Question: I shipped my board yesterday / last Friday/ MM/DD/YY.
Did you receive it? / Have you had a chance to look at it yet? / Just checking on your progress / etc.
Answer:
While we may be technically able to verify if the board has already arrived at our shop we do not currently offer or provide such information.
Here is why:
1) We do not presently have a system that scans boards upon arrival and register the fact in a database allowing for an easy reference. Daily arrivals just get placed in a FIFO queue from which they get picked by service technicians for processing.
It takes 2-3 business days on average (coronavirus update: 3-5 business days) for a package to move its way up to the top of the queue. That time fluctuates based on a number of factors - some under our control and others beyond our control.
In a better world we should have knowledge of every package from the moment it enters our facility to the moment it leaves it.
In our real world we are too busy trying to empty the queue so that everyone gets their board faster and do not see immediate benefit in a mere confirmation a package has been received, so that particular improvement is not with high priority.
2) The arrival of a package can be fairly easily verified by carrier's tracking information.
If a carrier says they've delivered a package to us then it is nearly 100% certain we have it.
Mistakes are fairly rare and if we scan boxes it will only help improve those very rare cases when a package is mis-delivered or mis-reported (i.e. carrier says it was delivered, but it wasn't actually delivered).
Or if the sender does not have tracking information, but if you do not have your own package's tracking number, then you shouldn't be much surprised if we do not know when exactly the package arrives, right?
3) It doesn't bring neither us nor customers any practical value knowing that a package has arrived if that only confirms carrier's information.
If carrier says package was delivered and we say it is not with us (which has actually happened a few times) customers naturaly believe and quote carrier anyway and tell us to go find it. Carrier usually tells us to ask neighbours and driver and package usually shows up within a few days, most likely returned by another business where it was left by mistake.
In either case all we can do is wait a few extra days, which would anyway happen if the package is in the queue and we're waiting for its processing.
4) Often enough people call us before the package has actually arrived. That means scanning through the queue for nothing.
This is why our site asks for a tracking number of the package being sent for the repair service ticket opened.
All customers want their board(s) processed and returned ASAP. It is logical we want that too.
And that is what we try to do.
Give us the average 2-3 business days of time after the board's arrival to do what we're good at and then, if you haven't received any communication from us feel free to call or email.
