Update from New Hometown, Florida: The Tale of the Lost Laptop

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 "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong." – Murphy’s Law

Hi, everybody, how are you all doing? It’s early afternoon here in West Florida on Wednesday, May 12, 2021. Currently, the temperature outside is 90˚F (32˚C) under sunny skies. With the wind blowing from the west at 13 MPH (18 KM/H) and humidity at 55%, the heat index is a whopping 97˚F (35˚C).  Today we were supposed to get light rain, and we still might, but as of right now all we are getting is broiling sun and heat. The high is expected to reach 91˚F (33˚C) by 3 PM Eastern. Tonight, the skies will be partly cloudy and the low will be 71˚F (22˚C).

I’m writing this as an update to May 3’s Update from New Hometown post. That’s the one where I mentioned the purchase of a new Lenovo – IdeaPad S340 15″ Touch-Screen Laptop. If you recall, I wrote:

Apparently, Best Buy does not have any laptops of my model in stores close to New Hometown, so my new Lenovo IdeaPad S340 15" Touch-Screen Laptop will be shipped here via UPS by next Monday. The mouse shipped today – also by UPS – and is due to arrive by Thursday.

I guess I should be excited that I’m the owner of a new PC laptop, and part of me is, kind of. I just wish I had enough money in my bank account so I wouldn’t be so unhappy about spending over $600 on one thing this month. Maybe when I get my Lenovo IdeaPad S340 15" Touch-Screen Laptop and it is up and running I will be.

Well, I did receive the mouse, and it got here a day ahead of schedule. The laptop? Not so much.

On Monday, May 3, UPS told Best Buy that the shipment process started – they printed a shipping label and created a tracking number for the package with the laptop. Thus, every time that I checked on my Orders page on Best Buy, it said Shipped and that that it was scheduled to arrive on Monday, May 10.

The first odd – and therefore worrisome – detail is that for almost a week UPS did not provide Best Buy with any information beyond “we created a tracking number.” In fact, that’s all Best Buy could tell me, because it wasn’t until Sunday, May 9, that UPS finally gave the retailer a tracking number that could be seen in my Orders page.

There was no change in the delivery date’s status; it remained Monday, May 10 till Monday, then changed to Shipped (with no delivery date mentioned).

If you click on Track Your Package and look at the line marked Shipping Progress, this is what it says:

  • Monday, May 3     4:16 PM   Initiated

Yesterday, after waiting 24 hours to allow for delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, I got incredibly antsy. After all, I bought a $644.99 laptop (it was on sale and $200 off)[1] because I need to replace an older one that just died on me after 12 years. For me, $644.99 is a big expense, especially since I am disabled and live on a fixed income. I needed to know what was going on with my Lenovo laptop, and fast.

So late in the afternoon, I went to Best Buy’s website and hit the Live Chat button in its Customer Service menu.

This is a partial transcript of the chat:

ChatBot (21:53:35 GMT) : XXX-05-11T21:53:24.XXX-00:00USER: YesBOT:We are connecting you with the next available Agent.
Myles Walker (21:53:36 GMT) : Thank you for choosing Best Buy, my name is Myles Walker. How may I assist you today?
Myles Walker (21:54:16 GMT) : Hi  Alex! Nice to have you on this chat.
Visitor (21:55:52 GMT) : Hey, Myles. I ordered a laptop on May 1 and UPS can't tell me where it is. It was supposed to be here yesterday but the only thing UPS said was that a shipping label was made on the 3rd.
Myles Walker (21:57:30 GMT) : No problem.
Myles Walker (21:57:43 GMT) : Let me pull up the order and oblige you with the update.
Myles Walker (21:57:48 GMT) : Could you please confirm your registered phone number, for the verification purpose?
Visitor (21:58:11 GMT) : XXX XXX XXX
Myles Walker (21:59:07 GMT) : Thanks for the verification.
Visitor (21:59:17 GMT) : No prob.
Myles Walker (21:59:20 GMT) : May I please have 1-2 minutes to look into this for you? I appreciate your patience.
Visitor (21:59:39 GMT) : Sure.
Myles Walker (21:59:56 GMT) : I am working on it as we speak, meanwhile if you don't mind  may I know how was your day?
Visitor (22:01:44 GMT) : It was okay. Could have been better, though
Visitor (22:02:16 GMT) : I hope yours was okay.
Myles Walker (22:02:43 GMT) : Yes, it’s been good so far. Can't complain.
Myles Walker (22:02:55 GMT) : Thanks for your time and patience.
Myles Walker (22:03:07 GMT) : It seems like, carrier has lost the item in transit. Nothing to worry, we will claim the package from carrier team. Since you have placed the order with Best Buy, we will take care of your order.
Myles Walker (22:03:12 GMT) : In this case I will help you with the replacement or refund options for you.
Visitor (22:04:03 GMT) : A replacement would be nice. Same price, though, right?
Myles Walker (22:04:59 GMT) : Yes, You'll be charge nothing.
Myles Walker (22:05:08 GMT) : We've got your back don't worry.
Visitor (22:06:10 GMT) : That's nice to know...Normally I would have gotten it at Amazon BUT on the day I ordered it it was at $XXX.

So…UPS lost my laptop.


Myles Walker (22:07:32 GMT) : I would like to inform you that the earliest get it by date is 05/14/XXX. Will that be okay?
Visitor (22:08:11 GMT) : That will be fine. 14th is not that far off
Myles Walker (22:08:21 GMT) : I really appreciate you have decided to shop with us. :)
Myles Walker (22:08:30 GMT) : Perfect!
Myles Walker (22:08:42 GMT) : Could you please confirm your shipping address?
Visitor (22:09:01 GMT) : Thank you.
Visitor (22:09:09 GMT) : Yes
Visitor (22:09:43 GMT) : XXX Anywhere But Here Drive, New Hometown, FL 33XXX
Visitor (22:09:52 GMT) : US
Myles Walker (22:10:36 GMT) : Thanks for the confirmation.
Myles Walker (22:11:03 GMT) : I have successfully reshipped the product for you. You will receive the confirmation email shortly. Once the carrier picks up your replacement item, you will receive new tracking details to track your package.
Myles Walker (22:11:20 GMT) : Here is the case ID - 12345678 for your reference.
Myles Walker (22:11:34 GMT) : Hope you are not upset with BestBuy since it is truly not our fault.
Visitor (22:12:22 GMT) : Much appreciated. I hope I wasn't rude. And yeah...I bet someone at UPS wanted a free laptop
Myles Walker (22:12:45 GMT) : Haha. Lol

(Some details have been changed, such as my address, but other than that…)

Bottom line: UPS lost my Lenovo – IdeaPad S340 15″ Touch-Screen Laptop. They lost it, and they have not bothered to update the tracking information, either on Best Buy or in the UPS website. As a result, Best Buy will replace the lost laptop –  at no extra cost to me.

So now there is a Shipment #3 related to this order. It is due to arrive this Friday. And because Best Buy doesn’t have its own delivery division, UPS is handling this order as well.

Stay tuned.

 

 


[1] The sale price was $599.99, but Florida state sales taxes and other fees added $45 to my credit card charge.

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