I have been struggling for two weeks to return the iPad Mini I ordered from Apple.com. Previously I wrote about the frustrations of waiting in for parcels and the problems of returning items. It doesn’t get any better. I have just wasted a full afternoon sitting around waiting for a collection that never happened.
If you buy from Apple.com and want to return anything it has to be collected by a courier of Apple’s choice. Returning it to the nearest Apple store would be just too simple. That’s why buying from a brick-and-mortar Apple Store is by far the most sensible and convenient method. The only reason I used Apple.com in this instance was because I ordered the retina Mini in the first minute of availability and naïvely imagined this would give me some sort of early delivery. In the end I was able to walk into an Apple Store, buy on the spot and then cancel the on-line order.
The snag was that the cancelled ordered wasn’t. It eventually arrived and ever since I have been trying to rid myself of the troublesome tablet. Today I arranged with the chosen medium, TNT, to collect the package. I gave them full instructions, including my phone number. After waiting five hours I telephoned TNT and was told the driver had arrived and couldn’t raise anyone. No attempt was made to call me by phone as I had requested.
Unfortunately, this sort of thing is par for the course. I abhor couriers and all their works.
As you can imagine I had an interesting exchange of views with TNT and then an equally difficult conversation with Apple.com. Could I arrange for someone else to sit in for five hours in order to have the parcel collected? No, I couldn’t. Could I waste another afternoon to give TNT another chance? No, I couldn’t and wouldn’t.
In the end, as a special concession, I am being allowed to mail the box back to Apple.com and they will reimburse the postage. I could have done this two weeks ago and it would have been far simpler and less wasteful of my time. They would have had their stock back and I would have had my refund.
In future I shall order from Apple.com only in the direst emergency.
Had the very same experience with TNT two weeks ago. Looks like it is a recurring issue with these guys !
Buying online is often a pleasant experience I must admit. But it can become a nightmare when you are not at home to receive it on the day it is supposed to reach you or when you need to return it.
Conclusion, do not buy online unless it is easy to collect if you cannot be there when it arrives or if there is very little chance that you would return it.
Clothes and shoes for instance, that obviously never fit perfectly unless you have tried them before (which is a bit unfair for the real front retail shop that is trying to pay its employees and remain in business) should be a no go zone…