Star Slack Express

In Adelaide, at least, Apple chooses Star Track Express as their courier. Star Track Express is one of those companies that thinks that normal people with, say, full-time jobs are nonetheless able to be at home on any given day between 8.00am and 5.00pm to receive deliveries. The courier called today and left a card—that's fine, we didn't know he was coming. But, despite the fact that I can take all of tomorrow afternoon off, and I'm prepared to waste it sitting around waiting for a courier, Star Track Express are simply unable to estimate a re-delivery time even to the half day. That is, even if they could tell me "morning" or "afternoon", I could respond with "don't bother" or "bother". But they can't. So tomorrow afternoon I will make a half hour round trip to their depot in order to pick up the PowerBook, whose retail price, I have no doubt, includes a portion for Star Track Express to drive it to my house. Which, I guess, they technically did. It's just that they drove it away again, and can't tell me when they're willing to bring it back.

Needless to say, a couple of website feedback forms were filled out—one to Star Track Express, the summary version of which was, "The 1960s called—it wants its computer technology that leaves you unable to estimate delivery times to finer than one day back", and one to Apple, the summary of which was, "Star Track Express really bites."