OLPC has problems.
UPDATE: In all fairness to OLPC, although I still do think they're kinda out of control (due to all the reasons I cite below), it turns out a neighbor of mine had the box. *sigh* Sorry for the now unnecessary rant.
OK, I know I haven't posted here in a long while, and I'm sorry to do it, but this post is nothing but a big rant. A big rant that I hope Google picks up, and that I hope people read and link to. I'm so pissed.
<rant>
Back in November, I paid $400 for the "Give One, Get One" promotion being offered by the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) Foundation. I figured it was a nice opportunity to fund one of the laptops being sent to a child in a developing nation, and also get one, possibly to give to my nephew. They weren't really together enough, at that time, to know when the laptops would be ready to ship, and so I provided my shipping address (in lieu of my nephew's), figuring I'd forward the shipment on at an appropriate time.
Two days ago, I emailed OLPC, because I'd forgotten whether I'd asked it be shipped to my nephew or to me, and their order confirmation email didn't contain any information that was specific to my order. It was just a generic, "thanks for your order; we'll be in touch," email.
Today, I received email saying, in essence, "Yay, it's shipped! Here's your tracking number!"
I tracked the package, and FedEx says they delivered it on Monday at 12:30 PM. The details indicate it was "left at front door -- no signature requested."
After tracking down an 800 number to call (not so easy, as it's clear they don't want you calling), I called to be met with a totally generic computer answering service, with no automation whatsoever, and not even any indication of what hours they'd be available to answer the phones, nor what the average wait time is.
Where do I begin with what's wrong with this picture?
Two days ago, I emailed OLPC, because I'd forgotten whether I'd asked it be shipped to my nephew or to me, and their order confirmation email didn't contain any information that was specific to my order. It was just a generic, "thanks for your order; we'll be in touch," email.
Today, I received email saying, in essence, "Yay, it's shipped! Here's your tracking number!"
I tracked the package, and FedEx says they delivered it on Monday at 12:30 PM. The details indicate it was "left at front door -- no signature requested."
After tracking down an 800 number to call (not so easy, as it's clear they don't want you calling), I called to be met with a totally generic computer answering service, with no automation whatsoever, and not even any indication of what hours they'd be available to answer the phones, nor what the average wait time is.
Where do I begin with what's wrong with this picture?
- Who the hell ships what is basically a $400 electronics item, without requiring a signature for delivery?
- Who emails a customer a full week after a shipment went out, to say "hey, here's your tracking number?"
- Who doesn't use some amount of mail merge to input a specific customer's order information in a confirmation email?
- Who operates a call center without features commonplace today, like a simple indication of hours of availability, and estimated wait times?
Nothing.
Sure, I can twist their arms into sending me a new laptop. And after the cost of the time spent on the phone, and time spent preparing another laptop for shipment, and the cost of the shipping, and the cost of the new laptop itself (along with the cost of much of the above for the missing laptop), I have probably more than negated my entire donation. Instead of my money going to fund a laptop for a child in the developing world, the Foundation's money (which is just every other donor's money) goes to fund my replacement laptop.
But if I don't call to rectify the situation in my favor, I have every reason to believe that it's just my money going to fund some other donor's replacement laptop. (No doubt, I'm not the only person living in a city to which they delivered these laptops without requiring a signature, and whose laptop was subsequently stolen.)
All in all, I'm feeling like this Foundation's track record with me is reason to believe that money given to them isn't going, at least in the amounts you might expect it would, to serve the purpose it's intended to. Not a good feeling. And it's particularly aggravating given that this Foundation is supposed to be high-tech savvy, and somehow... I just really expected more from them. In terms of order fulfillment, their behavior makes them look more like some n00b selling crap out of their closet on eBay.
</rant>
