THE MISSING RAIN BARREL

A few weeks ago, I ordered a second 50 gallon rain storage barrel from WalMart.  The first one is pictured above, and is feed by a down spout from our front patio awning. 

One of the good things about today's technology, is the fact that you can track packages, and better determine when they are going to arrive, either at your mailbox, post office box, or on your doorstep.  On Dec 6th, or maybe it was the 7th, I checked on the status of this second rain barrel that was shipped via FedEx by WalMart.  The tracking history showed that FedEx left the large box on our doorstep at 11:51am on Dec 5th.   Wait a minute!  A box that big doesn't go unnoticed, and how can the tracking show it as delivered, when it wasn't delivered?  The chances of someone passing by and helping themselves is next to impossible, given our considerable distance away from the road, and a locked gate.  So what's the deal?  Did the driver leave it at another address, or?

A call to the local FedEx facility started an investigation, and an inquiry with the driver that supposedly delivered the box.  About 3 days later, on the 9th or 10th, FedEx got back to us and said that "the driver can't shed any new light on the delivery", and as far as they were concerned, the case was closed.  They suggested that we contact WalMart, tell them of the circumstances, and were pretty sure that WalMart would send us another rain barrel.  It would then be up to WalMart to file a claim with FedEx for the cost of the second shipment. 

Last Friday, I contacted a very nice customer service rep. at WalMart, and explained the situation.  I was told that another rain barrel would be shipped that day, and they would even update the delivery option to a two day shipment.  She explained that this sort of thing happens on a fairly frequent basis, and unless the item cost is over a certain amount, WalMart simply absorbs the cost, and doesn't even file a claim with the shipper.  Yesterday afternoon, when we returned from a trip downtown, the second rain barrel box was sitting on the patio next to the front door.  That's pretty good service from a business that had no responsibility for the missing item.  That leads me to wonder what happened to the missing rain barrel?  Did it indeed get delivered to another address, and that residence got a free rain barrel.  Or, did the FedEx driver see the locked gate (which you can walk around), and decided the heck with that, and kept the package.  Or........who knows what other scenario might have played out?   Bottom line is that WalMart stepped up to the plate, and deserves credit for correcting a mistake made by FedEx.

The missing rain barrel on the back deck.