Stuck In Sacramento
Posted on 12.29.06 in Thoughts and there are 13 comments.
I saved enough Christmas money to order an iPod Video. I ordered it two days ago and for the better part of that time it’s been sitting in some cold, dark, forsaken FedEx warehouse in Sacramento, CA.
At least that’s what the FedEx tracking website has been telling me. It’s driving me insane. I think they’re just messing with me:
(Here is an excerpt of a conversation that recently occurred in the underground labyrinths of the FedEx headquarters...)
Bored FedEx Clerk #1: “I’m bored.”
Bored FedEx Clerk #2: “Me too.”
Bored FedEx Clerk #1 (with a gleam in his eye): “Want to delay a package?”
Bored FedEx Clerk #2 (Sits up with evil grin): “Ooooh, fun! Hey look! This “Kat” chick just ordered an iPod. You KNOW she’s got to be excited about it. Let’s stall it in Sacramento and see how often she presses the refresh button on her browser to see if it’s moved.”
Bored FedEx Clerk #1: “Mwahh ha ha ha ha. Mwahh ha ha ha ha. Wonderful plan Egor.”
Bored FedEx Clerk #2: “Ooooor, we could send it on it’s way and just not update it. Then there’s a good chance she won’t be home for the delivery and she’ll get one of those horrible little slips of paper that tells her they’ll try to redeliver it sometime within the next calendar year.”
Bored FedEx Clerk #1: “Oh. That’s just wrong, my friend. I LOVE it!”
Okay, so maybe I made that conversation up. But still, something fishy is going on. I almost wish I had no idea where my package is…
What do you think...are package tracking sites a blessing or a curse?
There are 13 comments.
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The Comments:
Yeah, that’d drive me nuts. All in all, though, it’s good to have tracking services via the web. I ordered a bass guitar for my son for Christmas, and was able to time it so that he wouldn’t see it when it got there. But an iPod video, that is one sweet order. Hope it gets there soon.
Dec 29, 06 at 08:59 pm
Oh, and didn’t CCR record a song about that a long time ago? No wait, that was “stuck in Lodi”. Never mind.
Dec 30, 06 at 04:40 am
You know.... the Apple headquarters is in Sacramento… well Elk Grove, but it’s basically the same thing… How frustrating it’s only made it that far.
Dec 30, 06 at 10:01 am
I enjoy package tracking. It gives you something much more tangible in terms of knowing where your package is, instead of just “7 to 10 business days” or whatever.
I have generally had very good experiences ordering stuff on-line. Usually I’ve gotten things faster than expected.
But one time recently I ordered some computer hardware on-line and UPS lost it. The package tracking was stuck on saying that the package had been received by UPS initially, but it never went any further. So after about three days of it being stuck in that mode, I called the company I ordered it from, they ran a trace with UPS and said it had been lost, and within a few days shipped me another one.
Then when it arrived, UPS (unknown to me) dropped the package off on my front porch, on a rainy day. Luckily, I logged in to check the package tracking, and it said “Left on Porch”. I retrieved it from my porch, the box was a little wet, but no damage to the hardware inside. So package tracking literally saved it from being ruined that time, because it was late in the evening, and I would have never looked on my front porch before going to bed—and it rained hard all night long.
Dec 30, 06 at 10:35 am
It’s STILL saying that it’s in Sacramento...I think they’ve sent it to Texas via the Pony Express…
Are you trying to scare me C-Hammer? Your package got lost? And then it got wet?
Perhaps I should have just driven to Austin to buy my iPod.
Oh the agony of waiting for my beloved technology gadgets…
It was agony when I had to wait for my iPod Mini (R.I.P 2005), my Palm Pilot and my Canon S2 IS. I probably overload the FedEx servers everytime I’m expecting a gadget in the mail…
Dec 30, 06 at 08:37 pm
I often order items for work which are time sensative for arrival (i.e. a big $ project sits idle or dies if it does not arrive yesterday), so package tracking can become an obsession.
It is also a frustration. I have found that about half the time the package actually arrives in my hands while the “up to the minute” tracking says it is five states away and has been for days. I recently had a package the shipped from Virginia to Houston; it showed it moving from Ashland, Va to Knoxville to Memphis to Dallas to Houston and then leaving Houston again for places unknown. I actually had the package in hand when tracking said it was in Dallas.
In short, I believe little of what the tracking tells me.
(By the way, I drove out and bought a brand new 80-GB video iPod this morning, black trim, and am currently loading it full of lovely music.)
Dec 30, 06 at 09:07 pm
Ok. That’s just mean. 
Did you really buy one today? If you did, you are heretofore required to tell me all about it. I’m so pathetic that I’ve just been googling for pictures just to see what it will look like should it ever actually arrive at my door.
You have given me hope, though, that it could be farther along than the site says…
Dec 30, 06 at 10:07 pm
Hey Kat, did you know that they have these iPod machines, where you can slide your credit card through, push the button, and out pops an iPod? Just like buying a can of soda out of the machine.
Dec 31, 06 at 05:52 am
Rick - That would be a lot of quarters…
Well, I bought a refurbished one, so I don’t suppose they have those in the machines....that’s why I had to order it.
It’s STILL in Sacramento...by the way. Ugh.
Dec 31, 06 at 08:28 pm
I got some nice Christmas money, so I went out and bought a new 80GB iPod Video. I don’t have any videos to put on it at the moment (I’m still not home yet) but I managed to put all the music I had on my laptop on there (~900 songs) and backup my digital pic collection to it (~9GB). The pictures look pretty good on the screen (though I still don’t really want to actually watch a movie on it) and it sounds good.
In short, I’m happy. And I hope you will be, as well, once your’s arrives on Tuesday or Wednesday (or Thursday . . .).
Dec 31, 06 at 08:35 pm
I’m not jealous. I’m not jealous. I’m not jealous.
I’m happy for Euphrony. I’m happy for Euphrony.
(repeat and smile)
I’m not jealous. I’m not jealous. I’m not jealous.
I’m happy for Euphrony. I’m happy for Euphrony.
(fyi - my iPod is STILL in Sacramento)
Jan 02, 07 at 07:21 am
Personally, i hate USPS’s supposed tracking. I sell on ebay, and buyers are always wondering it doesn’t show up as shipped yet. USPS will of course tell you that it’s only delivery confirmation, but if you get lucky, they might scan it a few places along the way.
I don’t know about FedEx, but UPS is usually pretty up-to-the-minute
Mar 04, 08 at 08:32 am
Hey Amy, who doesn’t hate the USPS’s supposed tracking ? There are a lots of other better offers.
Via the Feed
Rick
Dec 29, 06 at 08:57 pm