Surface Shipping Details (UK)

[rhodri22]

So, after a long talk with the UK customer support here in the UK, I've been informed that no Surface is being shipped for arrival on the 26th but all will be released from the warehouse on the 26th for arrival in the next few days of that date (but no later than the 30th)

 

[srmiller82]

Is that just for UK cause when i preordered mine said it would ship for arrival on 26th, i'll be pissed.

 

[rhodri22]

I don't know if it's just UK, but it's what the guy said referencing the UK on the UK support line. But yeah, mine said the same thing on the pre-order form too.

 

[Jips]

I had a strained chat with the UK customer support. The poor lady was foreign (Spanish I think) and it took quite a time to get her to understand.
Basically I preordered mine on the 17/10/2012 and was told delivery by 26/10/2012
Then the infamous mistake email came out saying 2/11/2012
This was followed up by another email saying the original date was correct.
The website still says 2/11/2012, but the lady on the phone said the original date was valid, being the 26/10/2012.
But...
She did also mention the 'between 26 and 30 October delivery'

Maybe this is a change then.

So confused, but even if it is the 2/11/2012, or 30/10 or 26/10, eventually it'll be here and I can start playing.

 

[rhodri22]

I had a strained chat with the UK customer support. The poor lady was foreign (Spanish I think) and it took quite a time to get her to understand.
Basically I preordered mine on the 17/10/2012 and was told delivery by 26/10/2012
Then the infamous mistake email came out saying 2/11/2012
This was followed up by another email saying the original date was correct.
The website still says 2/11/2012, but the lady on the phone said the original date was valid, being the 26/10/2012.
But...
She did also mention the 'between 26 and 30 October delivery'

Maybe this is a change then.

So confused, but even if it is the 2/11/2012, or 30/10 or 26/10, eventually it'll be here and I can start playing.

Mine now says 2/11 on the website too, but the 26th - 30th delivery supports the whole released from the warehouse on the 26th rather than guaranteed arrival on the 26th.

 

[srmiller82]

Ya but why preorder if you can get one at a store on the 26th? I might as well drive to store.

 

[Jips]

Unfortunately in the UK we don't have that option

 

[Rallicat]

Really? That's a bit frustrating given the original order very clearly stated 'order now for delivery /by/ 26/10.

The whole retail experience with the Microsoft store seems a little ... less than stellar. I've had problems with my ID - had to create a new one just to get the order through (and believe me I spent a /long/ time on the phone with the Microsoft store helpline trying to get things fixed!), then the email about the shipping date slipping a week ... which is supposedly a mistake (although never corrected in the order status page for me), and now (possibly) this?

I'm seriously looking forward to getting my hands on the Surface, and I'm convinced it will be a better product than the iPad. I'm certainly not what you'd call an Apple fan - but I can't help but feel that if this was the Apple store ... there wouldn't be such problems!

 

[Loz Blake]

I've always found Microsoft Store to be a shocking experience, which is a shame considering the rest of the company is stellar. However mine did says as I preordered it, delivery for 26th October, received latest by 30th October, so I think this was always the plan, bit cheeky though.

On a side note, I'm paying via paypal as I was stunned they had it as an option, they have put a hold on my cash, however not charged me yet, is this as expected? Paypal will just charge my card when the charge comes through? I guess i'm just worried that paypal is being slow and it'll cause issues with my order, has anyone UK based had the money taken from their account yet?

 

[Narr]

I had a strained chat with the UK customer support. The poor lady was foreign (Spanish I think) and it took quite a time to get her to understand.
Basically I preordered mine on the 17/10/2012 and was told delivery by 26/10/2012
Then the infamous mistake email came out saying 2/11/2012
This was followed up by another email saying the original date was correct.
The website still says 2/11/2012, but the lady on the phone said the original date was valid, being the 26/10/2012.
But...
She did also mention the 'between 26 and 30 October delivery'

Maybe this is a change then.

So confused, but even if it is the 2/11/2012, or 30/10 or 26/10, eventually it'll be here and I can start playing.

This is very similar to my contact with The Microsoft Store; the website originally kept on timing out so I called to try to understand if the order had completed or not; the level of English is poor for some people there and I was surprised I couldn't order over the phone.
My delivery on the website also say 2/11 which was not my original understanding. MS really need to get on top of the process and make it easy to buy their products.

 

[Rallicat]

I've always found Microsoft Store to be a shocking experience, which is a shame considering the rest of the company is stellar. However mine did says as I preordered it, delivery for 26th October, received latest by 30th October, so I think this was always the plan, bit cheeky though.

On a side note, I'm paying via paypal as I was stunned they had it as an option, they have put a hold on my cash, however not charged me yet, is this as expected? Paypal will just charge my card when the charge comes through? I guess i'm just worried that paypal is being slow and it'll cause issues with my order, has anyone UK based had the money taken from their account yet?

Hmm, my confirmation just said "Pre Order now for delivery by 26/10"

The same confirmation email also said "You will not be charged for pre-ordered products until the product is available" - so, I guess we shouldn't expect to see them actually take the money until Friday, so, make sure your card has credit I guess!!

--
Mark

 

[crystal_planet]

Really? That's a bit frustrating given the original order very clearly stated 'order now for delivery /by/ 26/10.

The whole retail experience with the Microsoft store seems a little ... less than stellar. I've had problems with my ID - had to create a new one just to get the order through (and believe me I spent a /long/ time on the phone with the Microsoft store helpline trying to get things fixed!), then the email about the shipping date slipping a week ... which is supposedly a mistake (although never corrected in the order status page for me), and now (possibly) this?

I'm seriously looking forward to getting my hands on the Surface, and I'm convinced it will be a better product than the iPad. I'm certainly not what you'd call an Apple fan - but I can't help but feel that if this was the Apple store ... there wouldn't be such problems!

Exactly my experience here in Canada. It was not "less than stellar" - it was abysmal. And after the shipping mix up, it got even worse. Now I'm stuck in this holding pattern of "in process", but I guess I'll call sales support today to inquire about my status. I expect a lot of double talk and non answers, but we'll see.

 

[Jay Bennett]

Yes my pre-order is still saying 2nd of November, I can't help but feel that there is absolutely no way I'll be receiving my Surface this week...

 

[EDDS]

They are taking the piss if they don't actually despatch these till Friday.

 

[xkxkxk]

Well

Mine (64gb) was ordered when it said delivery on or before Friday 26th (I must have been minutes after it went live).

Didn't get an email about any change.

Now says 2/11 on the website / order in process.

Just spoke to the Indian support centre and assured i'll have it by Friday.

Very sad to be bothered about this, but then we don't get christmas anymore as grown-ups and i'm out of the country for a couple of weeks starting tuesday... I would quite like to have a play before the missus requisitions it.

 

[Narr]

Yes my pre-order is still saying 2nd of November, I can't help but feel that there is absolutely no way I'll be receiving my Surface this week...

I'm still pinning my hopes on the next day delivery model (expedited I think they mentioned) so if I hear nothing by tomorrow evening I'll be sad; but I'm trying to keep my hopes up. It's not the end of the world but nice to have on Friday.

 

[Rallicat]

My suspicion here is that the 'Expedited Delivery' option (which was the only option here in the UK) stated 1-2 business days. That means if they Ship on Friday, it will arrive either Monday 29th, or Tuesday 30th. Hence the 'arrival by 30th at the latest' that seems to be floating around as a possible date.

It's hardly the end of the world to not receive a tablet computer, but it's a bit disappointing that Microsoft hasn't raised it's game when it comes to retail quite as much as they've raised it with their products lately.

The Surface is supposed to be the ultimate 'expression' of what a Windows tablet can be, and is quite clearly designed to be Microsoft's answer to the iPad. Whilst i'm confident the iPad will pale in comparison to the Surface, the 'Microsoft Store' experience is just blown away by the Apple Store experience.

I'm still hoping that this is all just incorrect information, relayed by woefully inadequate and poorly trained helpline staff (I've spend many frustrating hours on the phone to them!), but as previously mentioned, even if they ship on Thursday, the 'Expedited Shipping' rate does not mean a guaranteed next-day delivery. So, make sure someone is home on Monday Tuesday to sign for your order, as well as Friday .. otherwise, it's a trip to the depot for many of us .... see you there? Hardly the best launch party venue ... but if you can't make it to New York, it might have to do!

--
Mark

 

[rOIVAz]

I've always found Microsoft Store to be a shocking experience, which is a shame considering the rest of the company is stellar. However mine did says as I preordered it, delivery for 26th October, received latest by 30th October, so I think this was always the plan, bit cheeky though.

I recall seeing this "received latest by 30th October" when I ordered too, but none of the invoices or emails appear to have carried through that message, which is indeed cheeky. I'm having mine delivered to work so I'm going to annoyed if it ends up delivering on Saturday with no way for me to access the post room until Monday

 

[Owen Stevens]

I have to admit I feel really let down by Microsoft here.
Yes, i'm frustrated about having to wait a few days after launch before I recieve my Surfi (is that plural for Surface?) but that's not the main focus of my frustration.
I'm more let down by lack of communication in both quantity and quality.

Microsoft - This is a quality product, please provide the support infrastructure to match.
When i speak to MS Support regarding my high end tablet device, I want to feel like I'm dealing with a billion $ organisation, an organisation who hire the worlds most talented people to create the worlds best software and now (hopefully) hardware.

Talking to the MS support team in India made me feel like I was ordering office supplies, renewing my car insurance, or complaining about my gas bill. - all things that make sense to outsource to other countries where labour is cheaper.

But even smaller things than that make all the difference:
I ordered the 32GB without touch cover to start with... I soon realised this was a mistake and called Microsoft support to cancel my order.
They did, and as soon as the call finished I went through with my purchase of the 32GB WITH touch cover. Expecting a cancelation email letting me know that my previous order had been canceled. This never arrived. All that allong with confirming with the support desk that 'for delivery on 26/10/12' means "it will be posted from the factory on the 26th"
I'm currently not sure what, if anything, is going to arrive... and apparently I dont even know when.

Please Microsoft, This is a high-end, some would say, luxury market and you need your support infrastructure to reflect that.


The scary thing is, I am a massive Microsoft fan/Ex-Employee - and if I'm upset and mildly put off by this experience, I'm really concerned about the people who are considering switching platforms/starting out in this sector.

 

[Rallicat]

I recall seeing this "received latest by 30th October" when I ordered too, but none of the invoices or emails appear to have carried through that message, which is indeed cheeky. I'm having mine delivered to work so I'm going to annoyed if it ends up delivering on Saturday with no way for me to access the post room until Monday

Saturday is unlikely - I think the reason they're saying '30th October' is that with Expedited shipping, if they send it out on the 26th, Saturday and Sunday don't count as business delivery days ... so that would leave you with either the 29th or 30th.