I've been trying for the last 3 weeks now to order a RioCar and some accessories from store.sonicblue.com without success.

Attempt #1:
On line order process went without a hitch. A week later, product has still not arrived and credit card has not been charged. I contact SonicBlue via e-mail regarding this problem and receieve the following reply:

Dear Valued Customer,

My records indicate that your order has been suppressed. Suppressed means
cancelled. This usually indicates a problem with one of our fraud checks.
There are 3 common reasons for this:
1) Your shipping and billing address are different.
2) Your credit card shows a middle initial in your name which you did not
include in the order.
3) You did not respond correctly to the confirmation e-mail you may have
been sent.

You may either replace your order with the Online Store, or you can place it
directly with us: 1-800-468-5846.


Upon reading that, I realized not including my middle initial must have been the problem. So I set out to replace my order as suggested.

Attempt #2:
When entering my order again, I notice there's no place on the form to even include a middle initial! So, I decide to enter my middle initial in the "First Name" field immediately after my first name. I then respond to the order confirmation e-mail that arrives shortly. After waiting many days, and not hearing anything about my order, I contact [email protected] again and ask "why specifically is my order being rejected". Rather than answer my question, they just respond back with the same generic form letter once again.

Attempt #3:
Foolishly believing 3rd attempt is a charm, I try again. (Afterall, the estore says 10Gb units are "In Stock" once again.) I enter all my information tripple and even quadruple checking my name, address, cc #, etc is all correct. I respond to the e-mail confirmation within minutes of its arrival. Then wait. And wait.

It appears my order has been canceled once again! No e-mail is ever sent notifying me of the problem! Nobody ever calls!
Ok, I'm out of ideas. I could write a letter to Sonic Blue management or spend countless days trying to track down a "supervisor" at the estore. But by the time I get to the bottom of this, I fear there will be no more RioCar's left to buy. Please help!

I've heard other's on this board mention Digital River calling them on the phone to confirm? Is this what's supposed to happen next? According to the caller id on my phone, a caller by the name of "Twin Cities, MN" 612-253-1234 has been calling my home phone during the daytime when I'm not home almost everyday. They never leave a message though. I thought this was a stupid telemarketer, but now I'm wondering if this is Digital River calling to confirm?

This is BY FAR the worst on-line buying experience of my life. And I have bought stuff on-line frequently long before the Internet was even popular. What can I do? I feel I'm out of options.

Update: I just did a reverse phone number lookup on the Internet and discovered the number 612-253-1234 is indeed Digital River. Why on earth they never leave a message is beyond me. Trouble is, I'm never at home when they call.

A friend of mine who tried to order one last week had the exact same experience, which he was able to remedy by calling the 1-800 number you mentioned above. .. But it looks like you found it was Digital River... So give them a ring back. They more than likely just wanna confirm the order.

Wierd.

I did get an email a day after I placed my order, asking me to email back and conrifm my address. I can understand as an anti-fraud measure. But you didn't get any sort of follow-up email did you?

Hmmm...

Ditto on the worst on-line purchasing experience ever, and I actually got my remotes and tuner...

I ordered and for a week it was on non-shipped status then I went back one day to check again and it said the order was never completed properly. I called and sat on hold for 20 minutes then was told, "Yeah, that order wasn't completed properly." Why? He didn't know, what's in stock? He didn't know...

I checked the email I got when I initially ordered, and there was a completely different order number than when I tried to get the status before I called. Apparently, it (the estore) was trying to make a new order out of my previous order.

I gave up and said, if I get it, it'll be amazing. One day, weeks later, I got an email with shipping info. It shipped 2 days prior to the day I got the email.

I got my product, but how, I don't know, it's a major cluster-f&*k over there at the estore...

I have had so many other bad to horrible experiences with SonicBLUE, nee Diamond, that I considered not purchasing the tuner module so that I wouldn't have to give them any more of my money. I won't go into my experiences here, but I think it is important to note that the demise of the empeg (note that I refuse to call it a RioCar) fairly closely coincides with the finalization of switching things to the SonicBLUE sites.

Yep, when I ordered mine a while back, I ran into all the same issues everyone is reporting. All the items were out of stock, but was really in stock. They got my order wrong and shipped the wrong items. They blocked my order and neglected to tell me. They called me up and did not leave a message. They e-mailed me to verify my address, which I did, and then they canceled my order. Digital River deserves to go out of business.

Calvin

Yeah, if only Amazon could have sold the Rio Car...

Seriously! I bet they'd move some units with a quickness.

A couple weeks ago I ordered an extra car mount and a set of the colors screens. A few days later I got in the mail a Rio MP3 player cigarette lighter adapter. The packing list on the box even listed Rio Car Mount and the colored screens. I emailed custom support and they sent back a reply the next day saying they put in the order again and it would ship ASAP. The following day I received this letter.


======================
Thank You for your message. Unfortunately, we no longer handle customer
service for Sonic Blue. Please contact Sonic Blue directly with your
request.

Sonic Blue may be contacted at [email protected] or by
calling 1-800-468-5846.

Thank you for contacting Digital River.
==========================

Looks like Digital River got the axe.

Unfortunately, we no longer handle customer
service for Sonic Blue.


Unfortunately????? ROTFLMAO


Looks like Digital River got the axe.


We can only hope.

Wow, I guess I'm really lucky. I placed an order for 2 Rio Cars yesterday at about 3PM. When I got home at 6PM, there were already two emails for me. One confirming the order, and another asking me to verify my billing and shipping address. I sent that back.

I checked the website earlier today and it said my order was processing. Then, I just checked now at 6PM and the order is already completed and they provided a tracking number.

Let's hope everything works out and I get my package in a few days (probably Monday or Tuesday).

In reply to:

---

Looks like Digital River got the axe.

---

This is actually a pre-requisite before i will ever buy a replay.

I have actually recommended to a friend to look on ebay before purchasing, to try an avoid sonic blue.

The story continues from my original message...

I e-mailed customer support at the e-store using the fill out form on store.sonicblue.com. I get a reponse back saying that Digital River no longer handles customer support and that I should contract SonicBlue customer support instead. WTF?!?! Why does the web site direct me to Digital River then? This is one [censored] up company!

So I contact SonicBlue customer support via e-mail as suggested. I explain to them everything that has happened thus far including how my caller-id shows Digital River calling my house about 15 times in the last week, but never leaving a message! To this, SonicBlue cusomer service sends the following two responses:

Dear Valued Customer,

We suggest you call in to our Customer Service center and place the order.
Please be aware we can not offer the same prices as the estore

Our price for the Rio Car 10 gig = $1299.95
The estore has great deals. If you want those prices you will need to find a
way to place an order on the estore. All our records show us is that the
order was cancelled. Most likely by the credit card company.


First they recommend I place my order over the phone and pay nearly double the original price!??! Then a few hours later a 2nd recommendation from SonicBlue customer support arrives in the e-mail...


Dear Valued Customer,

Yes, you will need to contact them in regard to the order. They handle the
estore order processing, so there may be an issue with the order.


* Please include all previous messages (in text format) for continuation of
support and also ensure your return e-mail address is correct.
Undeliverable messages are deleted.

SONICblue Customer Service/Technical Support/RMA
Pre-Sales and Order Number: 800-468-5846
EMMY Award winning SONICblue -- creators of the ReplayTV 4000


This time they're recommending I call the mysterious 612-253-1234 that I keep seeing on my caller-id. So I call the number and what do you know? It's the phone number to Digital River customer service!

I explain in detail to the customer service rep what is going on (i.e. How I've been trying for nearly a month to order this product.) He says the problem must have something to do with my credit card denying the charge. I tell him this is BS since I already checked with my credit card company and they say they haven't denied anything recently.

He then puts me on hold for a LONG time. When he returns he offers me the option of re-entering my order, but with no promise the same thing won't happen again. Or he can escalate the problem to the attention of their credit card processing office. I elect the 2nd option, telling him I need to know why the order is being canceled so I can rectify the problem. He tells me I should get a response via e-mail in a few days.

Just this evening I received this response. Here it is...


Dear Barry,

Thank You for your message. Unfortunately, we no longer handle =
customer
service for Sonic Blue. Please contact Sonic Blue directly with your
request.

Sonic Blue may be contacted at [email protected] or by
calling 1-800-468-5846.

Thank you for contacting Digital River.

Sincerely,
Customer Service
Digital River, Inc.
[email protected]
http://www.digitalriver.com
Ron R.


As I stated before, this is one [censored] up company (Both SonicBlue and Digital River). Neither SonicBlue or DIgital River will take responsbility for these problems, they just keep pointing the finger at each other.

Anyone have any suggestions on what I should do next? All I can think of doing is calling both SonicBlue and Digital River EVERY DAY on the phone and bothering them until I get an employee who will actually take the initiative to solve the problem.

Anyone know what I should do? Does anyone have the name of a helpful employee at SonicBlue that could help me sort this problem out?

BarryB:Anyone know what I should do? Does anyone have the name of a helpful employee at SonicBlue that could help me sort this problem out?

Man, this thread reads like a failed Sondheim/Escher attempt at a musical adaptation of some combination of Alice in Wonderland and Deep Space 9. With Phyllis Diller (with a sore throat) as Alice.

Lately, the DR deities have smiled on me. I got their fraud call/s and product shipped. Yes, e-mails arrived at the oddest times, but I got what I ordered.

Back in June, though, when I was a bit exasperated over sled transit times through the wormhole (I'd been trying for 2-3 months to get a sled for my new wheels), I looked up the Rio president's e-mail address on their web site and e-mailed him asking what was up with DR, sleds, etc. I (seriously) volunteered to drive to Portland to get a sled. His assistant with the help of the product manager (Steve?) were actually able to dig one up and sent it to me.

This is not to suggest that the same strategy would fix your problem, but I don't see how bringing this mess to his attention can make things any worse. The gent I e-mailed was Jim Cady ([email protected]). At the time I honestly wondered, and asked, if perhaps Rio's check to DR had bounced and DR was not actively servicing SonicBLUE orders. Well, it seems that is not so; SonicBLUE is probably still paying DR to handle on-line orders. Perhaps you could invite Mr. Cady to read this thread to see what a fine job they are doing.

Beyond bizarre.

I had the Rio Mp3 Player shipped to me when I ordered the Screen Kit as well. The name they chose for the product was close enough for someone at DR to pull the wrong thing, despite the different SKU numbers. Someone is too lazy to read. I don't understand how DR stays in business. You never know, the demand for empegs could have been much higher, but we will never know. Maybe people tried to buy it, but gave up! There are 3 or 4 other people here who had the exact same thing shipped to them, so its not like SB doesn't know about the problem. Please don't try to email them, your better off calling on the phone and waiting on hold. Then you can get a name and extension and hold that person accountable if nothing happens.

Good luck,
Sean

Save your emails. Jim Cady has not been with Rio for several months now.

Yeah, there are some serious disconnects going on over there. I just today got an RMA reply for my dead remote that has been taken care of for a couple of weeks now. It says i should fill out the RMA form only if i can't return the remote to a local vendor where i purchased the product (??). I already got the new remote thanks to ... umm... Patrick i believe the name was... i'm not at my computer so i can't check.. but.. it seems that unless you get in touch with someone on the riocar/empeg team directly, you're in for a ride.

time: Save your emails. Jim Cady has not been with Rio for several months now.

Hmmm. Left or let go? Did they only keep exec-level folks who give less of a rat's ass?

(purely rhetorical questions)

Left, works for a firewall company now, I think. He wasn't involved in customer service, anyway...

Hugo

Who should we complain to then?

Hopefully things will go through. Typically though, after receiving your e-mails, you will send back verification, and they will cancel your order (e.g. fraud, or mismatched address, or just for the heck of it because the order is a lot of money) and then they will call you up, not leave a message, and your order will not be shipped -- they won't tell you!. You might even get an order confirmation, but they won't ship until it's completely proven you're not trying to fraud them.

Calvin (cynical..)

Final update to my original problem:

Attempt #4
I went ahead and ordered the product a 4th time! Now I know I'm really a fool. I entered all personal information exactly the same as before, except this time I gave my work telephone number rather than my home phone number. That way, I'd hopefully get their fraud check call rather than nobody being home.

That call never came. Instead I just received my shipping confirmation message including FedEx tracking number!!! No idea what's different this time that's allowing it to be processed, but I'm not arguing. The whole process feels almost random.

It is.

Calvin

Well, I just got my RioCar today, no problems. Everything was pretty well packaged. Only problem was that the port on the back of the player that interfaces with the cradle actually came off. I had to reattach the screws.

Perhaps somebody from Rio noticed our conversation about the poor service and did something about it?

Perhaps somebody from Rio noticed our conversation about the poor service and did something about it?

Meaning what? That they shipped the empeg correctly or that they unscrewed the connector on the back of the empeg as a revenge?





Guys, this is all so unbelievable! I had skipped this post because I am in EU and don't have to deal with SB/DR, but when I started to read it I just could not stop!!! It is so tragically funny!!! I am so sorry for you who had to go throug all this, but I have tears on my eyes for how bad I was laughing... DR and SB are absolutely ridiculous here... I wish you get your empegs soon. Please, notice I said "empegs" on purpose.

This connector should be rather loose, but not fall off completely, of course...

This is to make the "mating" go smoother.

Mairus (Escort Cab + Mark II)

I'm going through the exact same ordering garbage right now.

I placed my order on Sunday night and received a confirmation sometime during the night. Before I got in to work I also received another message asking me to confirm the order (this step is already an unneccesary problem which shows poor e-commerce connectivity). I replied to the confirmation.

Getting home last night I checked my messages and sure enough, there was a call from 612-253-1234. The CORRECT area code for this number is actually 952.

I just called them and typed in my order number. Some brain-dead guy came on the line and didn't even know how to say the words "HARD DRIVE." In any case, I told him YES, it's what I ordered.

He comes back and says "and this was backordered, right?" and I say "NO." He puts me on hold a couple of times and says that in fact I have to call a different number 408-588-8000. Then he asks me to hold on again (at my expense of course) - then comes back on the line and says "ok, is there anything else I can help you with?" At which point I just said "no" and hung up.

Now to call the other number... I'll do it while editing this message....

Ok, that was Sonic Blue's LOCAL phone number. No linking to customer service, only access to individual employee mailboxes and a general mailbox. Waste of my time.

Why haven't they canned Digital River yet?

I thought I would follow up to my small ordeal. I guess I'm one of the lucky ones, because before I had the chance to call SonicBlue's 1-800 this afternoon (I was just about to do that), I checked my order status and the empeg has shipped.

To see just how screwed up these guys are however: I received 2 identical email messages from DigitalRiver telling me to write to SonicBlue because they no longer handle customer service for them. Now here's the clincher.. These messages were in reply to two messages I wrote to two SonicBlue addresses. One of the addresses (customersupport) was the one mentioned in this email! Talk about a catch-22.

At this rate they will eventually be forced to abandon any products they do not sell at a brick-and-mortar or through other online dealers. I anticipate that my experiences with the actual empeg unit will be a little more pleasant.

Bruno