I decided to get a portable computer with a display bright enough to read in sunlight so I’d have more flexibility in my slit-scan picture taking. I settled on a Panasonic Toughbook, and ordered one through Rapid Access, one of their dealers. The chronology went like this:
- 5/23 — I ordered the computer and some accessories from the Rapid Access web site. Some options were listed as delaying shipment; I avoided those.
- 5/23 — I received a confirmation email from Rapid Access
- 6/2 — I sent Rapid Access an email asking if the computer had shipped.
- 6/4 — I received an email from Rapid Access promising delivery by 6/8 or 6/10 at the latest.
- 6/8 — I sent Rapid Access an email requesting a tracking number.
- 6/13 — I called Rapid Access and asked what was going on. They said the computer hadn’t shipped to me yet. In fact, they didn’t have it, and expected it from Panasonic by the end of that week. There were some other items they expected to get on Monday the 18th, and they’d ship the whole order by the 19th. I’d specified two-day air, so I’d get it by the 21st.
- 6/21 — I received an email from Rapid Access saying the computer had shipped.
- 6/25 — I received the computer, and most of the accessories, but some were backordered.
Total time from order to receipt of most of what was ordered: more than a month.
At no time did anyone at Rapid Access indicate that this sequence of events was in any way out of the ordinary. The woman on the phone wasn’t really rude, but dismissive and totally unapologetic. Since they didn’t indicate that I was receiving any less than their usual treatment, if you’re thinking of ordering from them you can probably expect the same sort of thing.
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