too late for Pennsic
I didn't mention this in my journal earlier, but almost a month ago I ordered a solar panel and a charge controller. They should have arrived here a day or two before we left for Pennsic. I didn't get the merchandise, nor any order-acknowledgement email from the vendor, so I assumed the order hadn't gone through. Surprise - I found a large box here when I got home today. I don't have any particular use for them now, until next August.
We figured out that my battery isn't sufficient for recharging several laptops and miscellaneous other AA/AAA/D cells for flashlights, cameras, etc for the more-than-a-week that we spend at Pennsic. I was hoping that a 17-watt solar panel and Pennsic's generally hot, sunny days would keep the battery useable. But the panel didn't come. (And it rained a lot too this Pennsic, but there were some sunny days.)[Sat 25 Aug 2007] Now that I have the package, I have a waybill number I can put into DHL's tracking system. I don't know what was on the original shipping label, but the ship-to address on the tracking page has my first name, city, state, zip, and country - no last name, no street! For some reason, DHL moved it from NY to VA without knowing exactly where it was going, and then sent it back to NY. The original shipping label is damaged/defaced to the point that neither address (from/to) is readable. 3 weeks later it left NY again, it was back in VA the next day, and 3 days after that the tracking page notes that it still needs address information. There's a 2nd, hand-written address label on the box that I find hard to read, but apparently it was enough for the truck driver, and it has the wrong zip code! Another 4 days later the box was delivered. The paperwork inside the box has my full and correct name and address. The first trip down was here in plenty of time for Pennsic.
Tracking historyDate and TimeStatusLocation
7/27/2007 3:46 pmShipment picked up
Endwell, NY
7/27/2007 4:46 pmDeparting origin.
Endwell, NY
7/27/2007 4:46 pmProcessed at DHL Location.
Endwell, NY
7/27/2007 8:09 pmDepart Facility
Endwell, NY
7/28/2007 12:30 amIn transit.
7/28/2007 12:30 amProcessed at DHL Location.
7/30/2007 6:59 amArrived at DHL facility.
Alexandria, VA
7/31/2007 8:32 amArrived at DHL facility.
Alexandria, VA
8/16/2007 5:36 pmDeparting origin.
Endwell, NY
8/16/2007 5:37 pmProcessed at DHL Location.
Endwell, NY
8/16/2007 8:18 pmDepart Facility
Endwell, NY
8/17/2007 12:57 amIn transit.
8/17/2007 12:57 amProcessed at DHL Location.
8/17/2007 8:42 amArrived at DHL facility.
Alexandria, VA
8/20/2007 2:37 pmAddress information needed; contact DHL Customer Service.
Alexandria, VA
8/24/2007 8:33 amArrived at DHL facility.
Alexandria, VA
8/24/2007 9:05 amWith delivery courier.
Alexandria, VA
8/24/2007 1:31 pmShipment delivered.
Alexandria, VA
Ship From: SILICON SOLAR Bainbridge, NY 13733 United StatesShip To: BRENT [City], VA [zip] United StatesShipment Information:Ship date: 7/27/2007Pieces: 1Total weight: 12 lbs *
Attention:SILICON SOLAR
Attention:BRENTShip Type: Package
Shipment Reference: 29621Service: GroundSpecial Service:Description: 12V MARINE SOLAR BATTERY Tracking detail provided by DHL: 8/25/2007, 10:14:30 am pt.The more I look, the worse it looks. I have an online account with Silicon Solar (because I placed an order online), but nothing shows up in my order history. (That's part of why I thought the order never went through.) But I can query on the invoice number (now that I have the shipment), and it shows the status as "Complete" and gives a tracking number. It doesn't show what the order was or who placed it. (Nothing associates it with my account.) Turns out I can query any invoice number (i.e. other people's orders), and see status, tracking number, and comments. And I can look up those tracking numbers to see where the orders went. I didn't see the street address listed for any of the others in DHL tracking, but there was usually a full name and a city/state/zip. And the tracking page often lists part of what was shipped (e.g. "12V MARINE SOLAR BATTERY" above). anniemal says they're generally not too bright in Bainbridge, NY.