hismastersvoice
Well-known member
I recently purchased Sean's Hoover 450 (which has been wonderfully cleaned, polished, and serviced by Will). He had intended on listing it on eBay, but I made him an offer he couldn't refuse!
Anyway, after the Mini-Meet at Sean's house, he carefully packaged everything up, putting the handle in a shipping tube, the base in one box, and the accessories and bag in another. This was a 3-piece FedEx shipment, which should in theory all stay together in transit.
Fast forward to delivery day...I see that the packages have been delivered via the FedEx tracking website. I count down the minutes until I get home so I can open my new toy. I pull into the driveway and see the three boxes, nothing unusual. I walk up to the porch, and unlock the door. I then picked up the boxes and moved them into the house, one by one. When I got to the last piece, the shipping tube, I picked it up and noticed it felt extremely light. My eyes quickly darted to the end of the tube, which did not have a cap, and the tape holding it on had been sheered off by rough handling. I peered inside the tube to confirm my worst fear....EMPTY.
Despite the pit in my stomach, and the realization that I'd probably never see the handle again, I called Sean, and then I called FedEx. We both opened a case and were told we would hear back from someone tomorrow. Despite my extreme sadness and reluctance to open the other boxes, knowing that I wouldn't be able to use it, I proceeded to do so anyway, if nothing else to make sure nothing else was damaged. I opened one of the larger boxes and discovered....KIRBY PARTS! I had forgotten that I had some goodies coming, which I would have normally been excited about, except that meant yet another piece of my beautiful new Hoover was missing. I opened the third box, and the machine itself was safe and sound.
So, I called FedEx to update my case and let them know that not only did they lose the contents of one of the boxes, there was an entire box missing as well. While I was on the line trying not to lose my temper, I had another call ring in. I switched over and it was FedEx. They FOUND the handle, and it was in my local shipping center, waiting at the front desk for me to pick it up. The missing box apparently got held up at the Airport and wouldn't arrive until the following day.
I got in my car and drove there as fast as I could. I got there, ran in the door and saw a 4' bubble wrapped stick in the corner. I told the woman at the desk that I was there to pick up the item, and off I went. I can't help but wonder how on earth such a large item slid out of a 48" tube without anyone noticing, and how the driver delivered an empty tube without noticing as well.
Now for the happy ending: the third box was waiting on the porch when I returned home today, I raced inside and put the Hoover together and fired it up. I just love it. One of the most beautiful Vacuums I've seen, the Art Deco motif on the top of it really catches the eye. Everything is all original, from the Hoover stamped plug and retractable bag strap, to the seemingly unused accessories. It even has the owners manual!
A big thanks to Sean for so carefully packaging everything, and helping solve the mystery with FedEx, and another big thanks to Will for doing such a great job restoring it!
Anyway, after the Mini-Meet at Sean's house, he carefully packaged everything up, putting the handle in a shipping tube, the base in one box, and the accessories and bag in another. This was a 3-piece FedEx shipment, which should in theory all stay together in transit.
Fast forward to delivery day...I see that the packages have been delivered via the FedEx tracking website. I count down the minutes until I get home so I can open my new toy. I pull into the driveway and see the three boxes, nothing unusual. I walk up to the porch, and unlock the door. I then picked up the boxes and moved them into the house, one by one. When I got to the last piece, the shipping tube, I picked it up and noticed it felt extremely light. My eyes quickly darted to the end of the tube, which did not have a cap, and the tape holding it on had been sheered off by rough handling. I peered inside the tube to confirm my worst fear....EMPTY.
Despite the pit in my stomach, and the realization that I'd probably never see the handle again, I called Sean, and then I called FedEx. We both opened a case and were told we would hear back from someone tomorrow. Despite my extreme sadness and reluctance to open the other boxes, knowing that I wouldn't be able to use it, I proceeded to do so anyway, if nothing else to make sure nothing else was damaged. I opened one of the larger boxes and discovered....KIRBY PARTS! I had forgotten that I had some goodies coming, which I would have normally been excited about, except that meant yet another piece of my beautiful new Hoover was missing. I opened the third box, and the machine itself was safe and sound.
So, I called FedEx to update my case and let them know that not only did they lose the contents of one of the boxes, there was an entire box missing as well. While I was on the line trying not to lose my temper, I had another call ring in. I switched over and it was FedEx. They FOUND the handle, and it was in my local shipping center, waiting at the front desk for me to pick it up. The missing box apparently got held up at the Airport and wouldn't arrive until the following day.
I got in my car and drove there as fast as I could. I got there, ran in the door and saw a 4' bubble wrapped stick in the corner. I told the woman at the desk that I was there to pick up the item, and off I went. I can't help but wonder how on earth such a large item slid out of a 48" tube without anyone noticing, and how the driver delivered an empty tube without noticing as well.
Now for the happy ending: the third box was waiting on the porch when I returned home today, I raced inside and put the Hoover together and fired it up. I just love it. One of the most beautiful Vacuums I've seen, the Art Deco motif on the top of it really catches the eye. Everything is all original, from the Hoover stamped plug and retractable bag strap, to the seemingly unused accessories. It even has the owners manual!
A big thanks to Sean for so carefully packaging everything, and helping solve the mystery with FedEx, and another big thanks to Will for doing such a great job restoring it!
