[Lyra]

Well, it is Thursday, the 30th of October, and still no sign of Panther...

Swell, as predictions will go, I bet I will not even see it next week. The worst thing is that the ADC version I have is messed up, my apps. quit all the time etc..

NEED MY PANTHER!!!!

[Annihialator]

Do I have a result? Do I !

Sent Apple an email demanding a new copy be sent via courier which they said ok to. But, just had an order confirmation which says (and this cracks me up) the item has a build time of 4-5 days!

Hello! McFly!?!?!?

Let's hope this is a typo!

[ids]

Originally posted by Annihialator:
snip--
But, just had an order confirmation which says (and this cracks me up) the item has a build time of 4-5 days!
snip--

Just got the same email..it had better be a typo..I was assured it would be sent by courier today...and I will not be a happy bunny if it isnt...

I have now taken to refreshing my order status page on the store ever 5 minutes as well as these forums to try and get more information

[danbalsh]

Originally posted by ids:
Just got the same email..it had better be a typo..I was assured it would be sent by courier today...and I will not be a happy bunny if it isnt...

I have now taken to refreshing my order status page on the store ever 5 minutes as well as these forums to try and get more information

I know what you mean, I was on the phone to them today, they said it would be leaving AppleUK via Courier Today, and I would have it tommorow.

Does anyone else get the feeling we are being fobbed off when you contact AppleUK?

[Hamgard]

Originally posted by danbalsh:
I know what you mean, I was on the phone to them today, they said it would be leaving AppleUK via Courier Today, and I would have it tommorow.

Does anyone else get the feeling we are being fobbed off when you contact AppleUK?

I've just emailed AS & SJ. Should I telephone too?

[danbalsh]

Right, been on the phone to them again!

It's now 5:40 and it's still saying "being assembled" on the Order Status

They are now saying "monday at the latest"

So it's quite obvious that when we phone up to enquire they are just fobbing us off, and not actually getting off there arses and sorting it out

Madness

[m.brown]

Originally posted by danbalsh:
Right, been on the phone to them again!

It's now 5:40 and it's still saying "being assembled" on the Order Status

They are now saying "monday at the latest"

So it's quite obvious that when we phone up to enquire they are just fobbing us off, and not actually getting off there arses and sorting it out

Madness

Absolutely - when I called Apple to cancel my order they said it had shipped and there was nothing they could do.

I told them that I thought this strange as I hadn't recieved an e-mail notifying me of shipment and the online order statement still read "being assembled". I was assured this was a glitch down to the shear volume of Panther orders.

So I e-mailed them and asked them for proof of shipping - at which point they e-mail back saying that actually it hadn't quite shipped and they would try to cancel the order - but they were snowed under with 1000's of orders.

So guess what: two days later notification of shipment by TNT.

I'll be returning my copy when it arrives - and I sure won't be paying the �20 return charge.

BTW I popped to the local Apple dealer earlier this week and pick up a copy - no wait!

This parcel post *really* pi$$es me off - it was the same when Keynote was announced - *10* f00kin days for delivery.

O U T R A G E O U S - apple sort it out!

[sja777]

My "guarrenteed next day delivery" has also failed to turn up today.

I've had confirmation that an order for another copy has been accepted into the system. But look at this delivery information:

Your order should ship on or before 07.11.2003
Please allow a further 3-6 days from this date to deliver your order.

Bummer!

What disappoints me is that none of the big US-based Mac news sites have picked this story up. Send them an email. Let's get this story on the front page in the US!

[clebin]

I found out why my Panther's is taking so long. Nothing to do with the volume of sales..

They're shipping it from Ireland to Luxembourg, where it'll meet up with my Bluetooth apdapter, which is coming from the Netherlands.

Then they'll have a spot of lunch, take in a few sights, maybe a show and finally get put in a box together, and as of 29th, get shipped to me to arrive some time next week.

What's the point?

Chris

[WJMoore]

Hello All,
Still waiting for my copy of Panther to arrive (Oct 31 here)... I was glad to see the number of letters people have written as I too wrote a letter before I saw any of you had. However I'm going to mail mine after a get Panther, describing my experience. That way they have to write back to send me a response if they intend to do that. Very disappointed.

[clebin]

Originally posted by WJMoore:
Hello All,
Still waiting for my copy of Panther to arrive (Oct 31 here)... I was glad to see the number of letters people have written as I too wrote a letter before I saw any of you had. However I'm going to mail mine after a get Panther, describing my experience. That way they have to write back to send me a response if they intend to do that. Very disappointed.

Australia, eh? I hope it didn't stop off for 6 days in Luxembourg or you'll be waiting a very long time!

Chris

[WJMoore]

It has gone on a bit of a trip actually. I called te courier company to see if they could tell me what was gong on and it turns out that I would have it today if someone hadn't read the wrong label and sent it back to Sydney where it originally came from. Now it is back in Melbourne for the second time so I might get it on Monday.

[tomdavidson69]

Just got my shiny box off a lovely TNT lady, it was posted on the 29th (following a grumpy email) and had DDP UK as terms of delivery...

Right, step 1: Disconnect FW Drive ;-)...

Hope you all get yours today!

Tom

[Annihialator]

Just almost wet myself!

Had a call from home. Guess what has arrived!

Oh yes oh yes oh yes!

[MickS]

TNT attempted to deliver on Wednesday for me. Eventually delivered yesterday. If I'd known that Apple weren't going to dispatch on time I'd not have ordered it from them.

In future I'll just pop to the local Apple shop, could have picked up a copy last weekend, and buy stuff for the same price.

[swiftp]

Still no luck in Norfolk. I guess it'll be Monday now.

''

[swiftp]

Originally posted by swiftp:
Still no luck in Norfolk. I guess it'll be Monday now.

''

Whoohoo - shipped. Should be here in 5 or so working days but at least I have a tracking number!

p

[Hamgard]

Originally posted by swiftp:
Whoohoo - shipped. Should be here in 5 or so working days but at least I have a tracking number!

p

Don't count on it!

After emailing AS yesterday I received this reply: -

Dear Sir

Thank you for your email. We have checked your order and the Panther Up to Date has been put on delivery your order will be shipped to you by post so please allow up to 10 days from the date of your Shipment notification for delivery.

Please contact us if you have not received it at this time and we will arrange express delivery of a replacement.


Kind Regards

Catherine
Apple Store

This I take to mean that the order I placed on 21 October was not shipped on 24 October as I was informed by AS. To support this, my credit card was not debited until yesterday. Surely, if it had shipped on 24 October the card would have been debited then?

If this is the case, it makes this a deception which is wholly unacceptable. It's a disgrace!!!

[TomHMeredith]

by post

???

If that's the case, you'll be lucky to have it by christmas....

Tom.

[ids]

well my promised couriered copy hasnt arrived today, and when I just rang to see what the latest tall tale is, surprise surprise...

the sales support team are unavailable..

and now macwarehouse are out of stock..Why O why did I let them pretend to send another copy..I should have cancelled & bought from someone who actually gives a

[danbalsh]

Just to let people know,

I got my original order of Panther this morning the box was a bit bashed I might add, but who cares!

Then this afternoon I got shipment notification of my new courier copy, that should be here tomorrow.

Good luck you guys, I hope you get yours soon.

All the best

[Hamgard]

Yeah, good luck to those who receive. Enjoy!

I've sent two emails to Apple Store about the real shipping date (24 or 30 October). Any suggestions about what I should say if it transpires they were telling 'porkies' about the 24 October shipping info?

Thanks.

Keep this thread going; we have nots have bonded!!

[Kissargi]

my copy shipped today so im hoping for a monday or tuesday delivery (same time im expecting my ipod.... life is good)

[Kissargi]

i hope they dont send panther off to join my ipod in luxemburg :s id ask if i could go and collect it from cork myself if they plan on sending it half way across europe and back. i hate waiting, i wish they shipped as fast as Amazon does.

[Parky]

Well it's now 19:30 on Saturday 1st November and still no copy of Panther for me.

This is a joke!!!

Apple actually called me on Tuesday because I referred them to the Trading Standards people, as they would not let me cancel my order. They tried to backtrack and said it was an individual who got it wrong and that I could just send the item back when they tried to deliver it. He said they had 9000 order for Panther and that they had problems with shipping and the large number of orders.

Well I ordered on the 8th Oct, and they claim it shipped on the 22nd Oct, and it is still not here.

I will buying a copy from a local store tomorrow if they have any left, and sending the other back to Apple as unsolicitied mail.

If they try to charge �20 then they will be in big trouble.

Ian

[WJMoore]

Originally posted by Parky:
Well it's now 19:30 on Saturday 1st November and still no copy of Panther for me.

This is a joke!!!

Well I ordered on the 8th Oct, and they claim it shipped on the 22nd Oct, and it is still not here.

Exactly how I feel. I ordered on the 9th, got shipping notification on the 22nd but was told by Apple that orders weren't actually shipped until Mon 27th so that they didn't arrive before the release date. Meanwhile I wait.

[kelp]

Mine was delivered on 24/10/03 AM. The Applestore here in Ireland is reliable, efficient and accessible. Usually quotes 2-3 business days for surface delivery. Usually delivers on time or even earlier. Seems like a problem with Royal Mail.

[Mediaman_12]

Originally posted by kelp:
Mine was delivered on 24/10/03 AM. The Applestore here in Ireland is reliable, efficient and accessible. Usually quotes 2-3 business days for surface delivery.

That's probably 'cos it's in the same damn country as the delivery centre.
I wonder if any other major PC manufactures exist without a UK delivery hub, and ship each item as a separate international delivery.
I bet more stuff goes out of that Ireland warehouse and straight on to the ferry, than stays in Ireland.

I send stuff I sell on eBay by a better level of postal service than Apple sent my copy of panther.

And now with this postal strike in most of the country, anyone who hasn't got it yet is screwed until it's over.

[WJMoore]

Originally posted by kelp:
Seems like a problem with Royal Mail.

Except despite the thread title I am in Australia and my order was shipped via courier.

[vickys_box]

I tend to order hardware from AppleStore (especially for BTO, and the fact that you don't get stock that's been lying around for weeks). I recently got a 12" Powerbook shipped by Apple from Taiwan to Inverness in six days, which included a weekend. However, I always by Apple software from other suppliers.

I ordered Panther from Gordon Harwood, and it shipped on the evening of 24th. Arrived at my place the following Tuesday by ParcelForce.

[Parky]

Here's a quick update :-

I ordered on the 8th Oct

Apple said it shipped on the 22nd Oct

Nothing arrived on the 24th Oct.

I called Apple on the 27th Oct to cancel my order, they refused and said you can't cancel if goods have shipped. I pointed out that the Terms and conditions say you can cancel anytime before delivery, they still refused to cancel or let me speak to anyone about Panther (email sales support only)

I contacted my local Trading Standards people who looked at the T&C's and said that Apple had broken them. They raised the issue with the London Trading Standards who would take it up with Apple. I emailed Apple and pointed all this out.

On Tuesday 28th Oct I had a call from Apple, a man said that the 'unable to cancel' was a mistake and the individual would be dealt with', they offered to said a copy via express, but as I was on holiday from that afternoon until Saturday (hence no posts), there was no point as I expected the posted copy to arrive by then.

Of course as well all now know copies have still not arrived, so here is my plan :-

1. I call Apple in the morning to cancel the order as I am allowed to do.

2. I suspect they will still refuse as it is policy and not an individual as they tried to tell me.

3. If cancelation is refused I will report them again to Trading Standards.

4. I will call Apple and tell them what is happening, I have an extenstion number to use with option '3' at the Apple Store, this number takes me to the person who called me last week.

5. I will request a copy is sent to me via next day courier or I will cancel the order. If the orginal copy arrives as far as I am concerned it is unsolicited mail and if Apple want it they can come and collect it, I am not wasting any more of my time dealing with it.

I realise that some people are now happy that Apple have dealt with their problem, but it has not been done in an equal and fair way. Some have had calls with appolgies, copies sent via TNT, etc. It is a complete mess and will make many people think twice about using the Apple Store for purchases.

I for one will never use the Apple Store again.

Ian

[Back-to-Mac]

There are two main reasons for the Panther shipping delay.

1. The strikes affecting the Royal Mail...getting pretty bad now

2. The fact that apple UK runs from the Republic of Ireland. IMHO I feel that Apple should be based on the UK main land and would enhance the whole shipping proceedure. But, there are huge tax breaks for Apple being based in Eire.

[Parky]

There are other reasons as well :-

1. Apple using Parcel Post in the first place, knowing that they would never deliver to the advertised date.

2. They will not deal with customers on the telephone abiut the problem, adding to the delays by using email as the only communication.

3. They did not actually ship until after the 24th in some cases, even though they cailmed to have shipped on the 22nd.

We should not let Apple off the hook on this one, by blaming a UK postal strike that at the time did not cover most of the UK. Apple know how long things take to reach the UK from Eire, they have been there long enough.
They managed to send out the 10.2 update via a timed delivery method, i.e. a courier. It is simply a joke for them to claim that people prefer a 10 day postal service to a next day delivery service. The bottom line is that it is cheaper for Apple. They even have the cheek to charge �4.50 delivery for items under �66, when the actual costs can be well below �2.00 for parcel post.

Ian

[Hamgard]

Originally posted by Parky:

We should not let Apple off the hook on this one, by blaming a UK postal strike that at the time did not cover most of the UK. Apple know how long things take to reach the UK from Eire, they have been there long enough.
They managed to send out the 10.2 update via a timed delivery method, i.e. a courier. It is simply a joke for them to claim that people prefer a 10 day postal service to a next day delivery service. The bottom line is that it is cheaper for Apple. They even have the cheek to charge �4.50 delivery for items under �66, when the actual costs can be well below �2.00 for parcel post.

Ian [/B]

Too b****y right. Together we have some clout in this: we have ALL been messed about by Apple to an unacceptable extent.

I would have accepted that my order was placed after many mentioned here (21 October) and if I'd had to wait my turn - no trouble. But to have been told of shipment on 24 October then again on 30 October after I challenged Apple Store about the issue is dishonest.

The shipping method is unacceptably poor; my ebay trading is more efficient - I'd get negative feedback if it weren't!!

I love Apple kit and have used nothing else since '86 but this is an outrage and is testing my loyalty. Not so much the c**k up itself, but how it has been handled. Do you get the sense that we are valued customers?

We should be after redress that will result in sharper trading in the future: other etailers, retailers survive on high quality customer service. Why not Apple!!??

[sjt]

It's the 2nd of November...
I placed my order on the 8th of October, got shipping notification on the 21st of October by Parcel Post. The email said it would take 10 days to ship.
If I'm lucky I'll get it a month after I ordered.

Just checked the Irish Post Office prices, �1.70 for 2-3 day priority delivery for a package of 500g.
This 10 day delivery crap is just unbelievable.

Complaint is winging it's way now.

[sjt]

Email sent:

Dear Sir/Madam

I'm writing to complain about the poor customer service myself and many others have received for orders of Mac OS X 10.3.

Having pre-ordered Panther on the 8th of October, I was notified of shipping on the 21st of October.
There were prominent advertisements stating that Panther would arrive by the evening of the 24th of October as the enclosed advert clearly shows, however the shipping email informed me that I would have to wait up to 10 days from the 21st. This is false advertising.
It is now the 2nd of November, nearly a month after I placed my order.

Further research has led me to discover that although Apple UK was using Parcel Post to deliver Panther with a deliver time of 10 days, it could have opted for priority delivery with a 2-3 day delivery time for a mere �1.70 (�2.60) from the Irish Post Office ( http://www.letterpost.ie/postcalc/postcalc.html ).
Having spent several thousand pounds with Apple over my long period as an Apple user I find it totally unacceptable that Apple should quibble over such a small sum, for a product that costs from �70 up to �130.
I am considering contacting both the Advertising Standards Agency and my credit card company to claim a refund on an undelivered product.

--
Sincerely

Sam Thorne

[Parky]

Well said Sam, make sure you send a copy to..

[email protected]

These things do get read, maybe not by Steve, but I got my .Mac membership for free after mailing to that address.

If anyone has any problems with trying to cancel an order for Pather even though it has shipped, make sure you contact Trading Standards as Apple's Term and Conditions clearly state you can cancel 'anytime before delivery'.

Apple called me to confirm this, but I suspect the are still saying cancellation is not possible.

Ian

[WJMoore]

It finally arrived!
This post brought to you by Panther�. Initial impressions are very good.

[graemep]

Wow I didn't know that people in the UK were having so much trouble getting Panther.

I ordered it on the 15th and it got delivered on the 24th by TNT.

I live in the middle of nowhere in Norfolk.

Maybe the fact that I ordered a firewire hard drive with it made a difference.

[Parky]

As of 9:42 on Monday 3rd Nov, I have still not received a copy of Panther from the UK Apple Store.

They do not reply to emails on an individual basis, they do not speak to you on the phone about Panther delivery problems either.

They are the worst e-commerce retailer I have ever dealt with, and I use a lot.

Ian

[ninthart]

Originally posted by Parky:
As of 9:42 on Monday 3rd Nov, I have still not received a copy of Panther from the UK Apple Store.

Yup, me too. I've gone from being bemused, angry, livid and now, finally, resigned. I had an email that fobbed me off from the Apple store, so I'm just waiting for the ten days to be up so that I can get one via courier. I should have gone to John Lewis. They had tens of copies in there...

[mikerally]

Hi guys, just for your information I ordered Panther on the Apple Store UK on October 8th through the website.

I received shipping notice on Wednesday 22nd October.

And I received Panther first thing in the morning via Royal Mail parcel post on Saturday 25th October.

I live in North London.

[Parky]

Lucky you

[swiftp]

Parcel post delivered on Saturday morning. TNT delivered Monday morning - never rains...!

Now I have got to send one back. I'll wait a couple of days though.

p

[Annihialator]

Originally posted by swiftp:

Now I have got to send one back.

Why?

[ids]

Happy happy joy joy.

A nice TNT van has just brought me a Panther dispatched on Friday to replace the one lost in the postal ether.

[smw]

Very happy!

Panther and a nice Apple wireless keyboard delivered this morning.

Can't wait to install Panther.

PS Ordered on the 9th October

[schuey100]

TNT tried to deliver today but I was out

Grrr..

[drlunanerd]

8 copies of Panther ordered on October 20 via the Apple Education Store, to be delivered to me in London.

They've only just arrived this afternoon, November 3, via TNT Economy Express.

[Parky]

Nothing here at close of play on Monday 3rd.

I have emailed Apple twice today :-

One to tell them that the phone number in the Invoice they sent me was incorrect - they replied to that one.

The other requesting they contact me about my missing copy of Panther - so far no reply.

The really is poor service, to be honest I don't know why I expected more, they have treated UK Apple users badly for years.

I have really lost all interest in Apple now, what is the point about getting excited about new software or hardware when Apple consistently fail to delivery, or delivery shoddy goods like the 15" Powerbooks.

I have two machines that I can get many years use out of once they are updated to 10.3, I don't intend to buy a new machine from Apple again. I used to upgrade every year or 18 months, but now I will stay with what I have.
When I feel the need to update, I will probably move to Windows, as the Mac market will be even smaller by then.

It's a shame Apple feel it is OK to treat people like this, as a once true supporter they have now lost me forever. I will no longer sit and watch Steve on his keynote address, hanginmg on to every word he says, as for us in the UK it usually ends in disapointment.

Remember how we all felt when we found out iTunes Store was US only, how iPhoto prints were coming soon, how Panther would be delivered on the 24th Oct, how non US .Mac users get a worse deal than those in the US but we pay the same. it goes on and on.

I'm sure Panther will be great and it will make my wonderful iMac and Powerbook feel like new machines, but they will be my last from Apple.

Ian