Verizon or FedEx stink?
Friday, 14 September 2007 10:10![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fatrockstarThe package that the phone came in smelled so strong I put it out in the garage. I tried to keep the paperwork and user guides they included in the house so I could read them while the package detoxed, but the smell was very strong with them, too. It was very irritating. The smell was on my hands and wouldn't wash off with soap and water, and everything I touched ended up smelling like it. I gave up on working with the computer for the rest of the night. The residual smell was making me irritable and giving me a headache.
About an hour later JLove calls me to see what's up and I tell her the story of The Smell. She suggested scrubbing my hands with coffee grounds (Garret doesn't get rid of the day's coffee grounds until he needs to make a new pot, right?) and that worked. That brought the smell down to a point where I could look up the customer service number and call Verizon about their stinky package.
I called, talked to a nice girl about my problem, and she suggested that maybe it wasn't perfume but that "new phone smell." Yes, I know that new electronics smell a little, but this is not a fresh plastic smell. It smells like a Frenchman went crazy at the Ivory soap factory and it's overpowering. I have never encountered anything like this before, not even when I had the displeasure of ordering from Sephora.com, and they include perfume samples intentionally. With my point made, the Verizon rep had a couple of ideas.
The first idea was frivolous, even she said so: "My mother always said tomato juice gets out any odor -- but I wouldn't recommend it for your new phone." Tempting as it was, I agreed. She did some digging around and found a retailer partner that had the same phone in stock at a better price with a better rebate offer. "Ship the stinker back with a note, and get on over to that retailer for your new phone!" So that's what will happen.
Repackaging the phone was a challenge because I couldn't keep it in the house. I set the box and its contents on a shelf in the garage while I figured out how to either get rid of the smell or get a replacement, and while it was out there it stunk up the entire garage. Even the inside of the cars smelled like it a little, and all the windows were closed! The shipping receipt came inside briefly so I could photocopy it. There was no way I was going to keep the original papers in my records. That done, I repacked everything, stuck the return label on, and used enough tape to seal the box and its odor. I set it on my car's hood for the night and scheduled a FedEx pickup.
When I went into the garage this morning the smell was even stronger. I have no idea how that happened -- I had sealed it up so well! -- but it did. I set the box on our doorstep and drove to work with my windows open to air out the interior.
I was incredibly pissed off when I realized how strong the package's scent was. I'm sensitive enough to fragrance as it is. After talking to FedEx and Verizon I calmed down a little, and was able to see the humor in the situation. The headache went away, and a better solution was available. Why I didn't know about it sooner is the only thing that irks me now. I could have avoided this whole thing, yannow?
I'm still waiting for Verizon's customer service to respond to my message about their "stinky phone." IF they respond.
About an hour later JLove calls me to see what's up and I tell her the story of The Smell. She suggested scrubbing my hands with coffee grounds (Garret doesn't get rid of the day's coffee grounds until he needs to make a new pot, right?) and that worked. That brought the smell down to a point where I could look up the customer service number and call Verizon about their stinky package.
I called, talked to a nice girl about my problem, and she suggested that maybe it wasn't perfume but that "new phone smell." Yes, I know that new electronics smell a little, but this is not a fresh plastic smell. It smells like a Frenchman went crazy at the Ivory soap factory and it's overpowering. I have never encountered anything like this before, not even when I had the displeasure of ordering from Sephora.com, and they include perfume samples intentionally. With my point made, the Verizon rep had a couple of ideas.
The first idea was frivolous, even she said so: "My mother always said tomato juice gets out any odor -- but I wouldn't recommend it for your new phone." Tempting as it was, I agreed. She did some digging around and found a retailer partner that had the same phone in stock at a better price with a better rebate offer. "Ship the stinker back with a note, and get on over to that retailer for your new phone!" So that's what will happen.
Repackaging the phone was a challenge because I couldn't keep it in the house. I set the box and its contents on a shelf in the garage while I figured out how to either get rid of the smell or get a replacement, and while it was out there it stunk up the entire garage. Even the inside of the cars smelled like it a little, and all the windows were closed! The shipping receipt came inside briefly so I could photocopy it. There was no way I was going to keep the original papers in my records. That done, I repacked everything, stuck the return label on, and used enough tape to seal the box and its odor. I set it on my car's hood for the night and scheduled a FedEx pickup.
When I went into the garage this morning the smell was even stronger. I have no idea how that happened -- I had sealed it up so well! -- but it did. I set the box on our doorstep and drove to work with my windows open to air out the interior.
I was incredibly pissed off when I realized how strong the package's scent was. I'm sensitive enough to fragrance as it is. After talking to FedEx and Verizon I calmed down a little, and was able to see the humor in the situation. The headache went away, and a better solution was available. Why I didn't know about it sooner is the only thing that irks me now. I could have avoided this whole thing, yannow?
I'm still waiting for Verizon's customer service to respond to my message about their "stinky phone." IF they respond.
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zomg!
14/9/07 19:23 (UTC)(remember from Seinfeld?)