Adorama has been more than ok for me in the past. But my recent order
was pretty tortuous.
* 20 Oct - I place an order for an FA50mm macro, and an F300/4.5 from
the used department.
* The order is placed in the middle of a Jewish holiday. That's fine,
that was well signposted on their homepage. No more progress until
Oct 26.
* After the holiday, Adorama shuts down to put in a new ordering
system.
Sigh. Still no progress.
* Nov 2 - I receive an email saying the F300 doesn't seem to be
working,
so they take it off the order. I agree with that, except I would have
liked the option to take it as is, get a price break, and see if I
can
get it fixed locally. Oh well. I add a Sigma EX DG 20/1.8 to make the
order worthwhile (I don't really need the 50mm but I figured it
might be
a nice walking around lens). The speed of the Sigma intrigues me, and
I've read good things about it.
* A rep (Tobias) emails me politely that day and tells me that
they have
combined the order successfully. I wait.
* Nov 14. I receive a very terse email from Jack (and I quote the
capitals...) "Hi, Derby, PLEASE Call US". I email back asking
what is
the problem. No reply.
* Nov 16 - I much prefer emailing because of the time difference from
Sydney, but after a few phone chases, I finally reach Jack. He
tells me
the FA50 and the Sigma were lost in transit (!). I don't understand
because I can still see the FA50 on the website. Anyway, he says they
can send a replacement Sigma but it is on back order. I
reluctantly agree.
* Nov 23 - I email back asking if there is an update. No reply
* Dec 11 - Still no reply. I send another email asking for an update.
This time I say if it isn't likely to be available by Xmas, I'd
like to
cancel my order. The FA50 is mysteriously still listed on the
website.
* Dec 12 - I receive another terse email from Jack.
WE HAVE TRY'D CALLING YOU
IN REFRENCE TO YOUR EMAIL
PLEASE CALL US BACK
THANKS MUCH
Adorama should have both my home and work number. If they called at
home, they could have left a message. If they called at work, they
would
have gotten Reception, and also leave a message. I received no
messages.
* Dec 12-14 - I call a few times, but only get Jack's voicemail.
* Dec 14 - I finally get an email from Jack - "STILL ON BACK ORDER"
* Jan 04 - Finally, an automated shipping notice saying the Sigma
is on
its way pops in my Inbox.
* Jan 9 (today) - I get the lens in my hands.
Now, I'm not griping about the two holidays and the stocktake
downtime.
But the responsiveness of the customer service leaves something to be
desired.
Has anyone else had this experience from Adorama recently?
Derby
--
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://members.iinet.net.au/~derbyc