I ordered a book on Flipkart.com (at full price, i.e., 0 discount) along with a couple of other things. This book had a similar delivery date to the rest of the order, however, it did not ship at all.
...
...
When other parts of the order got shipped but not this book, I wrote to Flipkart asking for an explanation.
Customer "Support": This is to notify you that the shipment of the above mentioned product may be delayed by an additional 3-4 business days.
Me: Are you sure that you will be able to deliver the book and this is just a delay? In that case I am ok to wait. If however, you are unsure of delivering the book and there is a possibility that you will refuse the order after a few days, I would like to cancel right away and get the book directly from Scholastic. Please let me know as this is a hard to find book and I do not want to miss the opportunity of getting it.
Flipkart Customer "Support": This is to inform you that there has been an unexpected delay in having this order shipped to you. As per our records, the above mentioned book is expected to get shipped on September 03, 2012.
Naturally, I assumed this meant that Flipkart was sure about delivering the book, just that it was taking longer than usual, so I decided to wait.
...
Me: My order is due to be shipped today but the website is not yet updated
with any shipping details. Please confirm that you are able to send me
the book.
Customer "Support": We would like to inform you that as per our records, the above mentioned
book is expected to get shipped by the end of the day today.
Me: I have not yet received any shipping information for ... -- which, after multiple delays, was due to ship yesterday.
Customer "Support": This is to inform you that there has been an unexpected delay in having
this order shipped to you. We have escalated this issue and the
concerned team is looking into the challenges involved which has caused
the delay. Kindly provide us one business day within which the
concerned team would get in touch with you by email or a call with an
update on the status of this order.
...
End of the business day, no response from Flipkart.
Completely inept handling of my order by Flipkart and it's Customer "Support". I am now poorer by the cost of the book and have lost the window of opportunity of getting it directly from Scholastic.
Flipkart is now relegated to the list of online websites that are inefficient and inept at handling orders (I've had similar issues post payment with Indiaplaza and now Flipkart).
Websites I've had non-problematic experiences with (in random order):
- Uread.com
- Landmarkonthenet.com
- Firstcry.com
- Infibeam.com
- Bookadda.com
- Madratgames.com
So, dear readers of this blogpost, beware of Flipkart. They offer nothing new or different from the rat-race of online inefficiency in India and are no longer the lowest when it comes to price either.
