I urgently needed a particular piece of electronics. So I checked the manufacturer's web site top see where I could buy it. After phoning all possible shops in Lleida, I reverted to an on-line shop. I looked at the available options and choose the biggest company. That turned out to be my biggest mistake:
On October 24 I connected to their site, found my item and saw that they had it on stock. The site mentioned a delivery time of 7 days, which was fine, since I needed it in 14 days.
October 25
I received an e-mail confirming my order, after one day!, and a request for a copy of my identification card. Of course I immediately sent this.
October 28
I checked the order status on the web, since I had not received a confirmation of reception of my message. The status mentioned ‘missing information’, so I sent an e-mail asking for the current status.
October 31
I still hadn't heard anything, and started to become a little bit nervous. So I phoned their customer support. They told me that there was a delay, and they were waiting for their supplier to deliver the goods. They could not explain me why the item was shown to be in stock when I made my order.
November 2
I received an e-mail from them, telling me that there had been an ‘incident’. I phoned them and asked them whether they would be able to deliver the item on time, since I needed it in 6 days. They assured me that it would not be a problem.
November 3
I would not let them forget me, so I phoned again. They told me that they had the item in their central warehouse, and that it was now passing quality control. They should be able to send it me in one week. I patiently explained them that I really need the item in a few days. The nice guy one the other side said that he understood me and that he would pass a message to the quality control department. I expected that it would be possible to ship it to me on the next day, but told me to phone again.
November 4
I faithfully phoned again, hoping that they'd been able to send me my device. But instead of that, the nice lady tells me that they can not deliver within the next two weeks. Besides that, she tells me that there has not been noted anything about my phone call the day before! I explain once more that I really need the device, and that they'd promised me that it would be possible to deliver it on time, but she says that there is nothing she can do. I cancel my order…
Only little time left, so all I can do is find a shop that has the device in stock and pick it up personally. I start with the big outlets in Barcelona, and after phoning 7 of them I am able to reserve my item. I hop in the car, drive 160 kilometres, pay some money —hé, this shop is even cheaper than what I found on Internet!— and drive home happily. I promise everybody that I won't buy anything from Carrefour!
