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only Apple makes it impossible to receive your $3500 order - ADVICE

DEXTERITY

DEXTERITY

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Well if you plan on ordering a computer from Apple make sure you are well aware of the ground shipping policies they implement. I never had this problem when I ordered my G4 or anything else in the past from them.

Normally when one orders from a company that uses Fed Ex you have the option if you miss your delivery to pick it up from your local center later that night, the next day, etc. well not with good old Apple.

If you miss your delivery because you happen to work like most people and probably aren't home in the afternoon, you are practically screwed. There is no where to go pick it up from. If they make three attempts, it goes back to Apple and you have to start all over again with the shipping process. I work on the road everyday, don't have anyone around to be here to pick it up and now it seems damn near impossible I am even going to get the G5 I have been waiting for the past three weeks. Fed Ex said I can maybe meet the person at the center where it is shipping from, but I haven't even heard of the city it is being delivered from. Nor, do I have another addy near by to have it dropped off at. Wow, never heard of a company make it so damn difficult to get something one spent so much damn money on. My rant for the day!!! 😕 🙁 😡 😡
 
Atleast they didn't leave it with you neighbore you don't know. For the last 2 months I've been working from home while our office has renovations done. One day a UPS guy rings the doorbell:
UPS:"Hi I've got this package here for you neighbor, their not home can I leave it with you?"
Me:"Umm I don't know the neighbore at all, I'd prefer not"
UPS:"Oh come one, what if their cute?"
Me:"Yeah I just moved in, I really don't think this is a good idea"
UPS:"Oh come one, it's called a leave behind, we do it all the time"

So after he'd already wasted 5 minutes of my work day I was like "fine whatever" and signed for the damned package.
My neighbor wasn't too impressed with them leaving their package with a stranger. So hey atleast your $3500 computer aint sitting in a strangers house.
 
lol, wow. yeah I guess. I wouldn't have felt cool with that either. kind of feel violated..

It won't be sitting at anyones house ha ha, because I have no way to get it. Whatever happened to the options of being able to pick your package up after work like every other delivery I receive from fed ex or ups.. argh..
 
Wow, I had a similar experience but I was able to arrange with Fed Ex by calling Fed Ex directly after their first or second attempt to deliver and they held it at the office for me to pick up. they do this all the time so call fed ex next time and arrange it or have it delivered to a relative's house or friend you can trust- like me! 😀
 
Track your order. You can always request to pick it up yourself. I have used a vacation day and waited at home if it something good like a Mac. Fedex seems to be the best with hours compared to UPS. You can even go there on Saturday and get your package. Also mine was open until 8:00pm during the week.

In the past, I have had a product shipped back to the vendor because I wasn't home after 3 attempts. Now I make arrangements to either pick it up or take time off work to get it.
 
thanks for the feedback. I called fed ex and Apple and they both said it isn't shipping from the normal fed ex center that most packages ship from (the local center where you can drop/pick up packages from). Since it is via Fed Ex ground and since Apple doesn't let customers pick up their orders anymore from Fed Ex I am essentially screwed. It is shipping from some center an hour from here that doesn't allow customers.

Apple said too many people used fake id's to pick up pacakges at Fed Ex so they only allow it to be shipped directly to the customer or at an alternate address. I have no alternate addy's because everyone works normal business hours. I would have taken off work, If I knew this was going to happen, but I can't take a day off at the last minute during this time of year. And I figured this would be like any other normal fed ex deilvery and I would go pick it up after I was done working tomorrow. what a pain in the ass. I was really excited until now.
 
Yeah, I had the exact same problem.

It was worsened by the fact that Fed Ex had their heads up their <expletive deleted>.

They told me to just wait and pick it up at the depot. Then when I tried to schedule a pickup time, they told me it turns out I couldn't. So I changed the address to my work. The next day they called be back and told me it turned out I couldn't change the address, it had to be delivered to the original place.

So I got transferred to somebody to schedule a fourth delivery (since after all they had told me to let the three fail so I could pick it up). He told me I should just pick it up. I explained I wasn't allowed to, and he didn't believe me. Ended up in a conference call with the original people to explain that I couldn't.

Long story short (too late) I ended up taking time off work just so I could pick up the bloody thing.

Apple should warn people that they cannot pick up or change addresses when they place the order. To not do so, when it is so different from standard procedure, is ridiculous.

And don't get me started on the Fed Ex situation. 😡
 
What about having a friend have it sent to them at work. For example, if your friend works as a dental receptionist, why not have it sent their in her name?

I just did this with my PB and they were cool with it. They just needed the address and the name of the person who will be signing for it.

Cheers,

James
 
You knew that you wouldn't be there most likely, why not have it shipped somewhere you KNOW it can be safely taken care of, especially if it costs so much?

There are tons of Mail Boxes Etc. and such that can accept FedEx/UPS shipments that a PO Box from the US Mail won't. You said you are on the road a lot, sounds like it would make *business* sense - they can even receive/send faxes and such for you. And what about a real office for whatever company you work for?

You don't have any neighbors you could ask for a favor? If something happened you know where they live after all.

And how is it Apple's fault that FedEx does what it does?

If I ordered a new G5 setup I'd make damned sure it would be delivered somewhere I *knew* someone could watch over it until I could get to it.

Instead of whining about everyone else's slight against you, why don't you analyze what YOU could do differently in the future for such a high-dollar item?
 
I see I am not the only one..

Apple should make this shipping policy known, besides burried on their website.

I had it shipped to MY address because I figured that (like with any other fed ex delivery from any other company) I could pick it up from my local fed ex center after I got home. Or I could hunt down my driver which I know and find a way to get it from her. However, Apple DOES NOT ALLOW THIS, not Fed Ex! This is Apple's policy. They specifically have it sent from a particular fed ex center that customers are not allowed to pick up packages from and specifically make it so you have to be physcially there to get it. Maybe they should specifically state this before taking my credit card number.

All of my neighbors/friends, etc work. Most work in NYC and they commute. And it is too late now to try to find someone around here to send it to. So no one can lug a G5 around on the subway, bus, train, etc. I would have it sent to mailboxes which is across the street, but it is too late to change the address.

I am going to leave a note tomorrow for the driver and hopefully try to talk him/her into leaving it across the street at mailboxes. but I doubt he will call my cell as it isn't really his responsibility to due so.

hell he could even leave it with the ups driver on this block since I know him. but that probably wouldn't happen.

So in no way is it my fault! Apple's policy is totally different from anyone elses. Even J&R Music world which is as strict as one company can be, isn't this bad.

They sure didn't have any problems shipping my applecare, external harddrive, etc UPS. Dell didn't have a problem shipping the Monitor the standard way to where I could pick it up. And in the past when I ordered my G4 I had no problem getting it.

This is such a huge pain in the ass. Especially when all one has been looking forward to is getting their new computer and getting back to business!



Sayer said:
Instead of whining about everyone else's slight against you, why don't you analyze what YOU could do differently in the future for such a high-dollar item?
Click to expand...

and instead of being a smart ass why don't you read wtf I wrote and understand what is really going on. Who is whining. I am just stating what happened, how it is a pain in the ass and telling others to be aware so they know what to expect and can avoid the same problem. Hence, the word Advice at the end of my topic ass. and my real office is in Washington state. I work from home and on the road.
 
Sayer said:
And how is it Apple's fault that FedEx does what it does?
Click to expand...

In my case because it was Apple's specific orders that caused the situation. Fed Ex normally allows pickup/redirect, but Apple had written on the shipping order (without warning me) that this was not allowed.

If I ordered a new G5 setup I'd make damned sure it would be delivered somewhere I *knew* someone could watch over it until I could get to it.
Click to expand...

Can't really think of a safer place than a Fed Ex depot where there are security guards and people asking for my ID to pick it up. It's what I commonly do with shipments like this.

Instead of whining about everyone else's slight against you, why don't you analyze what YOU could do differently in the future for such a high-dollar item?
Click to expand...

Well, if Apple had told me of course I would have done it differently. Could you then explain to me how I was to know that Apple was going to write orders to completely change the way a Fed Ex shipment if normally handled?
 
I use a private mail box, and totally recommend them.
I never miss a package, and it's always waiting for me in a secure place. Some PMBs even have 24-hour access. Also, it adds a layer of privacy, as no one knows my real address. (The PMBs have to verify your real address per postal regulations, but I've moved several times since then.)

Lee Tom
 
I second Stc's comments.

I have a ups and a fed ex account and a po box. I get packages and send out packages everyday and never have this problem. I get an average of 50 packages a month from Nintendo, both fed ex and ups and don't have this probem. both of my drivers have keys to get into my building, but unfourtantely it is being shipped in such a different manner that my normal driver won't even know I have a delivery coming. All I needed was a "heads up" and I wouldn't be in this situation.
 
I had this issue with the G5 iMac I bought last month. I woke up and checked my tracking # and discovered the iMac was going to be there that day......literally a week before it was supposed to even ship. So I scrambled and found a way to get off of work that day (had to make it up on a Saturday) so I could be there to get it. I kept checking and at 12pm the FedEx site stated that the driver atttempted to deliver it but I was not home. I was home all day....and at 12pm I was in my front yard doing yard work with my dogs. I live on a country road so if a FedEx vehicle goes by my house I will see it......especially in the front of my house where the road runs. So I called FedEx to make sure they were not going to the wrong house. They stated that they were not sure what happened and that they would try to re-deliver it the next day or that I could pick it up after
5:30pm (or 5pm?). So I said I'd pick it up that day. So I left and ran errands that afternoon (since I had the day off) only to come back at 4pm to find that they tried to deliver the package at 2:30pm. So I called FedEx again to find out why they tried again and said they wouldn't. Again they say they do not know what happened and that they would try to deliver the next day or I could pick it up. I asked what I needed to bring with me to pick it up and I took the proper id/forms with me. FedEx is nearly an hour drive from my house during traffic-ie hours......so I drove there and they would not let me pick it up b/c Apple does not allow it (even though they told me I could pick it up twice on the phone that day). I was very frustrated and it all came to a boiling point when the FedEx guy delivered it the next day.....sat it very carelessly on the ground on it's side (there's a handle to show you which side is up) and the box was very beat up.
I've had tons of problems with FedEx in the past and will NEVER use them to ship anything of mine.
 
Fedex

While I've never had a problem with Fedex, a friend of mine had a major meltdown.

He shipped home a $2000 painting from South America.

Fedex delivered it to the WRONG address.

And the a**hole who lived there signed for it and kept it without even trying to return it.

In other words, he knew the package wasn't his but tried to keep it anyway. What a jerk.

After a zillion phone calls my friend finally got Fedex to go pick it up again. But it took ages and a lot of aggravation...
 
I wonder if it's possible to have a build-to-order Mac ordered at an Apple retail store to be delivered at the store so you can pick it up. If they don't, perhaps explain your situation with ordering it online.
 
First, I thank those who helped brainstorm and offer other alternatives, for those who were smart asses your comments could have been kept to yourself.

If that is a possibility I wish I knew about it. The whole thing is, if anyone bothered to make the customer aware of this very strict and inconvenient policy while ordering, I could have thought about other alternatives to shipping it home. When the majority of people who have recieved fed ex shipments are used to the option of being able to pick up their deliveries from a fed ex location (same goes for UPS, Post office, etc), it is a good idea to mention this isn't a possibility with the order. Especially since this isn't standard! I even called again this morning after noticing it was at another fed ex location (the one I think you can physically goto which is closer to where I live) and was told it is being delivered by independent drivers (that is who delivers fed ex ground) and the same thing I was told yesterday remains to be true. They attempt delivery between 8am and 8pm. My only hope is that he/she see's my note and will try to re-deliver after 6pm today or 4pm the rest of the week. Unless of course he/she comes before 830 am this morning. Highly doubtful. and the saga continues...
 
Champale said:
While I've never had a problem with Fedex, a friend of mine had a major meltdown.

He shipped home a $2000 painting from South America.

Fedex delivered it to the WRONG address.

And the a**hole who lived there signed for it and kept it without even trying to return it.

In other words, he knew the package wasn't his but tried to keep it anyway. What a jerk.
..
Click to expand...


I had that same situation with UPS. It wasn't as expensive as a package that your friend shipped, but the point of someone signing for a package and accepting something that clearly isn't addressed to them is pretty unthoughtful to say it nicely. And it is twice as hard to get ups to go pick ups something once they drop it off. Glad he got his painting back.
 
anyone have experience with Apple delivering to an apartment building that has a receiving desk? my impression from this thread was that *someone* had to be at the address, not necessarily me. is that correct?

i just checked my tracking number, and FedEx lists "Customer not available or business closed". unless the receptionist was in the loo...

thx
 
Suppose you could send it to work or parents, could be difficult if your never at home though.

It's quite nippy in the UK, ordered my sister an eMac on Sunday night and came tuesday morning.
 
Its not really Apple's fault. Think about it from a retailer's point of view, something MUST have happened for them to implement these security measures. Before there was credit card fraud, stores rarely used to type in the last 4 digits of the card to verify it (a long time ago they never even asked for ID) Now they do. Mail fraud is quite common and I do think that its less convenient for you to skip work and stay home for one day (estimated date of delivery) rather than lose your package and $3500 and file for insurance, etc. etc.

My studio ships out packages (high end consoles, hard drives with recordings etc) We make sure a signature is required and an ID as well..sure its inconvenient but bloody hell, better than the package falling into the wrong hands.
 
Music_Producer said:
Its not really Apple's fault. Think about it from a retailer's point of view,
Click to expand...

Oh, I understand that, but here's the crux of the matter:

If you're going to give shipping orders like that, tell us when we place the order

I don't mind special shipping arrangements to protect the security of my order, but if they don't tell me, I can't make arrangements to accomodate them!

(and that's why it is Apple's fault; they didn't tell me or the original poster that they were doing this, and yet set up a situation that when the order was shipped it was too late to do anything about it)
 
I've had a similar problem with Apple sending things through FedEx. It's actually being sent via FedEx Home. There is no receiving desk of sorts. But I've had really good luck I guess because I call FedEx and they call the FedEx Home place who then holds it for me at their facility. Then I just drive there and pick it up at some warehouse. Good luck getting your package.
 
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