Miscellaneous Perceptions & Attitudes

* The Ick: I think I'm getting it. I feel like coughing...constantly. Like there's a little something that needs to come out. A tiny frog in my throat. CONSTANTLY! It's enough to drive me mad. And a slight fever? And chills. And a headache this morning, something fierce, that just disappeared out of the blue an hour later.
* Law Library: a fucking mess. It's going to require more work than I can even explain. So many multiple copies of so many things! So many missing volumes! So many titles that repeat information available in other titles! So much goddamned dust. So many 5"-wide books that weigh 10 pounds apiece. How am I supposed to make 1800 out of 2500?! I don't think that I can!
* Vacation: 13 days away. I cannot wait to leave. Museums, beach, galleries, waterfront (the hotel has a water-taxi stand!), shopping, bars, day-trips to the Everglades? or the Keys?, restaurants (real Cuban food!).... T.O. and I were looking at Miami guide books last night at Barnes & Noble. Plotting our days. South Beach! Miami Beach! The Police Hall of Fame! It's going to be hard to drag myself onto the plane on Sunday (the 18th) to come back.
* Ikea: unbefuckinglievable. I think that my relations with Ikea are notorious by now, and I should've known that any attempt to make further purchases would be foolhardy. But I'm a Minnesotan, so I was hoping for the best. I placed a large online order. After going through the entire procedure (a standard multi-step process of choosing items and entering shipping and billing information), I received this message:
        "Due to a high volume of orders, we will contact you to confirm your order with the details about your delivery and total cost within 5 - 7 business days."
    Say what?! I just agreed to pay more than $30 in shipping for approximately $100 in merchandise, and they won't even contact me for a week?! But what could I do? I just tried to calm down and chalked it up to experience. Five days passed. Seven days passed. NINE days passed. And nothing! So I emailed using an obscure link at the bottom of the final screen that had come up when I ordered, which I'd printed (lucky for me). I wrote (politely, I thought):
        "I placed a web order on 3-13-04. Nine (9) days have passed since then. When will it be shipped, and when can I expect it to arrive?"
    In return, I received this:
        "Hello Amy,
Thank you for your recent e-Shop order.
Unfortunately, as of 3/13/04 20:54:25 [two] items are out of stock.
Since we are unable to complete your order as it was submitted, your e-Shop order has been cancelled. For information on how to place a backorder, please contact Home Shopping directly, at (800) 434-****. A Sales Advisor in this department will be more than happy to assist you.
We apologize for any inconvenience, and we thank you for visiting IKEA online.
Best Regards,
KRISTEN
IKEA e-Shop Sales"
    Say what?! By this time, I was livid. I talked myself down again, and wrote back:
        "Does this mean that NONE of the items will be shipped, or only the items that are in stock will ship?"
    I got this message in return:
        "Order Number: 20x Order Reference Number: EOx
Your merchandise will be held for you for 48 hours. If we do not receive a response from you confirming your order, your e-Shop order will be canceled. Your credit card will not be charged until the following charges are confirmed:
Subtotal: $70.45
Shipping & Handling: $37.16
Tax: $4.40
Order Total: $112.01
Here are two options for confirming your order:
1. Respond to this email by stating that you accept the above charges and we will use your credit card number ending with 4*** to process your order.
2. Call us at 1-800-434-IKEA (4532) with your order reference number. Our hours are : Monday - Saturday, 8am - 10pm EST or Sunday, 9am - 8pm EST."
    OK, so let me get this straight. I placed an order on the website. I am told that someone will contact me within 5-7 days, to let me know when it'll ship. I'm not contacted. I contact them. When I do, I'm told that part of it won't ship, and that the whole thing's been cancelled. When I ask for clarification, I'm told that if I confirm the order, I can actually get the whole thing, but only if I AGAIN take active measures and either email them back or call them to confirm that I wanted the goddamned things in the first place?!
    Fuck that! Needless to say, I didn't call or email. They can keep their merchandise, thanks, and screw themselves. Not like they haven't already. My advice: DO NOT BUY FROM IKEA. Any company that has such a pathetic attitude toward customer service (and online ordering, I might ad) does not deserve your business.
    I'm done grousing. Have a nice day.