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Net Gains (Mar 17, 98) |
The book my friend had ordered on Amazon.com was readily available,
so he got an email the following day informing him that the book
had been dispatched by using UPS (United Parcel Service) 2nd Day
shipment. It also listed a URL (Internet address) in the customer
service section of Amazon.com where the status of the order could
be tracked. There was a reference number given to actually track
where the parcel was on the UPS site.
Visiting the customer service section as pointed out by the
email brought up a page with details about the order - when it
was placed, when it was dispatched by Amazon.com, what time it
was dispatched … So while the US was sleeping (and we were
wide awake here), I could sit at home, and for the cost of a local
Internet connection, I could track what the status of the order
was - at my own convenience - one of the most useful features
of an online presence.
Four days later, the friend who was soon leaving for India,
frantically emailed saying that she hadn't got the book as yet.
With just three days to go before she left, I logged on to the
Net to try to find out what had happened to my book, hoping it
wasn't lost in the mail - like our Indian Postal System. Since
the book was out of the hands of Amazon.com and with the UPS,
I logged onto the UPS site (http://www.ups.com).
Interested in tracking my book, I followed the tracking link
from the homepage. Entering the reference number sent by Amazon.com,
I was taken to a page that showed that the parcel had been dispatched
on time, and had been delivered four days ago - on time. The book
was accepted, and signed for by one "Janini" - and my
friend had no idea of who this could be. With just one day to
go before she left for India, she logged onto the UPS site, and
used one of their most useful features available : finding the
nearest office to her. All she had to do was key in her address
and the site whipped up a map of her locality with a big "X"
marking her apartment, and big dots indicating the surrounding
UPS offices and drop points. The table below even listed the addresses
and the distance from her apartment of each of those offices !
She went to the nearest office, but they were of no help to her.
They normally left a note if the parcel hadn't been delivered,
like our registered letter and parcel system here, but she hadn't
got one. She came back to India - without the book.
Realising that there are some limitations to the Internet, my
US friend who had ordered the book called the toll-free numbers
of UPS to confirm the delivery. UPS just gave him the same information
that was on the website - that it had been delivered on time,
and had been signed for by one Janini. So much for that.
Another friend then got in touch with the roommates of my friend
who had come to India. They didn't know any Janini either, but
promised to ask around. A couple of days later, they got back
with good news - the book had been lying for over a week with
Janine - the apartment manager, who did not think it important
to inform them. It was surprising however that UPS had not left
a note in my friend's apartment that the book was left with the
apartment manager.
My first online shopping experience was a frustrating experience.
I got my book a few days ago - 45 days after I had it ordered
online. I would have got it in a month (at a lesser cost) had
I booked it locally. I have to concede that sometimes, the real
world is better than the online world.