Another Bout With Wal-Mart

I then proceed to finding the best price online and place the order on Walmart.com which was around $80.00 cheaper than anywhere else I found the frame. During the process of ordering the frame I decide that I would also like to have one for my office desk and thought it a good idea to order the same frame.

I received both order confirmations for the one going to Alaska to my husband and the one being shipped to me in North Carolina on 6/3. On 6/4 I receive the shipping confirmation that both frames have been shipped. The one coming to North Carolina to arrive between 6/6 and 6/10 and the one to my husband between 6/9 and 6/11.

On 6/12 I check with my husband to see if he has received a package, he has not. On 6/14 I send an email to Walmart customer service asking to assist in locating the order since there is not a way to track his order online nor is a carrier referenced. The response is from Larry refunding the $4.91 shipping fee charged that was supposed to be free.

I again respond asking if indeed the item was shipped and by what method. The response this time is from Manasseh stating it will take 3-6 weeks to arrive in Alaska. Mine you I ship packages through the post office and they arrive in 5 days!

I respond to this email and get yet another representative stating it should arrive by 6/16 and to call on 6/17 if it has not yet been received.

On 6/16 after the mail has run at Ft. Greely, keeping in mind that I have never actually been able to ascertain how the frame was shipped from all the correspondence received, the frame has not arrived.

I get a full refund from Arletha with no explanation as to why. I finally find a telephone number on the site to call and get Manny. He states it was shipped, they have no way to track it even thought it was sent priority mail which is curious in itself, they think it was lost in transit and they can not ship another frame because they are now out of stock.

Manny is mailing a $50.00 gift certificate to my husband that will be used toward prescription refills at the closest Walmart which is in Fairbanks, a mere 105 miles away for all my inconvenience.

If this is any example of customer service we are truly in a downward spiral! Unfortunately, this appears to be the norm these days. Whatever happened to taking "ownership" of a problem until it is resolved. I seem to remember that from my AT&T days following divestiture. Talking with Wal-Mart is like trying to hit a moving target.

On the other side of the coin there is Dell. They absolutely worry you to death calling and following up on orders and returns. Is there no middle ground between bothersome and disconnect?

My husband received his cookies and larger Dockers sent on 6/9 yesterday which would be 5 business days to arrive! It appears that the 20 lbs. he had lost prior to going to Alaska has been gained back and he had only jeans to wear for his last Commanders Meeting.

Finally after the big build up with hubby about his "surprise" I have to tell him that the intended gift will not arrive and my problems in dealing with customer service at Wal-Mart.

As it turns out since the frame had an MP recording device it would have been a security violation to have one on his highly sensitive, top secret security job and that the security officers had covered a digital picture frame in the list of violations.

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