A couple of days ago I contacted Vonage due to an inoperative router. I was 50/50 on whether I’d continue using the service or not, having in the past waded through the mire that is their Indian tech support folks and their written-in-stone scripts I was ready to just cancel my account if there was going to be a lot of hassle.
Realizing this, they offered to just send me a replacement router and I agreed. Problem solved. Or so I thought…
Last night, I got home from work a little late and saw something large on my front porch. I was expecting Vonage’s router and possibly a DVD from Amazon so I took a peek and this is what I saw:
Yep, 28 routers were waiting for me. Here’s another shot:
All of them were addressed to me.
I opened one of the boxes up and found there were two welcome packages, one inside and one outside the Motorola VT2442 box that was within the Orange DHL / Vonage branded shipping box. I suppose that means I received 56 of those CDs.
This morning, for fun, I decided to photograph the routers and make an animated GIF of them. While I was in the middle of this, I heard a truck on my driveway. You guessed it. They delivered another Vonage router for a total of 29!
I’m not sure if I have any more routers en route. I checked the DHL shipping notification that Vonage initially sent to me and it only indicates shipment of a single router and that it was delivered to me this morning. I suppose that’s the one I’m supposed to use as the one I randomly chose to open and set up is associated with a number that is completely unknown to me (yep, it works just fine). Good thing I’m honest.
For your entertainment and amusement I present my animated GIF below (Click it to see a larger moving image):
I’ll be contacting Vonage later today to see what needs to be done. Ironically, the Vonage CSR I originally dealt with only hesitently asked if I’d be willing to return my original non-functioning router (I was). There was supposed to be packaging for me to do so included, but so far that is not the case.
I just took a closer look at the packing sheet from inside the shipping box I opened last night and there I see the person to whom the router was originally destined. That one was headed for a fellow in Wichita Falls, Texas.
I just opened the one I received this morning hoping that it really was mine but it’s supposed to go to a guy in Terre Haute, Indiana.
This could be a long search. I’m not sure I want to open all of these boxes. Mind you, from the tape on some of them (including the one I received today) some of them have already been opened before. I’m wondering if they went to the wrong locations originally too..
Now that I’ve got a local supplier, when can I get my Vonage router? 🙂
It may not be any cheaper – just that my currency is “chocolate”. 🙂
Seriously, I spent some time on the phone with Vonage today and they’ll be sending DHL out to pick them up soon. When I cannot say, but it’s been quite a laugh…
Hey Marc, I was the rep on the phone that got all 28 mac id’s from you, I couldn’t resist checking out your site after you told me you blogged it, very funny.
OOOOO HOOOO OOOO HOO HOO, OOOOO HOOO OOOO HOO HOO
Vaaa Vaaa Vondage!
So:
A) Disgrutled worker
B) Let’s just get this guy off our back
C) Wait for your next bill
D) I will never be out of a job
E) More reason why the odds are in your favour if you come to Vegas.
Great GIF. Keep up the entertaining!!
I must say you do get some very interesting mail delivered. However, you did mention that you wanted to try another router or did you say two? or three? or……
Too funny…. Don will definitely get a big laugh out of this too. Maybe you should go buy some lottery tickets and see what happens. Maybe you’ll get someone else’s winnings…
… Can one order gold bullion through Vonage? …
Wow! can u say EBAY? Just kidding. “those boneheads”
Maybe if they put the recipient name on the outside instead of the inside the routers would get to the right people!
So, what’s happening. Have you recieved your return packaging yet? have you been arrested for posession of stollen property yet? Have more of the little orange boxes arrived?
I still have not yet heard from either Vonage or DHL. Maybe it was a mistake reading off the MAC addresses to them. Now there is no rush to get them back and on their way to their original recipients. I have no doubt that replacement routers were simply issued and they’ll sort out these routers at their leisure.
No police here yet, but I think I may be able to buy my way out of an arrest… pssst! wanna free router?
Just to let you know, it is now one week later and I have *still* heard nothing back from either Vonage or DHL. It would be nice if I weren’t such a terrible salesperson ’cause I have a feeling that these routers are probably going to be more bother to retreive and repackage than they’re worth to Vonage…
Stay tuned to see what ultimately happens.
To keep you updated, it’s now October 16, over two weeks now with nary a peep from the Vonage folks. I wonder how long I need to sit on these before I can start selling them on ebay?
I really can’t believe they’ve dropped the ball like this. I suppose if I *really* had wanted to have them pick up the Routers, I should have refused to read off the MAC addresses to the rep. That way, they’d have had to have picked up the units to figure out which of their customers were not going to be receiving theirs.
October 24 and *surprise* still no word from Vonage/DHL…
Was it something I said?
Nearly a month now.