judyonthenet

This is a really long rant about certain travel agents not living up to my expectations and how my naivete lost me $400. If you’re not interested in the details (I really ramble, I know), feel free to skip to bottom where I list out my conclusions.

When Kelvin and I decided we were going to go to New Zealand and Fiji for our honeymoon, I started looking at our different travel options. I had a small list of things that we wanted to do, but other than that, I wasn’t really sure how to plan the trip out. I read up on travel agents online. I was always under the impression that they would cost a little more, but I figured what extra I paid would go a long way in advice and feedback. Online articles seemed to affirm this, so I decided to give the travel agent thing a shot, since this was my first major trip outside the US on my own (outside of Taiwan… Taiwan never counts :P) and it was my honeymoon so it HAS to be good.

There were two travel agents I looked at. The first was someone on Yelp who had gotten several good reviews and was located close to where we lived. She doesn’t have a website or email or physical address listed, so I had to do what I hate the most: call her on the phone. The first time I spoke to agent #1 on the phone, she seemed nice enough, though I got the impression she was having a hard time handling the new clients she was getting from Yelp. After that initial call, I never heard back from her, after trying to reach her several times and leaving a couple messages. So, my first experience with a travel agent was met with failure and a few wasted days, waiting for a call back. The second agent I located through the New Zealand tourism website. Maureen responded promptly to my emails, and she mentioned that she has all these travel agent awards or whatever for her knowledge of New Zealand (she really tooted her own horn in the first email she sent me), so I arranged for my and Kelvin to meet with her at her travel agency.

Kelvin and I spent a lunch hour at their office in downtown Los Altos to talk about our honeymoon plans (May 22). Walking into the travel agency, Kelvin noted that their office “was like something out of the 50s”, as the place looked a bit dated with posters and international knick knacks from who knows how long ago and older women sitting at several desks in rows with no walls, talking to clients on the phone. We were sent to the back, where Maureen and her assistant was waiting for us. Right when we got into their office, they got a call saying another couple was here to meet them; I guess they had double-booked, so Beverly disappeared to talk to them. Sitting down with Maureen, we talked about budget, dates, and about our options. She had told me previously through email that they charge a travel agent’s fee of $100 per person for their consultation and that the fee goes towards the final cost of the trip, and I felt this was a fair cost, even if we decided not to book with them. The internet makes booking things by yourself very easy, so I understand an agent has to protect themselves from time spent planning an itinerary. I had to sign 3 forms: 1) travel insurance form saying that its purpose was explained to us, 2) a credit card form for the travel agent deposit, 3) a deposit form for a third party supplier called Newmans. This last deposit form said their supplier would get $200 per person for deposit. Maureen explained to us they’ve always used this supplier, that they’re the best, and they’ll price match any plane ticket price we find, blah blah blah. I signed all these forms, thinking Maureen knows what she’s doing since she’s been in this industry 20+ years. She gave me some brochures of vacation packages provided by Newmans and a different vacation company to give me some idea on itineraries. She said after this meeting, we’d probably be mostly talking to each other through email, so the next we spoke in person, it’d be about payment. It all sounded really simple and easy.

Now, alarm bells should have been ringing in my head during the meeting. 1) Why would I need to sign a deposit form for Newmans if she hasn’t even figured out my itinerary yet? How can she know already she’d already be using Newmans? (As for why I signed the form, I already know why. I’m a freaking moron.) 2) Newmans sells vacation packages, so they seem like a travel agency themselves… so this travel agency uses another travel agency? That’s two middlemen.

After meeting with her, Maureen wanted us to email her a final decision on the countries and parts of New Zealand we wanted to go to. I sent her a list of activities we definitely wanted, including one farm stay I was interested in. I asked for her opinion on the activities and for some feedback on accommodations, particularly with regards to farmstays. She suggested some other tourist-y activities, which is fine, but gave no personal feedback on farmstays, which was disappointing. She eventually sent a rough draft itinerary (May 27) that scheduled which places we went to and activities to do. To get a quote, I needed to fax my passport information and credit card information, since Newmans requires $200 per person before getting a quote. I didn’t like giving $400 without getting a basic idea of cost, but I went along with it since Maureen lauded them. I asked about the options for accommodations, and she said we’d go over them once we got the quote.

A couple days later (May 30), we got a quote back, and it wasn’t good. I came up with an approximate budget of $7k (yes, painful) from my own research, and I was expecting to go over budget depending on what sort of accommodations they were going to give us. Their quote was almost $1000 over our budget, and the accommodations ranged from okay to bad. I was pieved about our Fiji stay, which was at some touristy giant hotel on the main island instead of some resort with huts next to the beach on a random smaller island like I had hoped. One of the hotels in New Zealand got terrible reviews on TripAdvisor. The car rental in New Zealand only lasted until 4 days before our trip was over… how the heck were we supposed to get around the last 4 days or get back to Auckland to fly home? We also calculated how much it would cost to book the exact same thing ourselves, simply based of hotel websites and using a flight with more stops. It wasn’t a couple hundred or so more like I expected; it was over $1100 over what we had! I’m sure there were some small things we were missing, but the difference was just too huge.

I stressed about this for several days. Was it wrong for me to go on the internet and find this out for myself? Was I missing something? Did I make a huge mistake going with a travel agent? I didn’t know how I’d react on the phone, so I kept pressuring Kelvin to call Beverly until he finally did (June 4). (Maureen was away at some conference.) Kelvin said Beverly was very responsive concerning our complaints, which relieved me a bit. She said she’d look over any information we had on costs, and she’d go over our schedule more carefully and work out the nuances. (I think she had thought Maureen had already looked it over.) She also asked to make sure I would be okay with the farm stay they had chosen, since it was more of a bed & breakfast with some pet farm animals as opposed to an actual farm. I think this was the first time I ever heard any hint of feedback concerning accommodations based on their experience and their understanding of what we want.

I sent Beverly a detailed spreadsheet of how we calculated the costs (June 5). I also emphasized we wanted a nicer stay in Fiji, telling her a resort I was partial to. I also listed several farmstays that seemed okay. I didn’t hear anything from them until 10 days later. Beverly and Maureen went over our itinerary with Newmans (June 16), finding there were some travel insurance costs already added in (wtf?) and a price difference in airfare, which they would match. She also planned a different path back to Auckland which made a lot more sense than the original one, including a stay closer to Auckland and a stop by a hot beach on the way back. That is something I wouldn’t have thought of. She also suggested the farmstay I had originally sent to Maureen, saying another farmstay I had mentioned had a shared bathroom (I didn’t know this) so we probably wouldn’t like it as much. We didn’t have a quote back from Newmans yet, but I was digging the most recent response, as it seemed more in tune as to what I was expecting from a travel agent.

We got a second quote back (June 17), and it’s almost $1500 above our budget, but I wasn’t surprised, since we had asked for more expensive things this time. However, the schedule was shifted over 1 day, meaning we’d need to take another day off work. For the response email back to Maureen (June 18), I asked a ton of questions, asking about why they chose certain accommodations, if there’s anyway to decrease costs, and once again asked for her opinion on the accommodations. She answered some of my questions (June 20), but not all, particularly anything regarding her opinion, which irked me. She also insisted we finalize things soon, which I understood for maybe the plane tickets (which had been become more expensive and less available during our two weeks of email correspondence with these people) but not for everything else. I asked if everything needed to be set in stone, and I once again asked for opinions on the activities and accommodations listed. I also wanted to get rid of some of the tours they had suggested, since they seem unnecessary. I also found out the Fiji resort we wanted go to was having a 25% off sale through Expedia, so I linked her to it. Hoping she could maybe book it herself, I inquired as to whether it was necessary or not to use Newmans. I got antsy, so I called her instead. Even though Maureen had just emailed me that morning, at 2:30PM on that Friday, I was told by the agency that both Maureen and Beverly had left for the day already. Based on past correspondence, I know they wouldn’t respond during the weekend, so I got to spend the weekend pondering about the arrangement. Of course, upon further research with the new dates, we were still finding a pretty significant price differential, making me further hesitant to go with them.

Maureen got back to me a few days later (June 25). Her email basically said we needed to finalize and book everything, and we were taking too long. She said Newmans hold itineraries for at most 48 hours, so they were already being generous with waiting for us. I found this to be total bullshit, since it often took her at least two days to get back to me. She also told me she had already spent more time on our itinerary than she would on average. (I believe her specific numbers were 9 hours on ours vs. 4 hours average. But seriously, what is she spending her 8 hours on??) And she STILL didn’t answer any of my questions about her experiences with the accommodations. The pressure, inflexibility, additional costs, just complete lack of overall service… that was it for me. I was standing to lose $600 ($200 for Maureen and co., $400 for Newmans), but I determined I’d rather lose $600 than deal with this anymore. Plus I’m sure we’d save more than $600 not going with them. Once again, I got Kelvin to call, but this time to end our business relationship with them. I think they tried to convince us to stay, but we were very adamant. Kelvin asked if there’s a reason they insisted on using Newmans, and her only answer was basically that she trusted them.

I later emailed her to confirm we were ending our business with them. She responded kindly in return, mentioning we have to be careful with what we get on the internet. She also reiterated we were losing our deposits, which reminded me I needed to get a copy of everything I signed from them. She said she’d be more than happy to send us copies, and she wanted to double-check to make sure I understood I was losing $600. While I already knew this and had almost gotten over it, the email gave me an urge to write an angry complaint back. I really wanted her to know that while I paid $600, I in no way felt I received $600 in services. I trusted them in choosing Newmans, but it looks like with Maureen, there wasn’t any other option anyway. I’m not very good at these things, so I was nervous that maybe I’d get some hatemail back from her, since we already officially cut off our relationship with her. Instead, she said she negotiated a $200 deduction from the Newmans fees regarding my dissatisfaction. She didn’t have to do this (she didn’t even have to respond back), so I appreciate her last gesture. I’m still overall insanely pissed I lost $400 with the travel agency, even if it less than $600.

Conclusion:

This was my first experience dealing with travel agents, and I’m almost certain this is my last. I don’t know if I was just too naive in trusting their expertise or if maybe my expectations were too high, but the whole ordeal was a waste of time, money, and thought. As soon as I saw the first quote, I felt like I couldn’t trust them, causing me nonstop stress. Many articles I read on the internet talk about how the travel agency industry is suffering with the internet age. After this experience, what do they expect? I don’t know how I missed this in a few of the articles, but one of the warning signs of a bad travel agent is if they insist on using one supplier. I have no clue why this agency is incapable of doing what I can do, which is book or contact resorts themselves. Maureen warned me of the internet, but is contacting the resorts yourself at all risky? Without prompting for a better rate, the two places I’ve already contacted on my own straight out offered me 15 to 25% discounts. I would have been fine if Maureen had just booked everything online, assuming she had actually put in the effort to find the best value for our budget. I feel really duped. I consider myself a somewhat intelligent shopper, and after blindly signing their forms and accepting their deposits, I haven’t felt this dumb since… well, I dunno. I generally don’t feel this stupid.

In summary, these were my expectations and what I ended up getting:
1) The travel agent would be my middle man.
The travel agent added another middle man with their supplier, making two middlemen in between me and my vendors.
2) A travel agent does all the footwork for me on finding the best rates and value for my budget.
My travel agent used her supplier to give her a quote. I had to research pricing myself to find out it cost a significant amount more going with Newmans. Based on costs and lack of feedback, I’m under the assumption she did not contact any of the resorts herself. She didn’t even consider adding stops to significantly decrease the airfare cost (~$700 difference).
3) The quote the travel agency gives me should only be a couple hundred more (maybe even less) than what I can get myself.
Without any sort of sale or discount, I could get the same or similar itinerary for almost $1000 less. As of today, I can book their $8500 trip for a little more than $7300. The travel agency would not consider any other option (including booking things themselves) outside of using Newmans.
4) The travel agent would acknowledge any prices I found and let me know why we should pay more using them.
Aside from the first spreadsheet, further recommendations to decrease cost were ignored. Some explanation was given for the price discrepancy in the first quote, but not $1000+ of explanation.
5) A travel agent is flexible to change.
I was pressured to book everything (flight, hotel, car rentals) and told I need to finalize every ASAP. The two resorts I talked to have told me I’m planning things well in advance and that waiting on booking is better if I’m considering changes.
6) I would be presented with options.
They would use no one else besides their main supplier, Newmans, to book anything. Not even themselves. I was presented with one itinerary with no options in transportation and accommodations in each quote. The exception was when I specifically asked for the different options of being transported to the Fiji resort.
7) The travel agent can give me insight and advice based on their experience and expertise. This was the most important factor for me.
Repeated requests for their opinions on the accommodations and activities chosen were ignored.

I know it may be considered a douche thing to go shop around in person and then get something yourselves online instead. (I do this all the time, sorry.) That’s why I understand the deposit and consultation costs. But I really was not expecting such a huge discrepancy and lack of service. If you’re going to an English speaking nation that’s somewhat developed and has access to the internet, I’d absolutely recommend using internet resources rather than a travel agent. It’s so easy to directly contact hotels and find deals on your own now, and with excellent forums like TripAdvisor, there are tolerable substitutes to the personal experience of a travel agent. I hate to diss travel agents so generally, but that’s really how I feel. I’d loved to be proved wrong. Until then, I’ll have to book my own honeymoon.

Edited to add: I thought the quotes they had first given us included a nonstop flight for the return flight, but after taking another look at it, their return flight had the same 2 stops we later found our prices with. Taking that into account, their package lacked more value than I originally thought!

Now that I’ve been blogging for a little more than year, I have all sorts of randomness in the pages of my blog since I lack focus and whatnot. The variety of my content has managed to attract a variety of folks. I’ve found that most of my hits are from Google Image searches, with the top searches being for Naruto (for my one single Naruto post), adult gaming and/or Drawn to Life (for my Drawn to Life post), and misc wedding searches, especially specific dresses. I’m even starting to get random comments on my blog now, which I think is pretty awesome. In fact, I’ve even gotten a couple negative ones! I try to be unbiased in my comment moderation (I don’t know why… I don’t really have to be), but I still haven’t gotten myself to allow the negative non-spam comments through. So I’ll bring up the two negative comments I’ve gotten so far and discuss them today.

Comment from chris (not to be mistaken for a totally cool and awesome Chris) for Lamest Naruto Episode evar. (Naruto Shippuuden #28):

for one y’all are idoits ten ten uses the scroll the whole time. i do ament that it was a bit long but u guys made a mistake it was guy rock lee neji and ten ten vs themselfs from a trap set by the akatish and during the battle is naruto fight and sakuras battle against siore of the sand

Alright, I’m not really sure what this guy is talking about. It seems to almost make sense, but not quite. Kelvin thinks it’s spam since the guy linked to a webpage when he posted, but spam messages usually have nothing to do with the post. This one… almost makes it. I’ve only seen what’s in the Naruto anime, but I’m pretty sure “akatish” and “siore” are not actual characters. I think “akatish” is Akatsuki, and “siore” is Sasori. “ament” = “admit”? I had decided when I started blogging that if I were ever to get negative comments, I should be unbiased and let them through if they offer some sort of explanation for their negativity, but I don’t have any idea what he is trying to communicate.

Comment from jane for America’s Next Top Model’s 10th Cycle of Bitches:

ur a dumb bitch

Okay, this one goes under “negative comments that offer nothing to discussion”, so I didn’t let this one through. However, I noticed she did find my page though a Google images search for “plus size model whitney”. I don’t know if she didn’t like my post in general, but my guess is that she didn’t like me dissing the existence of plus-sized models on a retarded reality show. Anyways, my counterargument for this comment would probably be, “I’m not a dumb bitch. Maybe just a bitch.”

Alright, I feel like having a poll just for kicks (and to see if anyone is still reading this blog after I’ve blown it off so much for Call of Duty 4… I can’t believe with all the time I put in the game I STILL TOTALLY SUCK AT IT):

Should I have let these comments through?

• Yes, you should have let chris’s comment through.
• Yes, you should have let jane’s comment through.
• Yes, you should have let both chris’s and jane’s comments through.
• No, deleting both was the best action.

View Results

 Loading …

New thing I learned today: Nabisco is an acronym for “National Biscuit Company”.

I did a bit of shopping this weekend, and GameStop and JoAnn’s is getting some thumbs down from me…

GameStop has this booklet ad they have on their counters all the time called “The Guide”. I don’t know how long they usually lay around, but the most recent one (with GTA4 on the cover) advertised that God of War 2 for PS2 was going to be Greatest Hits. This means it’d be getting a price drop from $39.99 to $19.99, but it also means it’d be getting the obnoxious red banner on the cover. I consider myself a bit of a collector (and a bit anal retentive), so I wanted to get the game before stores were flooded with Greatest Hits versions, even tho both version have identical contents. God of War was amusing enough, so God of War 2 was probably also amusing. According to the CAG forums, the ad said deals were good through April 6th, so I figured I’d be able to get the game at the Greatest Hits price minus the Greatest Hits banner pretty easily last Saturday (April 5th).

Oh, how naive I am! Even though the ad had been around GameStop stores for a few days already, the GameStop system was never updated with the new price. I walked into the nearest GameStop last Saturday, greeted by a guy behind the counter who, based on his enthusiasm in greeting me, I assumed was the manager. I wanted to get God of War 2 for $20, but it was $40 in the system. I said it should be on sale, and I asked about the booklet ad they usually have. The guy said the ads were in the back and weren’t supposed to be out yet, but he could bring one out from the back, which he did. I flipped through the pages and found the advertised $20 God of War 2 game, pointing this out to him. He said since the ad isn’t supposed to be out yet, it should drop in price later this week. I asked when, and he said Tuesday… no wait, tomorrow. I asked if the ad says when it’s valid, and he said it should, and we both looked through booklet until we found it on the back. He read outloud that prices are “valid through April 6th” and followed it with “which must means it starts tomorrow”. What the hell, does he think I don’t know English or something? I’m like, “Come on, that’s totally not what it means!” He mumbled some mumbo-jumbo about how he hates “lawyer legalese” and how he’s not sure when the price is valid. He won’t give it to me today, so he gives me the store number to call and check tomorrow. He spent the entire time checking out his screen, so I don’t know if there was some corporate email with vague instructions on how to deal with the ad or something. What a bunch of bull-honkey.

The good thing to come out of that was he let me keep the ad. The next day, I went to Circuit City, grabbed a copy of God of War 2, and used the GameStop ad to pricematch it. The customer rep only hesitated to ask the guy next to her if they pricematch GameStop, to which he mumbled “uh-huh”. She rung me up, giving me an additional $2 discount from their pricematch guarantee, and I was able to use $13 of leftover Circuit City credit. Sweet. This was a satisfactory retail experience, by the way.

Also, the price officially dropped today, so if you’re looking for the game without the greatest hits label, you might want to check your local retailers soon.

I dropped by JoAnn’s this weekend to pick up some tulle. I’ve been visiting JoAnn’s a lot lately, as they have something on sale every weekend (but of course, never at the same time). With my recent urge to become more crafty (in a crafts sort of way, not in a shady politician sort of way) and seeing how ridiculously expensive veils are, I decided to try to make my own veil. I saw in an ad that tulle was on sale for 50% off, so I made sure to visit last weekend to get some fabric.

When I got to JoAnn’s, I asked a sales associate to help me choose a tulle for my veil, and she directed me to the 108″ wide white tulle. It was $2.69 a yard (I didn’t realize they had tulle that was above $1.99 a yard), but the sign was there saying tulle and matte net was on sale… except for “shinny tulle” (this exception was handwritten on the sign). I’m guessing they meant “shiny”, which eliminates pretty much any tulle with color in it, including some of the ivory shades. Maybe I’m wrong, but every colored tulle I looked at was labeled “shiny”. The ivory tulles weren’t white enough anyway, so I stuck with the white, even though my dress color may be paler than the tulle. This was just for fun/practice anyway, though I was disappointed I wasn’t going to be able to make my rainbow colored veil :P

I grabbed the bolt of white tulle and brought it to the area where they snip the fabric. I asked the lady to make that the tulle was 50% off, so she scanned it… and it wasn’t! She said it was probably because it was extra-wide. I’m kinda pieved, because nowhere on the signs does it say it excluded extra-wide tulle. The ad might have hinted at it by saying their tulle price range maxed at $1.99, but I thought it just meant they don’t have tulle more expensive than $1.99 a yard. And I’m pretty sure the lady who pointed out that bolt to me told me it was 50% off (and that the shiny stuff wasn’t). Luckily, I have a 40% off coupon handy, so I use it just so I can get my four yards of tulle that day. (Though in hindsight, I should have just bought it this upcoming weekend, since there’s like unlimited 50% coupons for next week. Ah, well, I lost $1.) I feel like the limitations on the tulle borderlines false advertising, so I’m seriously considering writing to JoAnn’s and complaining. No shiny tulle, and no extra-wide tulle. Pretty much the only tulle I can get is 78″ white tulle… maybe the black tulle wasn’t shiny. Grrr.

Edited 4/13 to add: I dropped by JoAnn’s today and saw that actually a lot of the colored tulle wasn’t shiny. I must have been blind when I was looking for tulle. The unadvertised exclusions still suck though :P

New thing I learned today: Tulle is indeed pronounced like “tool”. Good to know I’ve been saying it right.

Kelvin decided to finally get a replacement camera for his busted up Canon SD630, so he ordered an SD870IS last week from Amazon. We have the unlimited 2-day shipping thing, so it was sent out immediately. Unfortunately it was shipped through DHL. Since we’re fully aware of how much DHL sucks, Kelvin decided to work from home when the tracking said it should arrive today.

So Kelvin waited at home. And waited. Sometime in the middle of the afternoon, Kelvin began to really worry and gave DHL a call. Of course, the service rep told him it was currently out for delivery and assured him that the package would be delivered by 5PM. Or between 5PM and 9PM… what? Kelvin took their word and continued working from home until 5PM, which is when he gave DHL yet another call. This time, he was told that his package wasn’t going to be delivered at all today, and right now it’s sitting at the local hub. Oh yeah, and they’re probably not going to try again tomorrow. No explanation for ANY of this. DHL just wasn’t going to do their job, end of story. Kelvin contacted me at work and told me I had to leave that very moment to go with him and sign for his camera (it was purchased under my name for Amazon points) at the Sunnyvale hub, which closes at 6PM. So I rushed home, and he rushed us down carpool lanes on 85 and 237 to make it to the Sunnyvale hub before 6PM.

We arrived at 5:45PM to this familiar location (we’d been here before when they couldn’t figure out how to deliver packages to Kelvin’s old apartment), and there were two people waiting for packages at an empty counter. Waiting and waiting, eventually a bald white DHL worker appeared. He looked tired and/or irate. I guess the first guy had already been helped, so he asked the second lady for her slip (WTF, why does SHE get to have slips? :P ). He went back to look for her package, found it, and brought it out to the lady. As he was doing this, he was also yelling at another worker to get the first guy’s stuff. The conversation went something like this (all done with shouting, since bald worker is at the counter, peon worker is down the hall stuck out a doorway and visible through a window):

Peon worker: I can’t find it!
Bald worker: It’s in the bucket!
Peon worker: [few seconds pass] It’s not here!
Bald worker: [irritated] It’s IN the bucket!
Peon worker: In the back?
Bald worker: [Very irritated] NO, IN THE FRONT. THERE ARE TWO BUCKETS BY THE DOOR. IT’S IN THE FIRST ONE.
Peon worker: [Few seconds pass, then he walks out with package and hands it to first guy]

Okay, so I was getting the impression that bald DHL worker is fairly competent (or good at looking competent) and that he was in a very unhappy mood. It was finally my turn, so I showed bald worker my package number. He looked it up on the computer, and his face kinda sank a little when it came up, which made me worried. He asked if I knew where it came from, and I shrugged as Kelvin said it was from Ohio. He started to head towards the back, and as he left, he asked if we had some time cuz it was probably going to take a while. We’re like, “I guess”, and he asked again if we knew where it came from. I’m like, “Amazon?” It looked to not be helpful information, as the guy still looked deject as he ran to the back. We grumble to each other about how much DHL sucks and get ready for a long wait.

But apparently we got lucky. Bald worker popped out of the back room with a happy look, saying we were really, really lucky. He said he looked into the room of packages, and he saw an Amazon box right next to him and it happened to be ours. He said that never happens to him. Despite being slightly more cheerful because of the easy find, he was clearly still unhappy based on my conversation with him:

Me: So, did they try to deliver this package today?
Bald worker: Nope.
Me: Um, how come?
Bald worker: No drivers. The driver didn’t finish his delivery load by 5PM, and they’re refusing to pay for overtime, so the driver clocked out without finishing their truck.
Me: That’s horrible…
Bald worker: Yep. You weren’t the only ones. 12 drivers didn’t finish their trucks, so 1000+ packages weren’t delivered today.
Kelvin: And the holiday season is just starting.
Bald worker: Delivery guys used to working 12-14 hours are now only working 8.
Me: That’s so bad…
Bald worker: Yep. Write and complain. [hands me signature pad for package] Sign here.

Kelvin and I left with our package, and as I went through the door, I could hear the bald worker immediately tell the next customer (who has several packages he wants to ship) before he could even say anything, “Those aren’t going out tonight.”

But geez, really… what terrible business practices! DHL really IS as horrible as we all assumed they were. btw, I’m not complaining about customer service or anything; the guy was grumpy, but he wasn’t mean or rude to us, and he seemed quite (bluntly) honest and he helped us. I mean, how can they stop paying overtime when deliveries are at their peak?! It’s the holiday season, for crying out loud. That’s insane. This was probably the same “driver issues” that occurred with my last package. I still don’t get how DHL can still have any sort of business. I’d like to not use them, but how can I dictate what couriers the online shops use? Ugh.

11/26/2007    
5:51 pm      Shipment delivered. [Yeah right, “delivered” my ass.]      Santa Clara, CA
8:00 am     With delivery courier.     Santa Clara, CA
7:52 am     Arrived at DHL facility.      Santa Clara, CA
11/24/2007
4:42 am      Depart Facility     Wilmington - Clinton Field, OH
12:47 am     Processed at DHL Location.      Wilmington - Clinton Field, OH
12:06 am     In transit.      Wilmington - Clinton Field, OH

Edited 12/4 to add: More on DHL’s “driver issues“.

This isn’t news to me. I already know from my past dealings with DHL and from Kelvin’s past dealings with DHL that DHL is the worst courier in existence. Imagine my distress when I found out that Dell’s free overnight shipping for the recent computer I ordered was through DHL.

Day 1 - Monday, 11/12/07

1:17 pm    Delivery attempted; recipient not home      Santa Clara, CA
9:27 am      With delivery courier.     Santa Clara, CA
7:48 am      Arrived at DHL facility.     Santa Clara, CA
3:36 am     Depart Facility     Fresno Hub, CA
12:51 am     Processed at DHL Location.      Fresno Hub, CA
12:01 am     In transit.     Fresno Hub, CA

My item was shipped over the weekend, so I should have gotten it on Monday after. They attempted the delivery, but nobody was home. Not a surprise, since I was at work. What was a surprise is that they couldn’t find someone to sign for it, since I currently live in an apartment complex with a manager who is usually present to deal with these sorts of things. Okay, maybe the manager wasn’t around. However, I didn’t get any sort of slip at my door, and the tracking didn’t update as undeliverable until ~7PM, so I was still expecting it to show up when I got home. Annoying.

Day 2 - Tuesday, 11/13/07
The tracking didn’t update at all, so I gave DHL a call to ask where my package was. A service rep told me it was currently out for redelivery and that if it wasn’t delivered, it would be at the local hub since they already made two attempts. I mentioned I never got a slip, and she apologized for that, as I was supposed to get one. She gives me the hours and address for the local hub in Sunnyvale. She also mentioned that they’re having a ton of deliveries today, though I don’t see how that’s relevant considering it’s not peak holiday season… and that they’re a freaking courier service. That’s ALL they do: deliver crap.

I would also like to mention that this day was also the day that DHL screwed up most of the Western US Toys’R'Us Super Mario Galaxy deliveries. Toys’R'Us got a bajillion preorders for their $25 giftcard deal, and they had said in their Sunday ad they game would be in by 5PM Tuesday. This is one of the most highly anticipated games and game of highest demand, and most of the TRUs in CA, OR, WA, TX, OH, MI, etc. got very few or none of their packages by the promised date. No store could cover their preorder numbers. Based on the CAG thread, it sounded like there were some majorly pissed off people at TRUs all over the West Coast at 5PM this day. I just harassed the rep over the phone, so I was lucky enough to avoid wasting gas. The common factor with all these Super Mario Galaxy mishaps? DHL. (P.S. Super Mario Galaxy is awesome… and I hate platformers!)

Day 3 - Wednesday, 11/14/07
Still no slip, no update on the tracking, so I give DHL another call. I’m once again told by a service representative that it was out for delivery. They also said they had attempted the day before, and I commented again that I got no slip on Monday or Tuesday. The lady apologized for the lack of slips. She said that because that they will have attempted delivery three times, it will be held at the hub. However, she said I need to call them to arrange a pickup before going to the hub. Eventually sometime between this afternoon and the next morning, the tracking updates for the day:

6:00 pm     Scheduled for delivery     Santa Clara, CA
12:57 pm     With delivery courier.     Santa Clara, CA

Day 4 - Thursday, 11/15/07
Okay, still no slip, but the status for Wednesday finally updated, though nothing for this day. I called DHL again, asking for the status and expecting that I will need to pick it up at the hub. However, I’m told AGAIN that it’s out for redelivery. I asked how come it’s not being held when they attempted delivery the last three days. I’m told by the rep that no attempt was made on Tuesday or Wednesday. Huh? She said that her system shows that no delivery attempt was made the day before because of “driver issue”. Yeah, that doesn’t sound sketchy. I asked her if she could tell the delivery guy to make sure to check the leasing office for my apartment manager’s signature, since there’s no way I’ll be home to sign it. She said she’ll speak with the hub, and I should get a call back in an hour. Big surprise, I never get a call back. Status was eventually updated for the day.

7:12 am      Arrived at DHL facility.      Santa Clara, CA

Day 5 - Friday, 11/16/07
Hey, no status or slip YET AGAIN, so I give DHL a call YET AGAIN. And YET AGAIN, I’m told it’s out for delivery… what the HELL? I told the girl I haven’t been getting slips, and I really want to make sure the driver checks for the manager. She asked me to hold, and then I guess I’m redirected somewhere because I heard ringing. And ringing. And ringing. I waited for like 20-30 rings before I hang up and call DHL FREAKING YET AGAIN.

I’m extremely irritated at this point, so I’m sounding pretty pieved. I was very nice and friendly to all the previous reps before, because I know they can’t really do shit cuz DHL sucks. This time, I couldn’t get myself to be friendly. The fact I got a particularly not-friendly sounding service rep this last time didn’t help either. (Honestly, I’m surprised the previous service reps weren’t total bitches. I can’t imagine the crap they have to go through on a daily basis.) I told the rep I don’t get what the deal is; I still haven’t gotten any slips, and I have no idea where my package is. She said it’s out for delivery, and they’ve only attempted delivery once so far. I’m like… what? What about yesterday? She said her system only shows attempted delivery on Monday, no attempted delivery on Wednesday because of “driver issue”, and that this day was when they were expected to attempt delivery again. I asked her to make sure they got my message about leaving it with the manager, and she said they got it. I asked what I should do if I don’t get a slip again, and despite me telling her that my manager would tell me if I get anything, she told me to check with the leasing office. Well, no shit, okay. I asked what happens if I don’t get it, and she reiterated it would be delivered today. I asked, if I don’t get it today, does that mean I won’t get it until Monday? She says I can still get it today if I got to the hub by 6PM, and I’m like, if it’s out for delivery, why would it be at the hub? She says I’ll have to call to find out when the delivery truck comes in. Can I have the hub number? “No, we don’t give that information out.” …Once I again, I asked what I should do if I don’t get the slip, she says call DHL again Monday… ARGH! I’m like, fine, whatever, and then I basically hung up on her because I’m so annoyed.

Later in the day:

11:57 am      Shipment delivered.     Santa Clara, CA
7:50 am     With delivery courier.     Santa Clara, CA

It actually delivered! I called my manager to verify she got it, since the tracking said it was:

Delivered to: Receptionist
Signed for by: MARTIN

(My manager’s first and last name is not “Martin”.) But yeah, I finally got my Vostro 400. In fact, even though it’s for my mother, I’m actually using it right now since she has no place for it at the moment. Even tho it’s cheap-o Dell, it’s pretty decent. Yay for non-crappy computers.

New thing I learned today: DHL stands for “Dalsey, Hillblom and Lynn”, the last names of the three people that founded it in 1969. About 60% of its American deliveries are done through independent contractors.

I was subscribed to both Gizmodo and Kotaku, a couple blogs under Gawker that talk about gadgets and games, respectively. They’ve been making some inane posts the past few days about kicking each other’s asses in Halo 3 or something. Okay, whatever, I don’t give a sh*t, next article. Apparently the Halo 3 smacktalk had gotten pretty heavy, as Gizmodo decided to play a prank on Kotaku. This prank turning out to be going into the Kotaku blog (Gawker editors have access to each other’s blogs apparently) and posting on the frontpage the famous offensively-disgusting shock image Tubg*rl. (If you don’t know what that is, don’t uncensor the word and Google it. Seriously, don’t. You can look up “shock site” on wikipedia if you’re that curious.) I’ve never had the pleasure of seeing Tubg*rl until today in my Bloglines. Luckily, I was scanning it quickly, so I only caught a glimpse of the image as I scrolled along, but I recall my thoughts transitioning from “What’s that?” to “That’s not appropriate.” to the final conclusion of “That’s insanely offensive and disgusting, and I want vomit the Subway sandwich I’m currently eating.”

Seriously, wtf? Of course, Kotaku quickly took it down when they found out and apologized for the image (even though it wasn’t their doing). However, I’m pretty sure during the 20 minutes it was up, there were quite a few pissed off readers who may not have understood it wasn’t them, but Gizmodo folks that pranked them. And it’s not just a blog… it’s a blog with tens of thousands of readers (at least) regularly checking them, some at work, some probably underage. A blog with paid writers and paying advertisers. The image was just… really not appropriate, prank or not. It’s not even funny (except for maybe 12 year olds). And whose idea was this? The editor of Gizmodo, Brian Lam. The one who’s in charge of keeping Gizmodo content relevant and professional. After initial backlash, instead of apologizing, he commented to readers to “bathe in the afterglow of a wonderful retaliatory prank” and “Thanks for having a good sense of humor.” It’s like he totally doesn’t understand what he did or the consequences of his action. The image wasn’t just not safe for work: it was not safe for ANYWHERE. He really couldn’t find a more work-appropriate picture for his prank? I personally think heads should roll for this, but whatever… Engadget was a much better resource for gadget news anyways.

Leave it to Halo 3 to bring out the 12-year-old out of somebody.

New thing I learned today: Gizmodo was co-founded by Peter Rojas before he was recruited by Weblogs, Inc. to found Gizmodo’s main competitor, Engadget.

We just finished watching this episode, and I can’t get over how totally stupid it was. Honestly, it might not be the lamest episode; I didn’t watch the filler turd that was churned out for over a year and a half between Naruto and Naruto Shippuuden. And there were some pretty bad episodes outside of that filler period (i.e. Kakashi’s Mask episode), but those were dumb on purpose.

While I guess this post technically has spoilers, the events in this episode are pretty minor compared to the main story. During this arc, there’s three battles going on concurrently, and the battle this episode focuses on is the least important. In fact, the entire battle is pretty much a waste of time, both in terms of what’s happening in the story and television airtime. If you’re concerned about spoilers, you’d be doing yourself a bigger disservice by watching the next-episode previews at the end of each episode (insanely spoiler-ific this season) than reading the rest of this post.

Read More