Just got home from picking up some dvds from JAC and I just had to post this... since It's been happening before but I just got extra pissed tonight because of Amazon's stupidity.
Well, to start it off, I ordered 6 dvds from Amazon (M.A.S.H., 3-Iron, Bad Education, All About My Mother, Happy Times, and Man Without a Past). Amazon decided to ship my 6-item order into three shipments in this order (M.A.S.H), (3-Iron, Bad Education, All About My Mother), and (Happy Times, Man Without a Past). Amazon shipped them a few days apart and USPS tracking showed they arrived in JAC NY in the same week. So I called JAC-Greenbelt to consolidate the orders since it would be hefty to pay three handling fees for well, one order. Aura politely told me that the cut off period for consolidation is Monday to Saturday or something to that effect, so I agreed. I waited till all three shipments got in to pick them up, ready to cough up three handling fees (yes, even for that little tiny box they put M.A.S.H. in) and the freight charges.
I got into Megamall ready to pick them up. I was asked to pay the 1lb fee for the box that contained the single DVD, 2lbs fee for the box that contained three dvds, and a 3lb fee for the last box that contained 2 dvds. Now, since I've experienced before that what usually is written in the invoice is not the accurate weight (yes, I know aobut their two weighing methods and I've considered that fact too), I asked them to reweigh the two big boxes. The 3dvd box weighed 1.2lbs and the 2dvd box weighed less than a pound. Moreover, their control numbers didn't match. I contested the amount I had to pay because I honestly thought it was unfair to charge me something more than what really is so they advised me to come back. I came back a few hours later, they appropriately changed the 3dvd box to 1.5lbs and asked me to return another time for the 2dvd box since there was some sort of error somewhere. I paid my dues and annoyedly left Megamall as I thought I would be able to get my entire order. My main complaint now is this - what if I was not the careful type who would examine each and every order? I would blindly pay a lot more than what I really should pay? It's happened before, I had to pay the 3lbs fee for a package that weighed 2lbs and I just let it go since the people in Mega can't do anything about it since the weighing was just given to them. I appreciate the good service and expediency and efficiency JAC has been providing me but I just hope they'd be more careful in their weighing methods and most importantly, in doing their accounts. I would have to go back to Mega another time just to pick up the other package I had to leave behind because of their error, and I still have to pay a handling fee for that when I was also delayed because of their obvious error.
Lessons learned:
1) Don't order DVDs at Amazon and have them shipped through JAC. Amazon is bound to split your orders and make you pay a lot more than what you'll usually pay the customs officials in your post office.
2) Always, always, always check the weight of your package before claiming your package. If you have a complaint regarding the incongruent weights, don't rushly get it... It maybe just $5.50 but that's still a lot of money.
Anyway, now that I have expressed my gripe, I can go back to my old jolly self and be thankful for the existence of JAC who will always understand the needs and worries of its clients.