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05-26-11, 02:51 PM
Hey guys, I'm not sure this is the right subforum, but I really would like some thoughts on this whole process.
A while ago, I decided I wanted to stop loading bicycles into the back of my Mazda 2 because I hated taking the wheels off and scratching my brand new car with 3,000 miles on it. I decided on the Yakima Control Tower kit with a Frontloader carrier. From Yakima's website's recommendation, I ordered through Rack N Road, a company based out of Sacramento. The price couldn't be beat, at $412.20 including everything shipped to my door.
I began tracking the package every day via UPS.com and it said "out for delivery" on Wednesday morning, but then Wednesday evening about 5:40 I got an email saying it couldn't be delivered because there was no apartment number on the parcels, only the street address to my complex. A phone call to Rack N Road garnered an apology, but also resulted in me having to drive to a ghetto in West Phoenix to pick the boxes up from the UPS distribution center. I really wanted to get it Wednesday because I'd already set a bunch of stuff aside in anticipation of installing the rack on the car.
Got the boxes home, and the only thing in the boxes are the carrier and bars... no control towers or landing pads, so I'm out an evening as I cannot install. Thursday morning I call back and talk to the manager of the store, John, and he indicates it is UPS's fault becuase the box probably blew up and they resealed it. I find this improbable because the box was in good condition when it was turned over to me, and as the customer, I don't care who's fault it is, I just want what I paid for. The employee who put the address on the box is the same one who boxed the items, so I feel it is entirely plausible he made more than one mistake that Sunday morning when processing my order.
John at Rack N Road promised to send me the additional items that I did not receive, plus 6 locks for my inconvenience, which is a nice enough gesture. I feel he is doing a good job at this time of covering up for his employee's mistakes, which is all I can request. He then says something that leaves me befuddled "at this point I'd recommend you just send everything back and we'll call it a loss because we have already lost money on the deal." WTF? I can't get this stuff in Arizona because Ski Pro and REI both have backorders like crazy. I don't want to send it back, just send me my stuff.
So, he agrees to send it all over to me but indicates he can only file a claim with UPS if they can see the box, which I've already disposed of in anger. He says UPS is supposed to call me, this was 5 hours ago, and I sent him an email requesting shipping confirmation and tracking number. Haven't heard from him in 5 hours either. I'm happy to help this guy try to recover his money, but I already threw the boxes away. He is SOL.
I'm wondering if I'm really going to be sent my items and this whole thing is a big pain in the ass. If I could get the stuff locally, I would have spent the extra $90 and been happy.
Is there any sort of CYA you guys can recommend to make sure I get the items I paid for? Has anyone dealth with RNR in the past and had good or bad experiences? It seems like I'll get my products, but not being communicated with today leaves me questioning a little bit.
Thanks for reading all of that!
A while ago, I decided I wanted to stop loading bicycles into the back of my Mazda 2 because I hated taking the wheels off and scratching my brand new car with 3,000 miles on it. I decided on the Yakima Control Tower kit with a Frontloader carrier. From Yakima's website's recommendation, I ordered through Rack N Road, a company based out of Sacramento. The price couldn't be beat, at $412.20 including everything shipped to my door.
I began tracking the package every day via UPS.com and it said "out for delivery" on Wednesday morning, but then Wednesday evening about 5:40 I got an email saying it couldn't be delivered because there was no apartment number on the parcels, only the street address to my complex. A phone call to Rack N Road garnered an apology, but also resulted in me having to drive to a ghetto in West Phoenix to pick the boxes up from the UPS distribution center. I really wanted to get it Wednesday because I'd already set a bunch of stuff aside in anticipation of installing the rack on the car.
Got the boxes home, and the only thing in the boxes are the carrier and bars... no control towers or landing pads, so I'm out an evening as I cannot install. Thursday morning I call back and talk to the manager of the store, John, and he indicates it is UPS's fault becuase the box probably blew up and they resealed it. I find this improbable because the box was in good condition when it was turned over to me, and as the customer, I don't care who's fault it is, I just want what I paid for. The employee who put the address on the box is the same one who boxed the items, so I feel it is entirely plausible he made more than one mistake that Sunday morning when processing my order.
John at Rack N Road promised to send me the additional items that I did not receive, plus 6 locks for my inconvenience, which is a nice enough gesture. I feel he is doing a good job at this time of covering up for his employee's mistakes, which is all I can request. He then says something that leaves me befuddled "at this point I'd recommend you just send everything back and we'll call it a loss because we have already lost money on the deal." WTF? I can't get this stuff in Arizona because Ski Pro and REI both have backorders like crazy. I don't want to send it back, just send me my stuff.
So, he agrees to send it all over to me but indicates he can only file a claim with UPS if they can see the box, which I've already disposed of in anger. He says UPS is supposed to call me, this was 5 hours ago, and I sent him an email requesting shipping confirmation and tracking number. Haven't heard from him in 5 hours either. I'm happy to help this guy try to recover his money, but I already threw the boxes away. He is SOL.
I'm wondering if I'm really going to be sent my items and this whole thing is a big pain in the ass. If I could get the stuff locally, I would have spent the extra $90 and been happy.
Is there any sort of CYA you guys can recommend to make sure I get the items I paid for? Has anyone dealth with RNR in the past and had good or bad experiences? It seems like I'll get my products, but not being communicated with today leaves me questioning a little bit.
Thanks for reading all of that!