Expecting April 3rd Delivery of Your Apple iPad? Yeah, Good Luck With That!

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Judie: When the April 3rd iPad release date was announced, there were more than a few of us left scratching our heads, although none of us thought too much about it … yet.

At first glance, a Saturday release coupled with Saturday delivery didn’t warrant much conversation; either you would go wait in line to get your iPad, or you would pre-order and have it delivered straight to you. But if you live in an area that doesn’t have an Apple store, much less one that doesn’t have Saturday delivery, it meant that a little bit of logistical planning might be necessary. No biggy; people like me that live in places like that are used to this!

FedEx, the company that has always delivered any of my Apple purchases ordered in the past, does not deliver in my area on Saturdays; their office in San Angelo however is open if there is something which needs to be shipped off or picked up. In the past, I have driven to Angelo when I had an item that was going to be delivered on Saturday, that I didn’t want to wait until Monday to receive. Sure it’s inconvenient, but it’s part of the price for living in the country; in other words, I don’t really mind.

Of the several iPods, three computers, one keyboard, and various charging cables that I have ordered directly from Apple in the past, all have been shipped FedEx. Here’s what I could pull up from the past 18 months to illustrate my point …

When I placed my iPad order however, I was surprised to see that UPS would be delivering, but certainly not disappointed or alarmed.

Ordering with expedited delivery was available for an extra $15, and since I had heard that UPS does deliver in some areas on Saturdays for an extra fee, I figured this might be good insurance. Heck, I was already spending $1400, what was another $15? Add it to my tab!

I shouldn’t have bothered.

Yesterday I got notice that my iPad had shipped from Shenzhen China, as usual, and it had an expected delivery date of April 3rd. Look, I knew it was unlikely that it would actually be delivered to my house out in the middle of a ranch pasture on any Saturday, much less the day before Easter, but I figured if nothing else I could pick it up from the UPS facility in San Angelo on Saturday … right?

Wrong.

UPS in San Angelo is not even open on Saturday, so not only is Saturday delivery not an option,  … neither is Saturday pickup.

So why did Apple choose to go with UPS, this one time that they were also doing a Saturday release and delivery date? As I said, every other Apple delivery I have ever had — including the keyboard from this very order — was shipped FedEx. I’m disappointed and slightly bummed that Apple would state April 3rd delivery and then go with a company that isn’t even open on Saturday, much less delivering.

But guess what? You don’t have to live in the middle of nowhere to be affected by this UPS dilemma.

Dan: Yup! So here I was making fun of Judie. I emailed “See what happens when you live in the middle of nowhere???” (Okay, the actual language I used was a bit more “pointed” and colorful”.

Then I thought to myself… “Self…” I asked, “What if… what if… you know, I had better check UPS myself.”

So I checked the Apple site. I was clear- “Delivery on April 3”

I checked the UPS site- “Package shipped from China…”

Then I called UPS.

It was then that my day got more than a bit worse.

The nice lady on the other side of the phone asked for the tracking number. She asked where it shipped from. She asked where it was going. Then she said, “Sorry sir we don’t have Saturday delivery in your area. WHAT?!?!?!? It  isn’t like I live on a Texas ranch. I live in suburban New Jersey. So I asked, “Where can I go to pick it up?” The nice woman on the other end said, “You can’t, none of our offices are open on Saturdays.”

So I asked when it would be delivered and she said, “Most likely the following Monday. But wait, let me check something.” She proceeded to ask me a number of questions. I answered each, but then said, “Ma’am under any conditions will I be able to get the package on Saturday?” She answered “No”, at which time I wondered why she was bothering to ask the questions and why I was taking the time to answer at all.

“OK, thanks” I said.

“I hope you have a nice day,” said she.

Yeah… it’s turning out just peachy.

So right now this seems to be the story: Apple usually ships FedEx. They aren’t perfect, but they are good enough, and FedEx does deliver on Saturday’s — or at least they have open centers where you can pick up your package if they don’t deliver in your area. My MacBook Air was one of the first to ship; it came on a Thursday. My iPhone 3GS came on a Friday. For some reason Apple switched to UPS from FedEx. They are reporting that the device will arrive ON April 3rd.

UPS tells me/us that isn’t possible, since they don’t deliver to Judie’s or my area on Saturdays.

What’s left to do??? I emailed Mr. Jobs.

We’ll let you know if he responds. If he does there is one thing that is for sure… the email will come from his iPad. Talk about putting salt in the wound!

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About the Author

Judie Lipsett Stanford
Judie is the co-owner and Editor-in-Chief of Gear Diary, which she founded in September 2006. She got her start in 1999 writing software reviews at the now-defunct smaller.com; from mid-2000 through 2006, she wrote hardware reviews for and co-edited at The Gadgeteer. A recipient of the Sigma Kappa Colby Award for Technology, Judie has written for or been profiled by nationally known sites and magazines, and she has served on multiple industry hardware and software award panels. She is best known for her device-agnostic approach, enjoyment of exploring tech, gadgets, and gear, and her deep-diving, jargon-free reviews.

2 Comments on "Expecting April 3rd Delivery of Your Apple iPad? Yeah, Good Luck With That!"

  1. This was on tuaw.com today: http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/30/dont-panic-over-these-ipad-delivery-exceptions/

    So, maybe there is hope for you guys after all.

  2. 😆 I wish! No, that only explains the exception I received later in the day, the one that got me on the phone in a fresh panic. 😉

    I will have my ordered iPad on Monday; I have been assured that there will be no cooperation with the local post office, that there is no Saturday delivery, and that the San Angelo UPS office is C-L-O-S-E-D. 😛

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