I’ve had this urge to use Groupon to shop recently. Most of my purchases are for coupons that I print and use locally. But sometimes, a good online deal comes around that I just can’t pass up.
One of these deals occurred back in November, and I thought it would make a great gift for my fiance (I can’t say what it was because he reads this site). So, I bought the deal. It’s expiry date was marked for this Sunday. However, I tried to use it back in December when I found some time in between my studies to work on it. It required downloading a program, creating my thing, and sending it off to the company’s server. I sent it away, and then all I had to do was pay for shipping. And this country has websites with aversion to paying by credit cards, so I had to make do with the old-fashioned way of going to the bank to do a money transfer (Ok, I could have probably done this online, but doing it in a language I’m not all to familiar with would have probably been more damaging). I paid. And I waited. No confirmations, no emails, no notifications. I called. My order apparently never reached their server. So I tried again. And because the order number was different, I had to pay again. So I did. Nothing.
When I came back after Christmas break, I tried to sort it out. I burned my thing on a CD and mailed it in. No good. So I downloaded the program and tried again. But before I sent my order in, I called and talked to this customer service rep (who spoke way too fast), and made sure that I could pay for my new S&H using one of my previous two payments. I confirmed that my order had reached their server this time. Success! By Wednesday, my order was out. Today, my order arrived, courtesy of my new favorite lazy-eyed DHL delivery dude. Now I just have to mail it out to Canada and I’m solid! One problem over and done with.
Recently, I also fell in love with this set of three ceramic pans – $50. I deliberated over whether I really needed them, and in the end, I figured that I can bring these pans with me when it’s time to move to another country and work. So I bought the Groupon deal. Mind you, I did this during class. Once my payment was confirmed, I had to set up a shipping method, so I chose this In-Post company because the pick-up would be close to home and it would be free of charge. Plus, had I chosen a courier, not only would I have to pay, but then I’d have to be home when the delivery arrived. So I filled out the online form and set it off. This was about two weeks ago.
That Groupon deal ended about 10 days ago. I was worried because, one again, I never received any sort of notice or confirmation that my order was complete. When I tried to re-order (before the expiry date), I was unable to do so because the Groupon code was used up. I was actually kind of worried that I had just lost $50 (it may only be $50, but I’m a poor med student living off loans), so I was ready to spring into action to find out what was going on with my order. I actually stopped by the In-Post kiosk at the mall to see if they could help – but no. The woman told me I’d have to get in touch with Groupon. I was getting ready to start writing a long email (with the help of Google Translate), when I got a text. My order had been processed! I had a tracking number! My pans will be ready for pick-up within 2-3 business days – and I’ll get a text letting me know when they’re here. Success!
I need to stop ordering things online. I still have two Groupons to use up with my roommate. One is for a fish pedicure, and the other is for a physical work-up including an EKG, blood analysis and urinalysis. At least these require our physical presence at an actual place. Maybe we’ll find time to go for the physical this week. And I’m planning the pedicure for March sometime.
- Meelah in: Uncategorized | Comment
