantages to shopping online, and that the various sites do not have good customer service. It turned a potentially bad situation into one I could live with, and I will continue to shop online.

by Christena Palmer