12/28: Ordered Lapdock 100. It's listed under the "Everything Must Go" section of site. Order confirmation states it can take "up to six business days to ship."
1/4: Send e-mail to Daily Steals asking if/when my Lapdock will ship. Yeah I understand it hasn't been "six business days" but when they stated its "up to" I kinda want to know when I would get my Lapdock. Especially since they already have my money.
1/6: Finally get response back from "W" saying that because its under "The Heist" section that it won't ship out until "six business days after the deal ends." Apparently their customer service doesn't even research what product is under what section of their own site as I stated above it's listed under "Everything Must Go." I write back to correct this. No response at all from "Whitley" or anyone else on this.
1/7: Order the HD Docking Station with three USB ports on the back (refurbished) from seller PruneDanish on eBay. Why am I mentioning this? You'll understand in a bit.
1/8: HD Docking Station ships from PruneDanish.
1/9: Now that's its long past "six business days" I e-mail again asking the status on my Lapdock. When I sent the e-mail their order status showed "open." About several hours later I get a response back from "M" saying that my order is shipped along with the tracking number.
1/11: UPS drops Lapdock 100 off. Daily Steals mailed this in a UPS Express Box that has no padding or anything to cushion it during shipping. Thankfully the Lapdock itself is complete in the Verizon retail box which offers a little protection. Upon opening the plastic wrap is still intact around the lapdock which should be a good sign, right? But then I notice a significant dent/scratch mark on the opening lid of the Lapdock. I plug in the Lapdock and follow the instructions in the manual on getting it to work. Hook my RAZR in and opened it up. Absolutely nothing happens. So I let it sit for a good hour before trying again. Still nothing. I finally hit the button to check the battery life. Nothing happens. I even try to reset the unit with the reset button on the bottom. Let it sit for ten minutes. Still dead.
I call Motorola to ask them if there's anything I can do. Didn't get the woman's name I spoke to but she quickly figured out based upon what I tell her that the battery inside the unit is dead. She offered to send me a box to send the unit to them so they can either fix it or give me an entirely new Lapdock. She also told me that the package would be mailed out Monday via FedEx Overnight so I would have it Tuesday along with the return shipping would be also Overnight so once they have the Lapdock it would take up to five business days.
Off topic but interesting Jelly Bean side story while waiting for her computer to process the repair order I talked up a bit on the Jelly Bean "release" we got a few weeks ago. She mentioned that the real release could happen between now to the end of March (as in quarter 1) but then said "don't be surprised if you get it sooner rather than later." She said at this point from her knowledge it's fine tuning things and getting Verizon's approval for release but at this point the proper JB kernel is (to her knowledge again) been in the recent test builds. Take all of this for what its worth.
Oh and remember that HD Docking Station I ordered on 1/7 from PruneDanish. That also arrived today. Okay it wasn't the greatest packaging job ever - it came in a silver bag with the dock and stuff inside a box but hey guess what.. THE DOCK WORKS! Manual, wall adapter, and even HDMI cable also included. $18 for it by the way. Great deal.
1/14: For some odd reason I get two e-mails with two different tracking numbers from Motorola. I call up to figure out what's going on. They have no clue but assure that I will have a package. I do mention to the rep I spoke to about the dent/scratch mark. He said that might "void the warranty" even though I personally didn't cause the damage. In that case then I might be responsible for paying for the repair out of my pocket. I asked if that's the case will I be allowed to speak to someone at Motorola in regards to this to explain to them that damage was there when I got the Lapdock 100. He didn't answer me on that but instead just insisted that they would let me know if they'll go ahead with the repair.
I sent another e-mail to Daily Steals in regards to me getting a defective Lapdock along with being very frustrated with the long wait for shipping. In fact here's what I wrote as I saved a copy before sending it out:
I just want to tell you how upset I am over this entire experience. First of all in this modern era of quick handling that great companies like Amazon provide taking two weeks just to ship my product is absolutely inexcusable no matter how great the deal is. Let alone after two weeks to send me a product that has both physical damage and that doesn't even work. I paid good money for this Lapdock only for you to send me one that doesn't turn on or even charge the battery. Thankfully Motorola is very interested in repairing this for me but given the physical damage they might deny repair service. So just to let you know thanks for sending me something that not only doesn't work but now I am out of $50 and might not be able to get repaired. In other words I'll never do business with you again. And yes I am for sure will be making sure to tell others about this. That includes sites such as XDA, DroidRZR, and even The Consumerist. Good day!
I know that's probably not the most professional letter ever written but at this point I am beyond frustrated with this situation.
1/15: Box from Motorola arrives at 10 AM. Dropped off at 11 AM at local FedEx office.
1/16: As of writing this post not a word from Daily Steals in regards to the e-mail sent on 1/14. The FedEx tracker shows my package is on its way to Motorola's repair center in Elgin, IL.
I'll let you folks know what happens with the Motorola repair and if they are going fix it or try to screw me just because Daily Steals sent me a unit with a dent/scratch. But at this point I can tell you one thing already which is DO NOT BUY FROM DAILY STEALS.
