Digital Paper Revolution

The LG/FedEx Saga

On January 15, I purchased an LG monitor from newegg.com. Excited at the prospect of a shiny new screen, I eagerly set it up as soon as it arrived.

Approximately one week later, the screen turned itself off, and the power indicator started blinking at me. I did my usual scour of the internet to see what I might come up with. There was no official documentation, but one forum post suggested this might be an issue with the power supply. Deciding this was an issue perfectly suited for a warrantee claim, I contacted LG. This is where the fun started.

Initial Contact

I called on a Saturday, made my way through their touchtone interface, selecting Customer Service for Plasma and LCD Screens. I figured it would be a pretty simple claim: work out a means of exchange, and go about our respective business, me being a nerd and them continuing to be a electronics manufacturer. Instead, I was informed that such matters were handled by the Monitor Group, and they were not in today, and that I should call back tomorrow. For me at least, today was Saturday, tomorrow was Sunday. That's really their schedule? Also, why did I select Plasma and LCD Screens if I didn't end up with the Monitor Group?

Alright, I said, slightly dubious. What time should I call tomorrow, to make sure I call when they were in?

Oh, the receptionist replied, they are in 24/7, Monday through Friday.

...

Twenty-four. Seven. Monday through Friday.

Thank you very much, I said, and decided to call on Monday.

Monday

I called again, got through to the Monitor Group. They took my information, and we arranged for the exchange: LG would send me shipping labels, I would ship out the dead monitor, they would ship me a new one.

About how long will the process take? I asked.

It should only take about 10 days, he replied.

Cool. I can handle 10 days. Good thing I hadn't thrown out the packaging yet.

A Week Later

The labels to arrive. Still willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, I assumed 10 days meant 10 business days. With 2-day shipping both ways, that seemed a reasonable approximation. The labels came with a form letter apologizing for the inconvenience, and saying I could call up FedEx and arrange to have the package picked up.

Really? Sweet! I have always wanted to have other people work around my schedule. I called up FedEx, and said I had a package for pick-up.

Very pleasantly, the receptionist asked what my schedule was, so that they could accomodate for it. So awesome! We made arrangements for someone to come pick up the monitor between 5 and 7pm the next day. I didn't have any meetings, so I could get home in time. I made a note for them to call me, as the apartment buzzer is connected to my roommate's phone and she would be out.

The Next Day

First thing I see when I get into work: You have a one hour meeting at 4pm. Fuck.

On the off chance that I might get the pick up time changed, I called FedEx, who very politely said the drivers already had their itinerary, and they couldn't get notified of the change. I didn't buy that they couldn't get notified, but it seemed like a fair policy to me. I would simply see what I could do about the meeting.

At 2pm, I get a call.

Hey, I'm here for a pick up.

...

You weren't supposed to arrive until at least 5 o'clock, I noted.

Five o'clock?, he exclaimed. At five o'clock I'll be sitting on the couch watching TV!

Dear Reader, should you ever be in this driver's situation, as true as that statement may have been, you simply do not say it to the customer.

The truth of the matter, as I later found out, is that while FedEx claims to pick up between 8am and 8pm, and make arrangements as if that were true, it is entirely up to the driver's discretion when they pick up packages. I asked the FedEx representative if that seemed strange to her, and she replied that yes, that does seem rather misleading, doesn't it?

They offered to pick it up another day, but I sure as hell wasn't going to take a day off just to have a package picked up, so I took it down to the local Kinko's (it will always be Kinko's to me) and tried not to bite the head off of the receptionist there.

Three Weeks After This Debacle Started

I finally received the replacement. Twenty-one days, fifteen business days. Not ten. It was a refurb, but so long as it worked, I didn't care. As I unpacked, I noticed that it was missing batteries for the remote, and there was a missing audio jack. I grumbled a bit, but that wasn't enough to get me going through all that hassle again. I set it up. The stand was wobbly. I worried about its stability a bit, but decided I could always brace it with something if need be. I plugged it in, and it worked! Great! I put my computer to sleep and went to bed.

Then I woke up. It was snowing outside, but it was school vacation week, and by god no museum closes on school vacation week. I woke my computer up and turned on the monitor.

The power light came on. A few seconds later, the backlight lit up a black screen. Then the backlight turned off. There was nothing on the screen.

Nothing. On. The. Screen.

Today I called LG to start the process over again.

I'll Grant You

Everyone I spoke to, with the exception of the FedEx driver, was incredibly courteous and kind, if occasionally inept. There are obviously some serious logistical issues that need to be worked out, and it seems the customer could really benefit from the left hand knowing what the right was up to. I understand people work under the restrictions they are given.

But you still don't tell a customer you will be watching TV when your employer promised you would be working, and 24/7 still does not mean Monday through Friday.