Drama of the Cat Tree

All we really wanted for our new cat, Isabel, was a cat tree. One that she could find a place to hide and to be able to perch on to watch everything that was going on.

It all started the day we brought her home. That was on Wednesday, December 17th. As a family, we were all crowded around the computer looking at the various sites on line. The one we have pictured here is the one we liked best. And we looked at lots of different ones! But before we actually ordered it, Steve wanted to check out the ones here in town.

Now, you have to remember that the day we got Isabel, it had snowed just a little bit, enough to close the schools. Then on Thursday and Friday, we were snowed in! Friday, we managed to shovel the snow from our driveway and Steve was able to get out and about. One of his errands was to check out the local pet stores and see what they had and the prices. He came home not liking what he found...one of the stores had trees made of real trees...just a bit too natural for our home.

Then, on Saturday, the 20th, the weather held enough in the morning for us to travel to Gig Harbor for the Tart Christmas party. After we left the party, we made a quick stop at the Petco there as it was on our route to the freeway. We really were in and out of the store in under 10 minutes. The cat trees they had in the store we didn't like and it was a treat to see some in person that we saw online. So based on our research, we all decided that the best thing to do was to order the one online when we got home. It was on sale and it had free shipping!

The Cat Tree was ordered on the 20th, and on the 22nd I received an email from Petco that it had been shipped...they also gave us the code for us to watch the tracking. I have copied and pasted that info here:


Dec 30, 2008
2:10 AM
On FedEx vehicle for delivery
BURLINGTON, WA

Dec 29, 2008
5:40 AM
On FedEx vehicle for delivery
BURLINGTON, WA

Dec 27, 2008
7:01 AM
At local FedEx facility
BURLINGTON, WA


2:01 AM
Departed FedEx location
PORTLAND, OR

Dec 26, 2008
5:02 PM
Arrived at FedEx location
PORTLAND, OR

Dec 23, 2008
11:16 AM
Departed FedEx location
BLOOMINGTON, CA

Dec 22, 2008
6:16 PM
Arrived at FedEx location
BLOOMINGTON, CA


2:02 PM
Picked up
BLOOMINGTON, CA


11:48 AM
Package data transmitted to FedEx

We originally saw a projected delivery date of December 29th. Then it was moved to the 31st. Well, on the 31st, that was our day to be in Bellevue for a special hair cut. So Steve put a sticky note on the door frame (white on white) to let the FedEx delivery person know that it was okay to leave the package on our porch. When we got home, no package and the sticky note was taken off the door frame by Steve. By this time, the delivery date showed as Jan 2nd. Mind you, we have seen several FedEx trucks in the town, so we know that they are working hard (and are not blocked by remaining snow on the ground). However, around 1 pm on Friday, Steve calls FedEx Customer Service and they tell him that it should be delivered on Saturday. The rep even tried calling the Burlington facility, but it wasn't answering. Why the package was even in Burlington was a mystery to us as that is quite a ways north of us...

Those tracking logs also claim that it is still on a truck for delivery, but the last rep we talked to ensured us that it wasn't. So, it seems that the tracking site is telling a lie.

Anyway, Saturday morning...no package! Steve then makes more calls. This time the Customer Service Representative tells him completely different information and he realizes that he is getting the runaround. (We suspect at this time that the package has been lost, but they don't want to admit it.)

Now Steve does some research and gets the names of the CEO's/Presidents of both Petco and FedEx. Emails were sent to both of them explaining our situation. Also, a call to Petco was very cooperative and that they decided to send out another cat tree and if for some reason, we get two trees, to let them know and they will have FedEx come and retrieve it back. It will probably get shipped on this coming Monday. If our emails don't work, Steve wants to call one of our local TV news stations to see if they would be interested in our deliema. (We like watching "Get Jesse" on King 5 News.) One thing this tells us -- we will avoid FedEx Ground shipping in the future.

So, we (and our cat) are still waiting for the cat tree. To be continued...