Monday, July 30, 2007

Do you see the problem here?

One of these things is not like the others,
One of these things is not the same.
Above you see the Four Freedoms, made famous by Franklin Delano Roosevelt as he stirred our nation to war. These Four Freedoms, Freedom from Fear, Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion and Freedom from Want were immortalized by the great artist Norman Rockwell in the 1940s. Just the theme for a retro 1940s Newspaper Office remodeling project in Jordan, Minnesota you say? Agreed.

The Internet, with its AllPosters.com, provided easy and complete access to these classics at a reasonable price. I meticulously moused through my order, put it in my electronic shopping cart, reviewed it, printed it out, paid by secure Visa and hoped for the best.

I wanted four identical medium brown Sovia frames, matted in sand, 23x26.

Today the last of the Four Freedoms arrived. You see the result above. Alas, the downside of ordering online. What is obvious to you is not so obvious to the computer.

The AllPosters.com systems are most gracious. They have admitted that something is different, something is not right. And why not? I am communicating globally now at great length with Avitha and Agritha on the other side of the world. They can't actually do anything for me over there, the mistake was made in California or in the Ohio warehouse, but they can make me feel good with their copious form letters, laden with apologies and best wishes for my complete and utter satisfaction.

Next step? I will be emailed a label within 48 hours. This I will print out on my computer, attach it to the old package, drive it to my nearest UPS shipping center (just where is that, now) and ship.

When they can confirm their mistake, only then will the process restart. I suggested that I simply reorder online and they could refund me later when they get my package. Neither Avitha nor Agritha appear to have a form letter covering such an innovation, so my suggestion was ignored. So sorry. Americans are always in such a hurry.

Once upon a time, a real person would say, "We'll fix our mistake and get you the right one out tomorrow. My bad."

One of these things is not like the others,
One of these things is not the same....