Most of us would agree that it is quite exciting when the UPS Truck pulls up with some new gear that we purchased especially when it's a new camera body or lens. Like kids on Christmas morning we can't wait to unbox the new toy and put it to test. Sadly one photographer opened the box not to find a new camera body but floor laminate. Read on to learn about his experience, see photos and find out which nationally known dealer did this not just once, but twice to him.
As a long time buyer and preferred member of Dell.com, Jalal of JZPhotography, was excited to learn that they would be willing to lower their price on a new Canon 5D Mark III to just about match the same prices he was finding online. He placed his order over the phone with Dell customer service and was shipped what he thought would be a new Canon 5D Mark III with the 24-105mm f4 IS lens. A huge upgrade from his current 30D camera and one that he was extremely excited about. Fortunately, Jaleel documented the unboxing and took pictures of his whole experience with his iPhone 5 which later turned into great evidence to show what he received instead of the new camera he expected.
The following is the experience told by Jalal himself.
“I wanted to share you with my purchase experience with Dell.com.I was in the market for a new camera. I’ve been shooting with a Canon EOS 30D for 6 years, and I’m looking to get more serious with my photography and wanted to invest in something I could love for at least another 6 years. After hitting up my local camera stores I decided on a Canon EOS 5D Mark III kit with the EF 24-105mm f/4L IS lens.
I have been a Dell customer for 11 years and have a Dell Preferred Account which is a line of credit. On January 4th, 2013, I called up Dell Customer Service to see if they would price match their 5D3 kit with other online retailers, Best Buy, B&H, and Amazon. They only could bring the price down by $200, but given that I wanted/needed the camera, I told them ok, and had them order it for me. Dell’s customer care team is completely based out of India.
January 8th comes around, the package arrives and I’m overly excited – it finally feels like Christmas. I’ve made it a habit of taking photos as I unbox large purchases because you never know what you’re going to find. But also because I’m a giant geek. Everything is packaged perfectly and looks great. I cut open the shipping box, pull out the camera box and start to unbox it…. what do I find? Wood flooring. Perfectly cut and glued together to fit the compartments of the box. No camera, not accessories, no booklets, nothing. Wood mother effin flooring! I was dejected. I went from a super high to a super low in a matter of seconds. There was definite humor in this. Quite frankly I was floored. Badoom pish!
I called up Dell customer care immediately but the department I needed to speak to was closed. The next morning, Wednesday, January 9th, I call up Dell and explained my situation. They tried to tell me Dell wasn’t to blame because they didn’t ship the item themselves. It was their distributors fault. I pointed out to Dell’s customer care that I purchased my product from Dell.com and they were the company that fulfilled my order. I wasn’t talking to their 3rd party distributor. After expressing my frustration they agreed to send me out a replacement. They wanted to make me wait a few days but I requested they should ship it next day air. I was dealing with a particular customer care representative that was to be my main point of contact. She said to give them 6 hours to get back to me which is around 4pm that afternoon. So I agreed. In that time I send 3 emails to my case manager and called her direct line several times to see if I could get updates on the situation – she was unavailable. 4pm came around and no one contacted me. I called up and spoke to a different rep who told me my order was in fact shipping overnight and he continued to give me my new order number and tracking info.
After hanging up I checked the tracking number on the FedEx website and it seems they submitted my new camera at 9am that morning! Six hours later after I hung up with Dell I received an email from my case manager with the exact information I received over the phone by someone else.
The morning of Thursday January 10th, I received a new replacement package via FedEx Priority Overnight. I opened it up, WOOD FLOORING AGAIN!!!
At this point I knew that their distribution center’s stock of Canon EOS 5D Mark III kits was compromised and the thieves probably cleaned house. I noticed both Canon boxes had clear circular stickers placed on the box flap, and after consulting with the members of an online Canon forum (which I was a member of) they indicated that Canon never uses stickers to seal their boxes and that it sometimes was done by the vendor.
I contacted Dell’s customer service once again, explained my situation and was told at this point since I received a replacement order and received wood again they would have to investigate this situation with their Fraud and Logistics teams. They would also contact and inform their Distributor. I expressed my extreme frustration and disappointment about receiving another piece of wood instead of my Canon 5D MKIII kit and the ongoing terrible customer service. Again, they tried to say it wasn’t Dell’s fault instead it was their distribution company that was to blame. Again I repeated it was a Dell transaction and they were responsible for everything. They couldn’t push it off on someone else. Their inability to keep tabs on their distributors was not my problem at the least. The shipping labels have all said DELL on them. Not XYZ.
Judging by the box, it looks like my camera was shipped from D&H Distributing Co.
D&H Distributing Co, 909 Katie Court, Harrisburg, PA, (717) 561-4313 - www.dandh.com.
Doing some research on the web brought up issues they have had with items shipped for other distributors. However the distributor in question wasn’t too blame. Fishy at best.
Friday rolls around and I contacted Dell again. Customer care told me they needed more time and they would contact me when they heard back from their various departments about the issue. I again explained my frustration with them. I began to explain some previous examples of my experience with them – I was promised a call on Monday 1/7 and didn’t receive a call. They also told me they’ll call the next day. I didn’t happen.
I got a call on Tuesday the 15th January and was told Dell had not heard back from their fraud team and their logistics team found nothing wrong. Further to this the distributor returned their email simply acknowledging the receipt of the news. Nothing more. They said they could try and send me another camera but they couldn’t be 100% sure that I wouldn’t receive wood again. I asked them about the compensation and they said the most they could try to give me was a $100 coupon toward a future Dell.com purchase. I refused and told them I considered it an insult and a slap in the face. Especially with all the time and the frustration that I had to deal with. I asked to speak to someone higher up about the issue. I was extremely upset with this whole situation and what they were offering me. Some have said that I should be lucky to have even received that. I’d say that some don’t have very high standards and are easily toyed with.
It’s now Wednesday January 16th and I just got off the phone with a higher-up manager from Dell customer care. The absolute best they could offer me was $100 coupon towards a future purchase and that was the most they have ever offered customer. He asked me if he wanted Dell to send me the order and I promptly asked him to cancel my order. I will never be ordering or dealing with Dell again. After 11 years, my relationship with them as a consumer is over. I will make sure to spread this word and make sure that everyone knows what I have experienced.” – Jalal
[Via F Stop Lounge]
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jzphotojzp/8309812730/" title="IMG_9485 edited by JZPhotography - JZP, on Flickr" rel="nofollow"></a>
He looks happy enough...
Sorry but that's not Jalal he's a personal friend of mine
But joking aside, is this really F stoppers worthy material?
And this is why I have never and will never order anything from Dell.com - I've heard too many horror stories. (Not as bad as this one though!)
Why the crap would anyone order camera gear from Dell?
If he is truely confident he was ripped off and doesn't mind the investigation....call his local news channel and have their "troubledshooter" bring it to the publics attention. Maybe he has or maybe he's afraid of a REAL investigation!
When Dell agreed to cancel the order he would not have been charged for it, and at that point if he was the thief, he already had two cameras in his possession. I agree though with you, had he made a video of the unboxing, his credibility would not be suspected.
What got me as this being untruthful is that the "second order" the wood is directly in the flat rate envelope... not a Canon box.. they would have had to actually pack the wood in the envelope upon order- they dont just keep priority envelopes with cameras pre packaged like that in the warehouse.
I am surprised at the comments on this story. Let me address a couple of the points.
1. It is actually quite common to photograph or film when opening boxes where you expect expensive merchandise to be inside. Google it or search on YouTube and you will find many instances of this. I will definitely be doing it in the future to protect my own rear if something like this were to ever happen to me.
2. If Jalal was really trying to scam Dell, why would he be reaching out and sharing his story with news agencies which he has been doing. He is trying to get someone to take notice at Dell. Up till now all he has been able to do with them there is speak with people in their customer service which operates out of India. He has not felt like there has been any real connection or that anyone really cares to handle the situation. If in fact he now is the owner of two new Canon 5D Mark III's I would believe that at this point he would lay low and not try to draw any attention to himself.
3. It is sad to see how easy it is for so many people to call him names when all he is trying to do is share his message so it does not happen to others in the future. If you want to make a comment, please keep your personal feelings to yourself.
4. I have been in communications with Jalal and he has promised to let me know when/if he hears back from Dell or D&H about the matter. I will update the article as we receive any communication.
5. People are acting as if nothing like this has ever happened before. Again Google it and you will find that in just the last few months there have been some major news stories that are very similar. An iPad was purchased and was full of notepads, a Nintendo 3DS was purchased full of rocks. Ultimately, my hope and I am sure Jalal's as well, is that by getting the word out about his experience the distributors of these products will do a much better job in their checks and controls to ensure that none of us have to experience a situation like this in the future.
6. Lastly, he is getting blasted for not purchasing at a local camera store. We all hope that these camera stores will stick around forever and of course love purchasing from them. The advantage he had with Dell as a preferred customer was a line of credit. Therefore he chose to make the purchase through them rather then at the local dealer.
Hopefully DELL takes notice of the story and does some internal investigations into their distribution. It would also be interesting to see if anyone else has experienced something similar recently. If I were in DELL's shoes I would most definitely look into it. I also know that Jalal has reached out to Canon to share his story as well.
I used to work in the Fulfillment department of an online retailer, and we've had cases in which we ordered electronics from distributers, only for dozens of boxes to be filled with wood flooring. They do this because it's easy to correctly match the weight while also being able to fit into the original box.
I don't know about the rest of you, but at the bottom of the comments section here I'm getting an ad from BuildDirect for 80% off laminate flooring! Seems this would be cheaper and quicker than ordering a 5Dmk3, twice. You can't get much flooring in those boxes!
I was JUST saying this to someone!!! HAHAHAHAH
I'm most upset about him checking out his local stores, wasting a salesperson's time and expertise only to buy online. If this is true, you deserve to get boxes full of wood. I would be absolutely offended and pissed that you wasted my time looking at 5DMkIII only to go buy it online. Unfortunately, this is happening more and more these days. You buy online...you get what you pay for then. Don't be cheap, part with a bit more money and realize that person helping you is worth the extra bit of dough. You want gadgets to play with in a store before you buy? You need to actually buy something from that store so they can continue to be your playground.
Adam in my comments just above you will see that I mention he bought it online because he had a preferred line of credit with Dell. I think we would all agree that it's good practice to buy from local camera stores though when it's possible.
Adam is likely referring to the line "After hitting up my local camera stores I decided on a Canon EOS 5D Mark III kit with the EF 24-105mm f/4L IS lens". That means he went to the local stores and likely wasted someone's time checking it out before deciding what he wanted. Who cares about the preferred line of credit? It's still rude to go into a brick & mortar and waste their time when you have no intention of giving them a sale.
You're as incoherent as they come so you're telling me you NEVER ever try to find better deals want to know how a camera feels etc... please stop the incoherence.
Be right back, going to procure 2 new 5dmk3's from Dell and say they sent me granite countertops. Free cameras FTW!!!!
Fist thing that crossed my mind was that this was fishy as hell. Sorry, but the pics of the first "unboxing" are too posed. Then he receive a SECOND camera and it's in what looks like a Refurb box?
He gets TWO boxes of wood, yet Dell fraud investigators find NOTHING? C'mon. What are the odds of a scammer packing wood in ONE retail box and also in ONE Refurb box? ONLY 2 boxes? And the only 2 boxes that were tampered with ended up in the hands of ONE person? A week apart?
You shoulda left it alone at pulling ONE scam Jalal.
My favorite line is "After hitting up my local camera stores I decided on a Canon EOS 5D Mark III kit with the EF 24-105mm f/4L IS lens." How about giving them your business....
Karen I address this question in my comments above.
I had a customer donate an entire brand new Dell computer system with surround sound speakers etc. because of his anger at Dell's customer service to charity then buy a brand new Sony system. Not shortly after I could write a book about the worst customer service ever just trying to replace a simple power supply through Dell support. Done. I have never used them since. Worst customer service EVER.
i will be sure to share this post. i know exactly the feeling of the new gear arrival, very much like xmas morning as a child. i waited 6 months for my d4 to arrive and when it did, it was glorius. i couldn't imagine what a kick in the balls it would be to open a box of wood.
if our author here was trying to scam dell, well, i suppose it's a solid effort. lol.
as for ordering gear, i stick to my dependables, Calumet, B&H, Adorama. no body else, period.
I particularly like the photo of the knife poised to begin cutting open the box. Very convincing.
Will never by from Dell. Thank you for the warning.
I definitely mourn for you and am sorry for your troubles, but I think your first problem was when you ordered professional camera gear over the phone from Dell of all places.
As a Dell support tech of 4.8 years 6 years ago before they closed there business in my town I can personally agree with you that passing the buck and taking no responsibility to the problem with there equipment was encouraged.
Just Google the Dell Optiplex GX270 or GX280 capacitor problems.
Obvious scam is obvious.
The best part about this post is when I viewed it the bottom banner ad was for wood flooring! Proper product placment.
Thanks to bringing this to our attention. Sorry to see that something like this occured. Our teams are working with the Jalal to address the issue.
Thanks again,
LionelatDell
Does Michael know about this?
I had something similar happen to me with an iPod Nano 3 yrs ago. Apple sent a replace. They must've reported it to FedEx, filed a claim or something because when the replacement arrived, the FedEx guy said I had to agree to open the package in front him before he can hand it to me, and we both had to sign off on it. He also said it's been happening quite often, that most likely the issue was at the Apple distribution center. Dell should probably do the same with replacing missing items, have the delivery person wait for the package to be opened to verify that it is indeed in the box.
Obviously, this kind of incident has not happen to Jalal before, or he would have stopped the 2nd delivery man and opened the package on the spot.
That's if he's even telling the truth, and so far, there's no definitive verdict that what he states actually happened or did not happen.
Hey, I think they switched the packages! I ordered wood floor and got a Cannon camera!!! LOL! J/K! I hope you got your refund, if not don't pay the bill, never buy anything else from Dell and let them call you...you'll see how they'll call you EVERY DAY this time! Ha! ;P
I call bullshit. People don't photograph unboxings unless A) there's something wrong with the box or B) they're an online journalist. It's obvious that Jalal couldn't afford (or didn't want to pay for the camera), so tried to get it for free. When Dell wouldn't refund after the first 'botched' order, he pulled the same stunt a second time so he could force Dell's hand. I hope they investigate him for fraud.
People photograph unboxings ALL the time and video tape them ALL the time. What are you talking about?
Really? You're going to insert the knife to begin cutting open the box while holding your camera in the other hand to take a photograph of this instant? I'm with Reow.
I do photograph major purchases.
But you're right, I don't photograph a knife sticking into a box. Looks kinda sadistic.
I was about to say exactly what Reow said. Seriously folks, who takes pics of themselves opening up a box? really? He's trying to get a free camera from Dell.
On my browser the advert shows four panels of wood veneer from BUILDDIRECT company lol!
This is truly a scam - if the 2nd shipment came why did he not open it in front of the carriers driver eh?
Very fishy here...
I love how everyone is so quick to judge this guy, rather than believe for a second that a huge company could possibly be involved in something like this. Just because every single person that has ever ordered from Dell hasn't had a mishap, doesn't mean that it doesn't happen. I've ordered things online and received a completely different item, or received it damaged before. This is what you get for outsourcing your work to India so you can pay ridiculously cheap wages. Whether or not this guy is making it up, we can't say, but don't be so quick to just jump on board with a large well known company, they're typically the shady ones.
And really, it's not surprising in the least to imagine that the workers of the distribution company took out the cameras from certain shipments and replaced them with wood flooring. They can sell those for a pretty penny, and I imagine the assembly line workers that box and distribute those don't get paid much. Dell might not have anything to do with this, but it's not surprising to me at all that something like this would happen. So often people are stealing expensive gear from wherever they can find it, so that they can sell it. Whether it's off of someone's front porch after it's delivered, from your car, or from the distribution center. It's not that shocking of a scenario.
Dude you just got two free cameras and put wood in the box yourself. Your a genius.
The 2nd shipment looks odd - I don't recall any shipping company that puts their parcel inside a box.
I am planning to order a bunch of computers from dell next week. Not the crappy consumer Inspirons that come with support out of Mumbai, but the Vostros and a couple of Latitudes that come with USA support. Don't be so cheap next time. You get what you pay for.
Savannah Daras, mishaps with companies happen all the time, but how many times do you photograph yourself opening a shipment? Seriously, who does that?
The moral of the story is?! BUY YOUR CAMERA AND GEARS AT REPUTABLE CAMERA/GEAR SHOPS. Likewise, I would not buy any lumber from dell even if they have a third party distributor that offers them for free.
I can understand unboxing VIDEOS, but unboxing photos...step-by-step...photo while cutting the tape with the box cutter............ fishy indeed......... Sent wood twice? No one else reporting similar orders of receiving wood instead of camera? We've been had, gentlemen.... A full on fraud investigation is in order....
When I first saw the story on POTN canon forums I thought it was kinda weird that the wood was cut in the right size of the spaces in the box..
Anyway, there'll be no justice here as SOMEONE has gotten at least 2 free Canon 5DIII's... Probably way more than 2 if Jalal's story is true.
strengi