The idiots at Walmart

In My Humble Opinion
1

I ordered my father-in-law a camera for Christmas from Walmart.com, and at the same time ordered an 8 GB memory card, which was a bargain at $9. The camera itself was delivered before Christmas, but the Fedex tracking page showed a delivery exception for a wrong address on the memory card. Now, the idiots at Fedex (another rant altogether) don’t seem to believe that my address exists. I’ve had this same trouble with them before, and I know I have to contact the shipper since they are Fedex’s customer, not me.

So, I went to Walmart.com’s “Contact Us” page, and the only option I had was to email them. No phone number to be found anywhere on the site. So, I emailed them: “Hey, my address is correct, please deliver, ask the driver to call me for directions if necessary, yadda yadda.” No response. I emailed again the next day. No response. I emailed a third time saying sternly “This is my third attempt at contacting you. Please respond!”

Finally, I got a reply: “Your product was not able to be delivered because your address information was incorrect! Let us know if you want a refund or redelivery.”

Ugh! If you’d read my earlier emails you might’ve been able to…nevermind. Yes, I still wanted the card since it was cheaper than the 4GB card I ended up buying to go into Dad’s camera. Since the one I ordered was NEVER DELIVERED!

Wonder of wonders, they included a phone number so I decided to call and explain the situation. I spoke to a dull-sounding young man and explained: camera ok, card not ok, stupid Fedex, address correct, please send card. He told me that to compensate me for my trouble, he would send my new shipment “priority” so I wouldn’t have to wait long (appreciated!) and that I’d have to sign an affidavit saying that in the event I got both items I’d send one back. (?!)

Um, ok, but according to your email to me, it was returned as undeliverable. But ok, sure. SOOOOO, I get an email this morning saying they are preparing to ship…my camera!

I reply: “No, I already have the camera! Send me the card!”

New email: Your package has shipped! Sign this affidavit if you want a refund on…your camera! Don’t take it to a Walmart store, they won’t have the details and will be unable to take it back!

“No, Walmart, No! DOOO NOOOOT SEEEEEND THE CAAAAMERA!”

New email: Too late to stop your order now! Take it to a Walmart store, they’ll be happy to issue you a refund!

So, it seems that I will be receiving another camera. I really just want the damn card! It’s like the holy grail now! Meanwhile my husband is pointing and laughing at me for dealing with Walmart in the first place.

So WTF should I do with this inevitable camera when it comes? I could give it to my daughter, she needs a camera. Or, I could really use the refund of $65 or so. It seems they shipped it without me signing the affidavit. Or, you know, I could call them again and try to explain again and then return the freakin camera at my own expense and inconvenience.
What would YOU do???

2

Fuck Wal-Mart. Sell it on eBay.

3

Keep the camera.

Buy a card from a local store.

4

I would’ve had the items shipped to the house of a friend who DOESN’T have issues with FedEx thinking their address doesn’t exist. (You’re dealing with two large heartless corporations. I’m more surprised when things go right, frankly.)

5

I thought this was going to be another “The People of Wal-Mart” riff. Iron-clad proof that obese females should be prohibited by law from wearing Spandex.

6

The camera was just delivered. Sigh. At least they found my house this time.

7

Well apparently your house is findable only by cameras, not by memory cards.

Personally, I’d make one last effort to return the camera, then say fuck it, and give it to your daughter or whatever. The aggravation for an 8 dollar memory card isn’t worth it.

Reminds me a little of when I bought a new car stereo for Typo Knig. There was a promotional freebie - a USB cable, normally sold separately - that came with it from Best Buy. This was said to be necessary to attach the ipod to the stereo.

Only, when we got the stereo, it came with the necessary cable - so here I had this free extra cable.

Since we didn’t need it, I got in line and returned it. I tried telling them that it was a freebie, no I didn’t need a refund… but I wound up getting one anyway (for 20-30 dollars - that thing was way overpriced).

Oh well, I showed 'em - I bought a new microwave there a few months later and a new TV there a year later. Neener neener neener. Um, or something :D.

8

Depends on your ethics: if you’re a thief, as some here would have you be, keep it. Otherwise, return it for a refund. Mistakes are not an excuse to steal.

9

Well, returning it for a refund would be stealing, too. I already have one camera. They still owe me either the memory card or a refund for it.

10

If you ever have a problem with an item that has been shipped FedEx ground, and you have the tracking number, you certainly can call them about your delivery exception. They will attempt redelivery, or they will hold the item for pickup at their depot. There is no charge for this. :slight_smile:

11

My error. Were it me, I’d take it back to them and let them figure it out without taking the money, other than for the memory card they owe you.

12

I’ve had a few experiences - not with WalMart - similar to the OP’s: You send a communication (letter or e-mail) concerning a problem. You get a response - which proves the communication was received - but the response seems to take no notice of the details you provided. Bizarre.

My suggestion: you offer to return the camera if and when the memory card arrives.

13

Do you have a nearby Walmart? Have them ship the memory card using Site to Store

14

She’d be a thief if she didn’t make any attempt to return it. It sounds like she’s trying fairly hard to do so, actually.

To some extent, though, after you’ve made a reasonable effort, I see no moral issue with deciding you’ve wasted enough time from their mistake, and saying fuck it and keeping the camera.

Like that cable I returned to Best Buy. I tried to get them to do the right thing (return to stock without “refunding”), they gave me back money I wasn’t entitled to, and I gave up on arguing. I figure that by the time I bought several other large-ticket items from them, they’d have made sufficient money that I didn’t need to feel too guilty.

The OP should see if her credit card has been charged for the second camera, by the way.

15

Oh - on reread, I see the second package hasn’t even been received yet.

BTW - how was the original camera sent? Was it not sent via FedEx? Or was it sent directly to the gift recipient?

16

I mis-read the first part as being a $9 camera, and my first thought was “I wonder if that will turn out as well as the $6 mixer”. :stuck_out_tongue:

17

The original camera came by Fedex, as far as I know. They just dropped it in front of the door. (Dad lives with us so it just came here.) The memory card was shipped separately. Walmart was offering free home delivery the week before Christmas, so I didn’t want to have to go out to pick the thing up after all.

So, currently I have both cameras, and supposedly the replacement memory card is on its way. The original card is still showing as stalled at the Fedex depot. I’ll call them one more time about the camera but after that, I’m keeping it. The “affidavit” I didn’t sign looks like it only comes into play if I return it for a refund.