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Powerbook Shipping to UK - FOREVER! (Big Whinge)

NATO

NATO

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Hi guys,

I've been holding this in for quite a while, but I'm about to explode with rage at Apple and their seemingly endless shipping process.

I ordered the new Powerbook 15" BTO on the 31st Jan when they were launched, and had an estimated shipping date of 7th Feb which came and went before I was told the order had been pushed back to the 14th Feb. I wasn't TOO bothered by this as although it was an annoyance, I could understand as its a new model and there's a lot of orders for it etc etc etc....

SO.... On the 14th I got an e-mail informing me the order had shipped, with an estimated 6 business days for delivery - again not TOO bad considering where it's shipping from.

However, since my order was shipped, it's taken from the 14th Feb until the 21st Feb just to reach the distribution centre in the Netherlands! I phoned today to find out what the hold-up was, and they simply informed me that it's likely to be in the Netherlands for another few days before it gets handed to TNT for onward delivery to the UK, which takes another 3 business days.

So essentially, If I assume that if Apple decide to pass my powerbook to TNT tomorrow, it'll be Monday 28th Feb before I'll see it (and that's assuming TNT gets it tomorrow which isn't likely)... One Whole month after I ordered it!

WHY DOES IT TAKE SO LONG? The powerbook has been built and shipped from the Factory, ALL they need to do it give it to TNT. Why does it take forever to get it to the Netherlands then have it spend days lying around before TNT get it?

Sorry about the whinge guys, Its just I keep hitting brick walls. Every time I have a rough idea of when it'll arrive, something else comes up to delay it. Why does Apple have such an inefficient and tedious distribution system?
 
hi NATO

this won't stop you being annoyed but i was in pretty much the same position as you a few days ago, 15" pb BTO ordered from uk same day came out and i got screwed around by apple in an identical fashion. BUT my pb finally got delivered by TNT yesterday and i assume that yours would have been in the same batch so i recommend giving them a call or checking their site with the reference number apple gave you.

i know it's no consolation to you now but when it finally arrives the wait will have been worth it.
 
Hi Joe,

Thanks for your reply - At least I know I'm not the only one in the UK tearing their hair out! lol. What are your thoughts so far about your Powerbook?

In a bit of good news, it appears my calls to Apple regarding delivery have paid off - it's finally with TNT but has been sent on their next day service (flown directly to Belfast) rather than the more usual Economy service (shipped via Sea and Land via Dublin), so I've been told by TNT to expect it tomorrow rather than Monday!

It's nearly here!
 
NATO,

Just thought I'd add my experience of Apple shipping, since I'm also in Belfast (final year at Methody, if you know it).

I got my cinema display and LaCie drive by ordering over the phone from Apple, and once the credit form had been returned, it all came pretty quickly - about 5 days. But by that time the displays had been out for a few months, and they're never as popular as the systems themselves, maybe that's why!

andy.
 
Ok, please correct me if I am wrong, but isn't Apple Europe located in Ireland?

My 12" PB shipped from there back in October... (according to the tracking)

On a side note: TNT is perhaps one of the worst, and one of the best, delivery companies on the planet. Here's why:

My PB took something like 2 WEEKS to be delivered (and this was EXPRESS shipping?!) according to the so called order tracking on Apple's website.

However, when I ordered a Midi Keyboard and headphones from Apple Store a week before Xmas, they delivered it two days before Xmas.... (that too was shipped from Ireland)

Apple's customer service, on the other hand, leaves A LOT to be desired...
 
I am in a similar situation:

Ordered a Powerbook on the 4th Feb, it finally left the factory on the 14th and had to wait until the 17th to get on a plane.

It finally landed in, and left, Luxembourg on the 21st and has only just made it to TNT@Eindhoven this afternoon.

It better be on a plane to Scotland tonight 😡
 
Karellen, looks like both our powerbooks were on the same plane! My order tracking says the same thing as yours, shipped on the 14th, but took until the 17th for the flight to depart. Mine left Eindhoven late last night, and is out for delivery today. Check with TNT, apparently Apple had bumped mine to next-day delivery rather than the usual 3-day... you might get it today if that's the case!

pb_boi, Nice setup you have there with your PB + Cinema Display... thinking of getting the cinema display myself, but I think i'll wait a month or two until the next student loan installment comes through! (BTW, I know Methody very well, two friends went there, plus I'm at Queen's Uni at the moment! Nice to know someone else on these forums who's 'local' 😎 )

Now for for the agonising wait for the knock on the door 😛
 
Thanks NATO.

Obviously I have been checking the TNT website constantly: kept waking up during the night and having to check. My girlfriend thinks I have a problem 😉


Anyway, my PB is on a TNT Van is Glasgow somewhere.

I wonder when they will add GPS to their vans and allow us to track that too 😀
 
Orage said:
Ok, please correct me if I am wrong, but isn't Apple Europe located in Ireland?
Click to expand...

Yes. But the items generally ship from ?Holland? and land in Ireland, then are shipped on. That's what happened to me, and seems to have happened to a lot of other forum members. Can't remember the exact location, but it's in Europe.

pb_boi, Nice setup you have there with your PB + Cinema Display... thinking of getting the cinema display myself, but I think i'll wait a month or two until the next student loan installment comes through! (BTW, I know Methody very well, two friends went there, plus I'm at Queen's Uni at the moment! Nice to know someone else on these forums who's 'local' )
Click to expand...

Yes, I walk past the electrical engineering building every day! Didn't think there was anyone from Belfast on here 🙂
I'd definately recommend the display; although, if you're looking to buy, mine is for sale 😉

andy.
 
I ordered from an Apple reseller on 01/02/2005, and am still waiting for it to arrive. Obviously, having bought from a reseller I don't have any information about where mine is. I've got a friend who has ordered one too (we both had ours stolen within a day of each other - a freak co-incendence, we were 200 miles from each other), who I'm relying on for tracking details.

Since we're waiting for replacements, it's killing me being without a Mac.

I have the following on order:
POWERBOOK 15" G4/1.67GHZ/512MB (1 DIMM)/100GB/COMBO /RAD 9700 128MB
CRUMPLER THE GIMP 15" POWERBOOK BLACK & GREY/GREEN
APPLE 20" CINEMA DISPLAY DVI 1680X1050 FOR G4 & G5
APPLE WIRELESS BLUETOOTH MOUSE WHITE

And probably will order:

Extra battery
iWork
USB->Serial convertor
Bluetooth keyboard

In a few days time 🙂

Have any of you guys had somewhere retro-fit some RAM for you? I was pondering getting the Apple Store in London to do it next time I'm down, can you recommend anywhere that's Apple Authorised that could do it?

I usually buy from Jigsaw24, but their RAM seems way overpriced for Kingston stuff, (they're more expensive than Apple themselves on this one I think).

Rob
 
Don't hold your breath....

karellen said:
I am in a similar situation:

Ordered a Powerbook on the 4th Feb, it finally left the factory on the 14th and had to wait until the 17th to get on a plane.

It finally landed in, and left, Luxembourg on the 21st and has only just made it to TNT@Eindhoven this afternoon.

It better be on a plane to Scotland tonight 😡
Click to expand...

Hi Karellen,

My experience with TNT is, well, horrible... So I wouldn't hold your breath.. sorry..

My PB took 2 weeks from when it was shipped, until it turned up...

Their package tracking is a joke too...

Why, if I am paying ££££ for a computer, can't I choose to have it shipped via FedEx or UPS? (was UPS that came and picked up my iPod for repair)...


<rant over>
 
It Arrived.. 😀 😎

It arrived in the morning which was a surprise as the last thing I got delivered by TNT didn't arrive until 5pm or so, and given that I'm working tonight, I was praying it arrived with enough time to give the Battery a full charge.

The 1.67Ghz 15" is absolutely stunning. There's no issues with it whatsoever, which is even better as I was expecting there to be SOME issues, even small ones. Well, the vertical trackpad moves slower vertically compared with horizontal movement, but its not that bad, and im sure its not a major flaw, probably will be fixed with an update. I use a wireless mouse anyway, so I don't really notice it.

The computer runs TOTALLY silent. I've had it switched on and running for about 4 hours now, and I haven't heard a single noise, not even the fan. I had heard that the 100GB drives had some sort of annoying clunking noise, but again, I can't hear anything. In fact, with my old Powerbook, I could hear the 80GB drive reading/writing, but this drive is totally silent.

Really couldn't be happier with this computer. It's a pity its taken so many phone calls and anxious waits for it to turn up, but believe me, for all of you still waiting on yours to be delivered, you're in for a treat.

With regard to the question about RAM (from robshakir), its such a doddle to fit RAM. I flipped the powerbook over and installed an extra 512MB in little over 3 minutes (2 of them taken up with me trying to lift the little screws! lol). You don't need an Apple store to do it unless you're really uncomfortable handling computer components. It won't void your warranty either.

I'll probably write a review of this powerbook later and post it in the Hardware section, but just wanted to post my experiences seeing as this thread was created simply out of my rage with Apple over the time it took to get it here!

Any questions, I'd be happy to help.
 
robshakir said:
Have any of you guys had somewhere retro-fit some RAM for you? I was pondering getting the Apple Store in London to do it next time I'm down, can you recommend anywhere that's Apple Authorised that could do it?
Click to expand...

As NATO said, just do it yourself. It's very, very easy and very fast.
Turn off Powerbook, remove battery, remove 4 screws on RAM compartment on bottom of book, slot in RAM, replace screws, replace battery, turn on Powerbook.
 
Applespider said:
As NATO said, just do it yourself. It's very, very easy and very fast.
Turn off Powerbook, remove battery, remove 4 screws on RAM compartment on bottom of book, slot in RAM, replace screws, replace battery, turn on Powerbook.
Click to expand...

Ah cheers, Applespider, and NATO, I didn't realise that it didn't void my warranty.

I've just spoken to my sales guy, he's offering it pretty cheap. If my Powerbook doesn't arrive there today, I'll just get them to fit it for free for me for the price that I've got there, there's no point in doing it myself if it's going to at Jigsaw anyway.

Thanks again for the response,

Rob
 
Orage said:
Hi Karellen,

My experience with TNT is, well, horrible... So I wouldn't hold your breath.. sorry..
<rant over>
Click to expand...

Looks like you were right.

I was optimistic that the last part of my Powerbook's journey was going to be trouble-free, after various annoying little delays along the way, but alas -

24 Feb 2005 10:31 Glasgow "Out For Delivery"
24 Feb 2005 17:30 Glasgow "Driver Unable To Deliver Due To Time Restrictions" 😱

Time Restrictions?! Time Restrictions!! I sat in all day. What about *my* time? 😡

I am inconsolable. 🙁
 
karellen,

Sorry to hear about that. My experience with TNT has been pretty good usually, we use them a lot more for shipping than for receiving stuff though. Hopefully you'll have a shiny new Powerbook first thing tommorrow morning!

Rob
 
Have some more consolation. I've developed the habit now of calling TNT if I know it's on their van just to check when they're planning on calling.

I started this after my sister last year had her Mac reach the entrance of the development she lives in and drive away again. It turned out that TNT were having trouble with Apple's address fields so they didn't have her house number. Rather than call her (where she was waiting in), they just returned it to the depot with insufficient information. Argh!
 
My experience with TNT has taught me to phone them once every two hours to check where the driver is. When I was waiting for the powerbook I phoned the local depot who said they would send him a message and I should call back in half an hour to see what his response was. Funnily enough, 15 minutes later the van arrived.... co-incidence? I think not.....
 
Well it is finally in my possession 😀 I think I am in love - my first ever mac too.

Sitting on my desk charging up.

Check out the colourful TNT tracking information

Don't believe their lies about me not being in today at 13:20. I have been sitting at my window for 2 days solid. I didn't get any phone calls or see any vans!!

Had to finally go to the depot and collect it - can you believe they had the sheer nerve to suggest that they will "attempt" delivery again on Monday.
 
I have to say reading your posts is very disheartening 🙁

I ordered my PowerBook BTO from Apple Online a week ago and so far the estimated shipping date is on or before March 3rd (3 weeks). However as Australia is way down the bottom of the priority list for Apple I expect it will be a long time coming considering the Easter break is at the end of March.

I'm going overseas at the end of April, maybe I should just cancel the order and look around for a stock model from a reseller?
 
Don't be too disheartened.

Most of the UK delays tend to be because things sit for an inordinate time in Eindhoven and because TNT get lost easily.

So long as Eindhoven doesn't appear on your shipping notice, you should be fine. 😀
 
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