grrrrrrr...

let us discuss bad customer service. last wednesday at something like 10am, i ordered some little black boots for the critter from livie & luca, whose shoes i love. i paid for 2-3 day shipping so they would be here in time for him to wear them for pictures today. i figured--they are a little boutique store--they'll ship the next day and get here saturday or monday at the latest, right? i get email from livie & luca on thursday saying they have shipped and including a USPS tracking number. so far, so good. and yet--no shoes do i have. i got online this morning (and a few minutes ago) to check the tracking, and the USPS gives me this message:

The U.S. Postal Service was electronically notified by the shipper on December 10, 2009 to expect your package for mailing. This does not indicate receipt by the USPS or the actual mailing date. Delivery status information will be provided if / when available. Information, if available, is updated periodically throughout the day. Please check again later.

hmmmmm. so i wait a few and check again--same message. so i call livie & luca, and there's no answer. hmmmm. so i email them, and have yet to receive any response. i've tried to call 4 other times today, and i just get a recorded message. so i tried calling the USPS, and got no further--they tell me the shipping info for my package is "not available right now". what. the. fuck.

and i realize this is just shoes. but come on, people. we will live without the shoes, but i think this level of service is just unacceptable. and you would think that a small independent company like this would be BETTER than some big box company to whom you are just a number. sadly, it just doesn't seem to be the case.

ok--i'm done ranting now. i still hope the damned shoes come today.

UPDATE: the shoes arrived, in spite of my rant and the utter lack of tracking available at the usps. they're awesome.