This is my post-Blogher Swag-Saga. SWAGA.
To be perfectly clear, I did not receive high-value swag - no video cameras, laptops, Crocs - just your basic Mr. Potatohead, some deoderant, and 9 USB drives. But I decided I had to FedEx some of this stuff home because my bag would be too weighed down by three bottles of hair products that were given to me directly by Luke O'Connor after he did my hair, as evidenced here:
Never mind the fact that Suave products cost, like, $2.50 each, I had to send them home. Along with some kids' toys and about 50 business cards that I deemed were too heavy to put in my checked baggage.
There was a FedEx pack-n-ship service that a sponsor provided for us, and I felt really important, FedExing myself a box of anti-frizz cream and coupons and oh yes, Aquaphor products. I freakin' LOVE Aquaphor.
After I returned home I checked the status of my package, because, I just couldn't wait to wash my hair with new shampoo. Actually, it was more like, I wanted to go through the heavy business cards and look up all the bloggers I met. And the FedEx tracking site said there was no such tracking number.
Following that, I started up a Twit-storm:
My box of BlogHer swag that I sent to myself never arrived. FedEx has no record of it. Anyone else have this issue? #blogher09
Not to belabor this, but, FedEx, how does a package just disappear without a trace? [yes, I saw Castaway]. Tracking number unknown, my ass!
Did I also mention - all the business cards I collected at #blogher09 were in the fedex box that vanished? that's what I'm most upset about
I also bitched about the fact that I put my $100 coupon for a new Bissell vacuum cleaner in that box and I really wanted to buy the vacuum. Bissell tweeted me and said they were sorry about the lost package and to message them and they'd get me a new coupon.
Then a guy who worked at FedEx tweeted me to "email @fedexrobin at fedex-robin@fedex.com and she can help." I emailed Fedex Robin whose Twitter tagline is "Delivering the Purple Promise."
Meantime, I got a call from my bank - and for this I have to give props to Bank of America and the Brighter Planet credit card. No earthly rewards from this card, just carbon offset credits for the earth. They contacted me to alert to some potential fraud on my account. Some "unusual activity" - and I thought, I've only had the card for a month, how do you know what's usual and not usual? Apparently the pack-n-ship people ran the card through a few too many times and the bank blocked the card. Oooooh, so THAT'S why my card didn't work at the grocery store the day before.
I explained all this to the lovely Robin who was working to find my swag box. She emailed me with almost daily status updates, I was called by the central FedEx Chicago facility, she contacted the hotel, the sponsor, the conference planners. Then, two weeks later, a FedEx guy in Chicago called to tell me they found my package.
Got the package on Friday. It was packed full of goodies I didn't even remember packing, and I'm so glad to have my free shit.
This whole experience awed me. The direct, immediate connections between people on Twitter.
The SWAGA ends.
so now all I have to complain about is the fucked up formatting of this post. WTF typepad?!
That's kind of awesome customer service. Way to go, non-marshmallow peeps.
Posted by: KtP | 17 August 2009 at 08:01 PM
Phew. All is right with the world. ;-) Glad your stuff finally made it. I vowed I wasn't going to go through my biz card stack until your package came. That's the story anyway! Now if you could help me figure out just where on earth my daughter's school clothes package from Lands' End is I owe ya one!
Posted by: Heather Kennedy | 17 August 2009 at 08:18 PM
I friggin love experiences like that, fun to hear about positives over the negatives.
How much Aquafor did you get? I just got a huge ass tattoo and need that shit! Send it! Just kidding, about sending it not the tattoo.
Posted by: Kully | 17 August 2009 at 09:18 PM
This customer service story warms the cockles of my heart. It's what I miss the most about America!
Posted by: Beth | 18 August 2009 at 02:40 AM
I'm so glad your stuff finally came!
Posted by: Jen14221 | 18 August 2009 at 01:12 PM
I am always a sucker for a good customer service story! And through all these social media venues too - totally awesome.
Sh!t, now I sound old.
Posted by: Kristin | 18 August 2009 at 07:26 PM
Just caught up on this...yay!! All's well that...well, you know. [I'm surprised you're such camping wimps!
8^)]
Posted by: Tom Guarriello | 22 August 2009 at 09:08 AM