Walmart Fails to Deliver

Color me gobsmacked. (Is that really a color?) I knew it was bad out there but this situation was an eye-opener. Due to the lockdown, instead of going to a brick and mortar for a much needed scanner/printer, I shopped online, a frustrating endeavor to be sure.

After hours of research, I settled on a Canon Pixma and proceeded to look for it at a price in my budget range. Believe me it took a lot of research and time to finally come up with a printer and source. Walmart is not my usual retailer but it was the only offer that would work for me. So I placed an order on 1/12 and received an acknowledgement that included an arrival date of 1/20. Subsequent confirmations gave the same date. A UPS shipping label was generated on 1/13 and my credit card debit cleared on 1/14. All good, right? Heh. 1/20 came and went without a sign of a printer. This did not bode well. I initiated an email to the third-party seller through the Walmart site and this is the response I received:

Hrumph. So I called Walmart and after a couple of attempts, spoke to “David”. Pleasant enough guy but he told me that Walmart was not responsible though they would issue a refund that my bank is currently holding. Guess they don’t trust Walmart either.  Regardless, it’s too late for me since the good prices, discounts and product availability have evaporated. A comparable printer will cost double to triple what I paid Walmart assuming there is a model with the same specs. David also told me that the vendor, PTM, does not have an address so there is no physical location. A guy in his mom’s basement perhaps?

What really speaks ill of “PTM” is that they knew they hadn’t shipped the item but failed to notify me so the funds could be returned and I could shop elsewhere. The only reason anything happened on it today was because I initiated a query to Walmart. Apparently, Walmart does not require a follow-up from a vendor when an item has shipped so basically you are on your own. The pile of work on my desk will have to wait for a future printer sale and a windfall of cash.

The lack of concern and responsibility is mind-bogglingly stupid in any age but particularly in the age of social media. 

I won’t order from Walmart again. Far too much trouble. Whenever the lockdown ends and I can go to local merchants, Walmart and the like had better look elsewhere for buyers because I won’t be one of them. Am I alone in this? How about you? Do you expect to return to your former brick and mortar sources or has the lockdown turned you into an online shopping addict?