They left my monitor out in the rain

[Firebond]

Well my new 19" CRT arrived the other day. The thing is, they left it at my doorstep on a rainy day. I'd say it was sitting in the rain for about three hours -- the box was fairly wet. Could this have damaged it? Should I return/exchange it while it's still factory sealed?

I don't plan on opening it until I know if I should exhange it or not.

 

[Red Dawn]

If it's new odds are that the Monitor itself is inside a Plastic Wrap or bag.

 

[mrgoblin]

I would definately rma it and Id make a phonecall to whoever delivered it and tell them that if its electronics and fragile, which it likely said on the box, the driver had no buisness leaving it on your doorstep. They should give you a refund.

 

[MercenaryForHire]

If you can wait, I'd try to return it. Call the company first and tell them what happened.

- M4H

 

[thorin]

Originally posted by: mrgoblin
I would definately rma it and Id make a phonecall to whoever delivered it and tell them that if its electronics and fragile, which it likely said on the box, the driver had no buisness leaving it on your doorstep. They should give you a refund.

Not to mention the theft potential for a couple hundred dollar item.... Was the package insured?

Thorin

 

[Viper GTS]

It's fairly standard for carriers to leave packages out, just yesterday I had $600 worth of subwoofer drivers left on my doorstep.

As Red said, the odds are excellent it's in a plastic bag - It's probably fine.

I would call the vendor & ask their advice.

Viper GTS

 

[JimRaynor]

I would just open it. I would bet that it's fine. If it doesn't work then you can explore other options. Otherwise it's gonna be kinda weird trying to get a refund/rma on something that is probably working fine.

You: "Hi, I wanna rma my monitor."
Them: "Ok, what's the matter with it?"
You: "I dunno, it might work."
Them: "..."

Like someone noted above it is probably covered in a plastic wrapper. Also, you would be surprised how well a cardboard box can keep the water out.

 

[JBT]

I would bet it is perfectly fine as stated earlier I would probably call the company you ordered from and see what they think see if you can test it first and if it doesn't work send it back or if it does then no need to RMA obvously.

 

[thorin]

What about the fact that it likely contains the standard warranty which includes "return in original packaging" if he ever has to have it repaired or RMA'd in the future he's f'd on that count......... Dunno if you would kept the box anyway but the point kinda still stands.....

Thorin

 

[bgray77]

So you didn't sign for it?
I'd call them in two weeks: "where the hell is my monitor?"
Actually, I wouldn't since it would be illegal, but I always wondered what would happen....

 

[JulesMaximus]

Open it up and plug it in. New monitors almost always come wrapped in protective plastic so more than likely it is fine. As long as the inside of the bag isn't wet it should be fine.

If it doesn't work, call up and complain. Tell them what happened and they will take it back. If you have a problem with the vendor call your credit card company and I'm sure they will side with you.

Factory sealed means nothing. If you open it up and try it out you have the same rights as if you left it in the box.

 

[sharkeeper]

Yes take it out of the box and use it!

The box should be fine once it dries out. (for return purposes, etc.)

-DAK-

 

[nick1985]

Originally posted by: shuttleteam
Yes take it out of the box and use it!

The box should be fine once it dries out. (for return purposes, etc.)

-DAK-

 

[Davegod]

call them up and politely complain about it and ask.

Then if you do need to RMA (either now due to the rain or later but still needing the packaging) you have notified them of it before doing anything and cannot be breaking any warranty or procedure. The tiny cost and time to make a quick phonecall seems well worth it, even considering the monitor is in all probability just fine. Tiny cost vs. significant potential benefit = worthwhile.

 

[Firebond]

I went ahead and called them (Dell) before I opened it so that they could make a note of what happened in the chance that something is wrong with the monitor.

I was polite about it, but the guy took a really condescending tone with me. He told me that he made a note of it, but that "monitors aren't made of paper...etc" and made me feel like an idiot for calling. Why do people have to be such jerks? :disgust:

 

[bjc112]

Originally posted by: Firebond
I went ahead and called them (Dell) before I opened it so that they could make a note of what happened in the chance that something is wrong with the monitor.

I was polite about it, but the guy took a really condescending tone with me. He told me that he made a note of it, but that "monitors aren't made of paper...etc" and made me feel like an idiot for calling. Why do people have to be such jerks? :disgust:

Well if he was a dick about it, use it, return it and take your business elsewhere.

 

[MangoTBG]

It's clearly stated in the Customer Service Handbook to be as stupid, rude, uneducated, and ignorant as possable.

 

[StraightPipe]

Originally posted by: MangoTBG
It's clearly stated in the Customer Service Handbook to be as stupid, rude, uneducated, and ignorant as possable.

this is true, i worked in collections department at a large bank, and that was our policy. I tried to fight the ignorant thing, but they put it down, .. the corparation is scared of those types of thoughts.

 

[DaveSimmons]

"and I'll never find that recipe again"



calling first was a good idea, just in case. but hopefully the bag kept it safe.

 

[Jeff7]

I'd take it inside, unpackage it, and see if the monitor itself feels wet/damp at all - maybe check the screen for signs of condensation/moisture. Just to be sure, let it sit for several hours in case it needs to dry out - then give it a try.
I found this monitor testing page; near the bottom there's a button "Launch Calibrator"- it's a small battery of tests for the monitor. You can use Alt-F4 to get out of the page....though I did just find the Exit button: hold the cursor over the Monitorsdirect.com on the upper left of the testing window screen. The Exit option appears below it then.

Oh yeah, what carrier was this? FedEx, UPS, Airborne Express...
I had a monitor delivered by FedEx once. The guy didn't leave it on the doorstep, and I was rather annoyed by that, since they had my signature waiver thing on file, plus I was home at the time - I just somehow didn't hear the doorbell. Well a little bit later, he came by again to try to deliver it again - he said it looked like it might rain, and the box was labeled that it held a monitor, so he didn't want it to get wet. I was a good bit less annoyed then. So there are at least some good, responsible deliverypeople out there.

 

[Macro2]

"and I'll never find that recipe again"


What about the green icing?---


---------------------------

 

[Macro2]

You're lucky you bought it from Dell, they have a very good return policy on monitors.

 

[dkozloski]

From a strictly legal point of view, even though it was someone elses fault that the box was left out in the rain, it is your duty to mitigate the damage as much as possible. i.e. taking the unit out of the wet box which may not be completely soaked through all the packing and wrapping and letting things dry out. The theory is that if the packing finishes soaking through and the damage occurrs after the box comes into your possession when you could have prevented it with a little common sense, it is your fault. In reality the packing job done by the seller performed as intended and you received an undamaged unit.

 

[wetcat007]

It would be odd for it not to be a plastic bag take out and try it, if it's dry and in a plastic bag just forget about the box being wet.