Musings & Thoughts for Wednesday, May 12, 2021, or: Lost! The Saga of the Wayward Laptop Continues

Hello, Dear Reader. It’s late morning on Wednesday, May 12, 2021 here in New Hometown, Florida. The current temperature is 80˚F (26˚C) under sunny skies. With the wind blowing from the south at 5 MPH (8 KM/H) and humidity at 75%, the heat index is 78˚F (26˚C). The forecast calls for light rain throughout the day and a high of 91˚F (33˚C). Tonight, the skies will be partly cloudy and the low will be 71˚F (22˚C).

Remember that Lenovo – IdeaPad S340 15″ Touch-Screen Laptop that I ordered on May 1 at Best Buy to replace my now-defunct Compaq laptop? The one that was supposed get here any day now via UPS?

Well, that laptop is not going to get here.

If you’ve been following the Saga of the Wayward Laptop, you know that I knew my new laptop was scheduled to arrive on Monday, May 10 and not before. Furthermore, you know that Best Buy didn’t have any tracking information on that shipment until Sunday, even though it was marked as “shipped” and had a delivery estimate that never changed, even though a week had passed and all UPS could say about it was this:

Estimated delivery

Check back tomorrow for an updated delivery date.

Current Event

Label Created

This, of course, did not happen with the wireless mouse I ordered along with the new laptop. For that, UPS provided Best Buy (and, by extension, me) with a tracking number and each stage at which the package was scanned during its journey from Ohio to my corner of West Florida.

Finally, yesterday afternoon I decided to contact Best Buy Customer Service via online chat to find out what had happened to my laptop. After all, I am going to pay $644.99 for the damn thing, and I wanted to know if Best Buy could get answers that I was not getting from the UPS website.

Here’s a partial transcript of my chat with the Best Buy Help Center rep, a guy named Myles Walker:

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 – 262318988 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

So, there you have it, folks. UPS lost my computer, and Best Buy had to replace it – at no cost to me.

I just received an email from Best Buy about Shipment #3:

                Good news, Alex. Your order shipped on 05/12/21.

Your item(s) are on their way to you, and we’ve included tracking information below.

Please note that it may take up to 24 hours for your tracking data to appear on the carrier’s website.

We hope you enjoy your purchase, and thank you again for shopping at Best Buy®.

Sincerely,

Your Customer Care Team

Of course, Best Buy is sending this shipment via UPS.

Let’s hope that this time, my laptop doesn’t vanish into thin air, or becomes someone else’s “free laptop” between now and next week.[1]

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[1] The expected delivery date is May 14, this Friday, but COVID-19 is still affecting the country, so if it gets here over the weekend, I won’t lose my cool. I just hope that this time around UPS doesn’t screw up things.