W8JN "the way trading should always be"

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N5OU
Posts: 13
Joined: Fri Jul 03, 2009 8:55 pm
Location: Killeen Texas
Contact:

W8JN "the way trading should always be"

Post by N5OU »

Paul answered a want-ad that I placed here on QTH. I was looking for an Ameritron AL-1500 that had to be perfect. Paul called me on the phone and was very generous with his time and answered all my questions. Payment was sent and the shipping details were sent to me by both Paul and his wife. Every step of the way Paul and his family were like our new best friends. Paul ended up shipping a day before he actually said he would and assured me the packing job was "Second to None". Exactly two days later, FEDEX showed up and delivered package 1 of 2 at my door. I knew it was the RF deck by the size of the box. Nice lady who delivered it had no Idea where the other box was but assured me it would probably be delivered later that day by another driver.
Folks, you simply would not believe the time and care Paul put into packing this box! In 40 years of radio trading I have never seen such a perfect job of packing an amplifier as this one. If this package was on board the FEDEX plane that Tom Hanks went down in, it would have survived the crash!

THEN there was box 2 of 2. Long story short, it just didn't show up. For two days the tracking site showed it as on a truck being delivered, and for two days I waited patiently while the "Delivery Exception, Business Closed or Not at Home" kept adding up. I knew after 3 they send the package back. Even though I took 3 days off of work just to be here, they were saying I was not at home. A quick review of my security video system indicated that no FEDEX vehicle even passed by the house on either day. Frustrated I called Paul and asked for help.
Somehow he got past the little lady who could barely speak english and politely told me that since I did not send it, I could not check on it. He actually got a site manager for Woodway Tx on the phone (Paul is a long way from 5 land). After several calls back and forth, he convinced the manager that he need to take some corrective action. Boy did he!
3rd morning I received a call from the district manager for FEDEX who first and foremost apologized and assured me that the driver who said he was attempting delivery in the computer system was actually never even in the city of the delivery (something about GPS tracking vehicles). He then told me that driver no longer worked for FEDEX! My package arrived 2 hours after the phone call from Woodway Tx.
Again, you just simply would have to see the job Paul did packing this transformer. An absolute master!

This story has two morals, first and foremost; my new found friend W8JN Paul is an "old school" trader, with both the ethics and moral character which made this hobby great.
Second, oh well; enough said about FEDEX. At least they made things right, though I hate someone had to lose a job over it.

If you get a chance to trade with Paul, go for it. You will get a great piece of equipment, and a new ham friend!
73's Richard N5OU
w8jn
Posts: 619
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2003 1:21 pm

what a mess

Post by w8jn »

this was the biggest shipping clusterfork i have ever seen. a man has two things, integrity and reputation. i gave richard my word that the amp would be shipped instantly and safely. long story short, fed ex hired a driver from bumble fork usa. the guy would deliver one or two packeges a day and mark "delivery exceptoin" on the rest and take the day off. i got through to the terminal manager in woodway tx and we discussed the problem. he was honest with me and checked both the gps and computer logs. they fired the driver this morning and took all the left over packages off his truck when he checked in. they sent a dedicated truck to richards home to make the drop. everybody makes mistakes, however paul at fed ex went the extra mile to fix this mess. thanks to paul at fed ex and thanks to richard for being patient and hanging in there with me. richard is a man of his word and a new good friend. i hope to do business with him again.
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