My GF, per my account, says it is set to be delivered this Friday. It also says to look out for important shipping updates. It is Wednesday, and I have heard nothing. I sent an email in twice with no response other than their auto system saying they are too busy to answer my email…
Any ideas?
I know there is a history with waiting for the GF to actually arrive but how accurate it the Est. Shipping Date on the website? Is this something that will keep changing and getting pushed off? Is there a better way to get in touch with a human at the office?
In my case, I got my email with the tracking number a couple of days before it arrived, may have actually been the day before. I’ve been hearing mixed things about who they are using for shipping these days, but it doesn’t hurt to sign up for both a free version of UPS my choice, and a FedEx account. I have apps for both on my phone, and they automatically update with tracking numbers when something is being shipped to my address. I still have to manually open the apps to see if something is coming, but I’m not stuck waiting for an email this way.
Thank you for the info. I set them both up just in case.
I just think its strange that no one that i have emailed can just send me a yes or no back…I don’t care if its running late. I understand GF is a newer company. I’m super excited for my GF but I understand if there are delays…just tell me. As someone that works in customer services, the worst thing you can do to a paying customer is not tell them no, its to not tell them anything.
Totally agree with you. Multiple times I’ve waited days without a response, even had my query overlooked while others were receiving answers rather frequently. Their customer service excels at some things, especially when it comes to getting a warranty out, but when it comes to general questions and responses, they tend to fall short. Hang in there, hope it was worth the wait when you do receive it!
this seems to be the best way to get notified. GF seems to miss on sending out shipment notifications sometimes, which is a little annoying. but if you’re having it delivered to a residential address (UPS at least doesn’t work with business addresses, not sure about Fedex), as soon as someone fills out a shipment ticket, it shows up in your account. often before any company tells you. i have an ikea shipment (more shelves for my ivar to hold more laserable material!) that showed up in fedex before i heard from ikea. we’ll see if fedex still delivers it today (out for delivery on the truck, but i have 3-4 in of snow and now a wintery mix falling on top of that).
i think that’s my biggest worry. with all the snow in Wisconsin i want someone to be at home for this so its not just sitting outside. I can take off of work but i don’t just want to ASSUME it will be here on that date. i just wanted confirmation. Just wanted to know others experiences since i feel like i’m not the only one with this issue
In the same boat… says 22nd but nothing on shipping yet. I figured perhaps they use expidited shipping and subsequently that I might not receive the notice until today or tomorrow. If I don’t receive some update by EOD tomorrow I will start ringing alarm bells.
Having been on the other side and worked with delivery of expensive and hotly awaited - oft delayed consumer technology products I sympathize with the folks at Glowforge and can imagine things are insane on their end. That said…
I would like to say out loud that the customer support and pre-delivery process could be improved here and doing so would be of long-term strategic benefit. I’m still a bit uneasy about the fact that there is no way to contact a real live human at glowforge, even via chat. For all you people that say “that’s just how they do business” - I don’t think that’s a legitimate round of logic. Again I’ve worked in bleeding edge tech, never have I heard of total abandonment of human contacts, maybe at the sales but not at the support level - at least not in a product so expensive. From experience, providing basic proactive support on the front end can build excitement and can go a long way towards improving brand loyalty - even with faces with the occasional production delay or product issue.
I probably would have already spent more money on accessories and proofgrade stock if I wasn’t a little sketched by pre-delivery. If nothing else, by providing a more detailed “pizza tracker” type pre-delivery that provides incremental (sometimes even superficial) progress updates to placate the curious waiting customer. This would likely drastically reduce their inbound “where is my machine” tickets.
Anyhow I’m optimistic shipping details will come soon, the machine will arrive on time, and that this hiccup will be quickly forgotten once awesome things start coming out of the Glowforge.
Okay. this makes me feel better and that I’m not alone in this 22nd delivery date.
I legit sent an email in this morning in response to the one guy that acknowledged my existence last week saying “blink twice if you still exist, email back if you know my tracking info” I feel that after spending $2500 I shouldn’t have to send out signal flares…but here we are.
I just wanna know if it will be at my door on Friday and if I can start cutting things or not! I have so many projects and I know I will forget about delivery issues once it’s here…
just throw me a bone @dan and blink twice if you’re alive!
They really do need to explain this a little bit better somewhere, because we frequently have to explain that the date that you see on the web site is a target date for your units to ship out. It’s not set it stone, it’s an estimate based on a computer algorithm that calculates when your unit is likely to be ready to ship, based on a lot of variables going on at the factory and with the supply chain.
Having said that, if you are getting close to the date and it hasn’t shifted, Congratulations! You will probably be hearing from them soon!
When your unit has been built and is ready to go, you should receive an email from Glowforge verifying your address information along with instructions first…(I think…keep in mind we didn’t do it this way.) Then your unit will ship and you will receive it depending on how far away you are from the factory in California where they make them, what the weather conditions look like across the country, and whatnot. New units ship via UPS ground…you will definitely want to sign up for UPS MyChoice if you want to track the actual arrival. (Sometimes Glowforge gets the arrival notice out to you after it has already arrived, which is kind of amusing. Given the excitement of arrival, no one really cares by that point.)
Anyway, now is a really good time to prep your area for it’s arrival. Get the table ready. Get your vent port set up if you are doing one so that you can set it up and go.
Also a good time to read through the “Getting Started” training here so you can hit the ground running.
I did finally get a message back about 5 minutes ago:
I am terribly sorry for the delayed response.
Unfortunately, your order has not yet shipped. I have followed up with our logistics team for an update, and we will send you tracking information immediately when your order ships.
More soon,
Ryan
@hunterjhnstn so your aware, I bet you are in the same boat.
thank you Jules. its hard to order something this expensive and just wait with no feedback from the company other than the charge to my card lol at this point anything is better than nothing!
hahahahhahahaha i can only imagine. I remember seeing this come out a few years back before i had money to just throw at it. If your from the original kickstarter group, i’m proud you survived! That must of been exhausting!! I can barely complain seeing I ordered mine a little over a month ago. I have read a ton and have a lot of stuff just ready to start printing to test.
they SHOULDN’T be leaving it at your door w/o a signature. it’s a signature required shipment.
personally, both shipments (the original 15 months ago and the repair arriving back tomorrow) i have had held at the shipment company. UPS originally (more of a pain, further drive) and Fedex tomorrow (only 3-4 miles away). that means i don’t have to be home all day waiting to sign for it. i just pick it up on my way home from work.
it also means it doesn’t ride around in the back of a last-mile delivery truck all day and get manhandled 1-2 more times before i get it.
!!!
