I ordered a bunch of stuff from Drs. Foster and Smith, a pet supply store, last week. I got a bag of aquarium substrate for a planted tank, a bottle of a supplement for aquarium plants, a heater, a magnetic aquarium scraper thingie, and a thermometer. It was to be delivered by FedEx on Tuesday. On Tuesday, I happen to glance at the tracking and discover that the package was sent back to the shipper because it was damaged in transit. The substrate is something that we need for a Christmas present, so I called to make sure they were going to ship it so I would receive it in time for Christmas. They said they would do that, super duper.
So today, FedEx drops off the box o’fish stuff. I pick it up and notice immediately that the bottom of the box is damp. I open the box, which was bone dry aside from the bottom, and discover that everything in the box is soaking wet, the items were all jumbled, all the packing material (old newspaper) was soggy, most of the packaging was missing from the aquarium scraper. The cardboard packaging for the heater fell apart when I picked it up. The substrate was wrapped in a plastic bag, and the plastic bag was full of water.
It’s obvious that Drs. Foster and Smith just took all the stuff from the previous damaged box and threw it haphazardly in a new box and sent it off. Or, maybe they had FedEx repackage it, because the box was marked as containing FedEx envelopes. I assume that Drs. Foster and Smith would have their own boxes.
The only thing that I would worry about having gotten wet is the heater. It has an external thermostat that is not supposed to be exposed to water, but if anything, it just got a little damp. I suspect it’ll be just fine. Everything else was either in waterproof packaging, or it didn’t matter if it got wet.
But, all the wet newspaper and soggy cardboard was pretty unpleasant.
I don’t know about complaining, but I’d call to let them know the state the package arrived in and ask if they possibly know what happened? Be nice, concerned, because you’re sure that this isn’t normal… Test the heater to see if it works so you can address that at the same time.
You should get an apology and perhaps an explanation if they have one. They’ll definitely want to know though–I know I would and I’d be mortified (and angry) if a package I shipped to a customer arrived like that.
If you aren’t happy with an apology and explanation, help them out by identifying what you need to make you happy and a return customer. If you’re nice and reasonable about the whole thing, everybody wins.
I did decide to call them shortly after posting, because I realized that I didn’t remember actually seeing the thermometer I had ordered, and sure enough, it wasn’t there.
It turns out that they did have FedEx repackage the items instead of sending out an all new order. The guy I talked to was fantastic, though, and they’re sending me a new thermometer and heater and a shipping label so I can send back the soggy mess. I wanted to just keep the rest since it’s just fine, and I need the substrate for Christmas.
I hate FedEx. Yesterday they were supposed to deliver a live clam to me by noon, as I had ordered it priority overnight (standard overnight is by 3). I got it at 6:15 p.m. The heat pack had worn off, and his water was ice cold, despite the insulation. Poor little clammy guy. Happily, he survived and seems to be doing quite well.
