Make ABSOLUTELY sure of your shipping information!

[armoredman]

I ordered a scope and rings from a company, and paid for UPS Ground shipping. They refunded my money and canceled the order due to the rings not being in stock. I said fine, I have rings, just send me the scope, was confirmed on three separate e-mails. NOT ONE E-MAIL SAID ANYTHING ABOUT CHANGING MY SHIPPING INSTRUCTIONS! See, here we have PO Boxes, not direct mail delivery. if you put the physical address on the package, it doesn't go through with USPS, gets bounced back to shipper. If you ship UPS/FedEx, you use the physical address, not the PO Box.
I paid for UPS Ground, and used the physical address. So the shipper changed it to UPS Mail Innovations, where UPS delivers to the nearest major Post Office, and they deliver from there.
Coincidentally I have the e-mail confirming the order for the scope...on 4-30, not shipped until 5-3. The bold on the estimated delivery date is mine, the rest is copied from the UPS page just a few minutes ago.
Observe.


This shipment is progressing through the postal system to the final destination.

Request Status Updates

Estimated Delivery:
Wednesday, 05/09/2012
Last Location:
DES MOINES, IA, United States, Friday, 05/25/2012

Additional Information
Package Actual Weight:1.2850 lbsPackage Destination: xxxxxPackage ID:xxxxxxx Package Sequence Number:xxxxxxxxxxxPackage Status:In Transit by Post OfficeProjected Delivery Date:05/09/2012

Shipment Progress
What's This?
Delivery confirmation information provided by the United States Postal Service.
Location Date Local Time Activity
DES MOINES, IA, United States 05/25/2012 11:36 A.M. Package processed by local post office
FOREST PARK, IL, United States 05/24/2012 12:47 P.M. Package processed by local post office
BELL GARDENS, CA, United States 05/22/2012 5:21 A.M. Package processed by local post office
PHOENIX, AZ, United States 05/19/2012 3:40 P.M. Package processed by local post office
DES MOINES, IA, United States 05/17/2012 9:37 A.M. Package processed by local post office
FOREST PARK, IL, United States 05/16/2012 2:20 P.M. Package processed by local post office
BELL GARDENS, CA, United States 05/13/2012 1:56 P.M. Package processed by local post office
PHOENIX, AZ, United States 05/11/2012 11:42 P.M. Package processed by local post office
05/11/2012 7:44 P.M. Package processed by local post office
---, AZ, United States 05/11/2012 8:35 A.M. Package returned to sender by local post office due to incorrect address. Contact sender for further assistance.
United States 05/11/2012 8:29 A.M. Received by the local post office
PHOENIX, AZ, United States 05/10/2012 9:38 A.M. Electronic Shipment Information Received for Package by Post Office
05/10/2012 8:14 A.M. Package processed by local post office
BELL GARDENS, CA, United States 05/09/2012 6:29 A.M. Package processed by local post office
PHOENIX, AZ, United States 05/07/2012 8:30 P.M. Package processed by local post office
---, AZ, United States 05/07/2012 2:00 P.M. Package returned to sender by local post office due to incorrect address. Contact sender for further assistance.
United States 05/07/2012 1:55 P.M. Received by the local post office
PHOENIX, AZ, United States 05/06/2012 11:25 A.M. Package processed by local post office
---------------------------------------------------------------------
UPS Mail Innovations Shipment Progress
Location Date Activity
PHOENIX, AZ, United States 05/10/2012 Package transferred to local post office
Tolleson, AZ, United States 05/10/2012 Postage Paid/Ready for destination post office entry
Tolleson, AZ, United States 05/09/2012 Package received for sort by destination UPS Mail Innovations facility
Carol Stream, IL, United States 05/04/2012 Package transferred to destination UPS Mail Innovations facility
05/04/2012 Package processed by UPS Mail Innovations origin facility
Carol Stream, IL, United States 05/03/2012 Package received for processing by UPS Mail Innovations

I contacted the shipper when I first saw that they had screwed up the shipping, and that it was going to bounce. They said the only thing they would do is get the item when it returned, and resend the same item by UPS Ground at their expense. The shipper only two days ago allowed that they may have made an error, and allowed me to submit a claim to begin processing on this item, which really isn't lost, it's just unstoppable. I have been talking to a Postal Inspector who is just as confused as I am, has actually seen a picture snapped by one of the machine cameras, and the return address is plain as day.
The long and short of it is I have neither product nor funds, and am not assured of receiving either. I can also state, and the Postal Inspector agreed with me - a 'scope in the tender mercies of Parcel Post for close to -a month is not likely to be in usable shape.
It wasn't expensive, but I did want it, wanted it to test the short rail on the wife's rifle. I am not posting the shippers name yet, as they said Thursday morning it should be 24-48 hours to get the "claim" processed...I'll even give them Monday as a holiday. After that...
I will likely never order from this outfit again.
The moral of the story is, make sure the info is correct, even AFTER you put the order in.


The above was originally posted May 25th. Since then the package has returned to Phoenix twice more. I have instructed the Postal Inspector who has been following this, to make sure that when the package is finally stopped, that it be returned to Optics Planet. I had to contact them to request an update after the 48 hour timeframe had expired. I was told they need another 48 hours to "process my claim". This is unacceptable, and I have requested an immediate refund. I will also never do business with this organization again, and I will instruct others to avoid them. This is how they treat me for a $34 dollar scope, nothing real expensive,can't imagine what would happen if it was something truly expensive. By way of comparison, I ordered a large shipment from MidwayUSA some years ago, and a bottle of Hoppes came op-en during shipment, damaging some items. MidwayUSA had replacement items enroute the day I called them.
I have been told the Post Office will be asking Optics Planet for postage due on this item...
I understand Optics Planet doesn't sell lead or casting equipment, but we do tend to use some of the products they sell, being shooters. :) Just advising and warning people what they can expect. I also know there are many people who have had good service from Optics Planet - you can't treat every customer like this or a company would be out of business by Thursday!

[armoredman]

Ah, the Post Office actually managed to snag the beaten thing out of its infinite loop, and sent it back to Optics Planet...who THEN asked me if I wanted the SAME PACKAGE SHIPPED BACK TO ME? After a month in the loving care of Parcel Post, not offering a replacement, not an upgrade, just the same battered $34 scope that was far too expensive for them to send a replacement before this one came back to them. They must really be doing poorly in the marketplace to be that desperate for money. BTW, the 48 hour, (which migrated into 10 days with no answer), lost package claim was also never answered.
I informed them I want the same thing I asked for several weeks ago - my money back. I still don't think I'll see it. I know they'll never see any more of mine.

[MBTcustom]

Wow! That's like a bad dream! I wonder what they did wrong to get that baby stuck in an endless loop. I know that you tried to explain it in the forst post, but I'm a little slow and this seems like a really complicated situation.
I wonder what that package looked like after being chunked around that much!

[mooman76]

One way around that is when inputting your address include both the PO box number and the physical address. I have to deal with that where I work because I work a mailroom. Some people ask me for the address and I have to explain that it depends on how it is shipped and they don't always know which way it will go so I tell them to just include both and that takes care of the problem either way.

[armoredman]

I would have except I had already specified and paid for UPS Ground shipping. I had no idea they would disregard those explicit instructions.

[375RUGER]

I don't understand retailers who think shipping is shipping. They deal with enough product that they should have a good grasp on the fact that some people specify delivery instructions for a reason. And to give you the option to use a specific service, that should be honored.

That Mail Innovations contract between UPS and USPS is a big PITA. If USPS doesn't deliver to a physical address then they should not accept the package from UPS period. UPS should deliver it.

[Gar]

Armoredman, I live up the road from you in Valley Farms. The no mail delivery to the street address seems to confuse everyone. Like mooman said, always use both addresses. I found it works well to put the street address on the first line and a simple ‘Box xxx’ on the second line of the address as some software doesn’t like P.O. Box when shipping UPS.
If you think dealing with Optics Planet was bad, get an FFL and try dealing with the BATF and other FFL’s when shipping guns when the USPS doesn’t deliver to your door.

[armoredman]

The refund has finally occurred, over a month past the date the situation got SNAFU'd. I wash my hands of them.

[x101airborne]

My college buddy, in his infinate wisdome..... Bought me a (one of those) pumps as a gag gift for my birthday. My address is 24250 US 77 North. My dad's is 2493 US 77 A North. And we have the same name, as I am the third. The package got delivered to my dad's house. MY MOTHER OPENED IT!!!!!! I came over for coffee with the kids and she hands it to me and asks if it was mine. I was so peeved, I took it to the post office out of the shipping bag, slammed it on the counter, and told them to deliver it to my house. At first I caught guff from the girl behind the counter. I then told her, "What if a plastic toy was delivered to your mothers house meant for you?" My mail lady delivered it to my house the next day in the open shipping bag with an apology note. I have not missed another letter, box, package, etc. But of course my dad did not let it die peacefully. It took three weeks of taking **** from my dad over it and almost resulted in a fist fight.

[tdd4570]

I receive all mail at the post office. If something has to be delivered to a physical address, it gets delivered to work. The lovely folks at the USPS can't seem to find my house. And they wonder why they are in the red.

[southpaw]

I have ordered 2 scopes from them over the years that were $600++ each and I received them in about 5 days or less. I understand that the problem most likely lies with their customer services. I have not had to deal with their customer service. I wish that they would have dealt with this a little better but this is the first time that I have heard of a problem with them. Glad to see that it was resolved tho. Better late than never, I guess.

Jerry Jr.

[armoredman]

That's the thing, Southpaw, it wasn't resolved to my satisfaction. When I discovered the error on their part I requested a replacement be sent out, and they refused, only promising that the original scope would be shipped to me via UPS Ground when it came back, which it wouldn't have without the direct intervention of a Postal Inspector I contacted. If I hadn't stepped in and done something it would still be floating around in la la land, and Optics Planet would still have my money. I found this to be incredible, especially when compared to the amount of money at stake. Perhaps that WAS the issue, as they assumed that since I was ordering such a cheap part that I would not be capable of making any kind of stink against them. I know that people I have spoken to both online and person have changed their minds and ordered from Midway and other places rather than Optics Planet due to this snub.
Yes, I got my money back, but with the attitudes displayed, I will never deal with them again. It was obviously important to them to get the full months interest on my $34, rather than customer service.

[OPBrian]

Hey armoredman,

This is Brian from OpticsPlanet. I'm really sorry about all the confusion with your order. Something obviously went wrong and I'd love to be able to make it right. I realize we can't give you back the time and frustration, but at the very least I'd like to make sure this doesn't happen again.

So I can look deeper into the issue could you send me a PM with your order information or call us at 800.504.5897 and we'll see what happened and what we can do. We're always making improvements to both our website and our operation to make sure everything runs as smoothly as possible for our customers. I can't promise we'll be able to make huge changes right away, but I do promise that we'll take a look and do our best.

Again, I'm really sorry about the inconvenience to you. We do our best to make sure today is better than yesterday and tomorrow is better than today.

Regards,
Brian
marketing@opticsplanet.com
800.504.5897
http://www.opticsplanet.com

[Bill*]

Wow....I give that last post a big +1

[oneokie]

That's what you call trying to make things right with good customer service.

[L1A1Rocker]

That's what you call trying to make things right with good customer service.


That's what I call damage control. Notice that is a marketing person posting? I've never seen a marketing person that could do squat to fix poor customer service. I smell an attempt to baffle people with BS.

[Bad Water Bill]

Give the man a chance to make it right and in the mean time keep us updated.

The P O wonders wny they loose money. I had a mould shipped from Portland Or 2100 miles away. Was at my door in less than 48 hours Good work USPS

I purchased an item from Mi. 210 miles away 5 days and counting Not so good USPS.

I am still trying to figure out this new UPS ground. The UPS truck drops off the package at my PO which then sends it to central PO who then sends it back to my PO for delivery.