Ritz Rant

Post and pictures of our fun day with the geysers at Yellowstone are now at Bullwinkle's Travels.

The rest of this post, we'll warn you, is a rant.

One of the things we've been shopping for since we hit the road is a new camera. Our little point-n-shoots serve us well, but when you're on the journey of a lifetime, you need a nice camera. Or, so we've decided.

We're parked in one place for a month. Plus, we're a half-hour or so away from some of the most beautiful sights on the planet. So, this seemed like the perfect time to make our purchase.

Well, we tried.

Yesterday morning, Paul logged on to Ritz Camera and made the purchase. The next step was to respond to an email confirmation.

It never came.

Yep. There's nothing like the feeling of spending a wad of cash online and getting no confirmation of your purchase. Yes, he checked his spam folder. And, yes, he confirmed that he had given Ritz the correct email address. We gave it a couple of hours. Still nothing.

Out here in the scenic Idaho wilderness, we have no cell service. So, Paul opted for the next best thing: an online chat with one of Ritz Camera's "virtual" customer service specialists. The "conversation" started with "May I know the order number?" That should have given us a clue as to how this thing would turn out. First, we don't have an order number. (That's the reason we're chatting!) Second, nobody talks like that! Over the course of the next few minutes it became obvious that English wasn't this cyber agent's first language. Here's an excerpt:

Ritz: We are sorry to inform that we are unable to process your order at this moment as we need to verify the details on your order.

Paul: What?

Paul: I'm right here! What do you need to verify?

Ritz: We need to verify the billing details on your order.

Paul: Verify with whom?

Ritz: Please call our billing department at 1-866-760-4249.

Paul: This has been very frustrating!

Ritz: I am sorry for the inconvenience caused.

Frustrated Paul grabbed his phone, hopped in the Jeep and headed for the nearest cell signal. Maybe we'd have better luck talking with a live person! After 15 minutes of talking with a customer service agent in India and his supervisor, who is also in India, Paul received confirmation that our order was received and was being processed. He was promised an email confirmation within minutes.

Guess what? It never came.

Somewhere in this exchange, Paul received a name and phone number of a person in Irvine, CA who reportedly is responsible for Ritz Camera customer service. He dialed the number, left a message and requested an email followup.

That's right! It never came.

Late last evening, Paul received a voice mail in very broken English from a Ritz customer service agent requesting that Paul return his call to confirm his order. Now, wait just a Hindi minute! Didn't we just do this? This morning, Paul got one more voice mail from a different voice with the same accent reciting the exact same script as yesterday.

Paul trundled back up the hill to our off-the-road cellular site to call the other side of the world. The customer service agent assured him that the order was confirmed. He also informed Paul that the camera was out of stock.

Are you friggin’ kidding me? This camera is currently featured in a nationwide multi-media ad campaign. Ritz Camera has it included in a Father’s Day sale with a promise of free, fast shipping. When we placed our order yesterday, the site indicated the camera was in stock.

While still in cell range, Paul dialed the customer service boss in Irvine once more and left another message. He provided an update to the situation and requested an email followup by the end of business today. He added that if he didn't hear back, he would cancel our order.

So, guess again. That's correct! We've heard nothing.

Back online, Paul visited the Ritz Camera web site for one last chat. If you've stuck with the story this long, you just have to see this excerpt:

Ritz: I see that everything is fine with the order, it is processed.

Ritz: Would you still wish to cancel the order?

Paul: Is the camera in stock?

Ritz: I am sorry; the camera kit is currently backordered with us.

Ritz: We are in regular contact with the manufacturers and we are expecting this item to be in stock at the earliest.

Paul: When will it be in stock?

Ritz: I am sorry; I will be unable to confirm this.

Paul: Then I want to cancel this order.

Ritz: Okay, Paul.

Ritz: I shall forward a request to have this order cancelled.

Paul: Will I receive some form of confirmation?

Ritz: You will be notified by an e-mail as soon as the order is cancelled.

Yes, dear readers, you've guessed right once more. No email!

As soon as we undo this deal, we’re shopping for a new camera. In fact, as I’ve been ranting, I just caught a TV commercial for a competing camera I haven’t noticed before. We’ll check that new model out. Whether we stick with our original choice or find an alternative, we might just make our way to a local camera store (Anywhere but Ritz Camera!) and put down our wad of cash live and in person.

We’ll keep you posted.