Coffee Talk #218: The Case of the Missing Samsung Epic 4G

As some of you know, I’ve been having a devil of a time tracking down the Samsung Epic 4G that was sent to me for review. Hopefully one of you can use your Batman-like detective skills and help me figure it out. Now let’s rewind a bit. The phone arrived on August 23rd while I was in Asia. I have a FedEx door tag that says that the package was left with my building’s security desk. From there, it gets all kinds of fuzzy.

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As some of you know, I’ve been having a devil of a time tracking down the Samsung Epic 4G that was sent to me for review. Hopefully one of you can use your Batman-like detective skills and help me figure it out. Now let’s rewind a bit. The phone arrived on August 23rd while I was in Asia. I have a FedEx door tag that says that the package was left with my building’s security desk. From there, it gets all kinds of fuzzy.

The security desk, staffed by California Protection Security Services, has the package logged in as received. The security guards keep a woefully unorganized binder that sometimes contains package information. Unfortunately, the box wasn’t in the storage room where packages are left. I checked on five different occasions and none of the security guards were able to find it.

I called and emailed FedEx for assistance. A CSR contacted the driver that delivered the package. The driver wasn’t certain, but he thought that he left the box in front of my door. Yet the FedEx door tag clearly states that the box was left with security (remember, it’s also logged as received by security). If that was the case then someone had to sign for it. For some strange reason, the tracking number says that the box was left at my front door. I asked the FedEx CSR to explain why the door tag says that the box was left with security while the tracking information says it was left at my door. She said that she would investigate further, but I haven’t heard from the company since Friday.

The management at Wilshire Vermont Station Apartments wasn’t helpful either. The first time I brought up the matter, an older lady totally brushed me off and said that they had nothing to do with packages. The second time I went, a younger lady made an effort to look for the package. After she couldn’t find it, she said that there was nothing she could do and that I should call FedEx.

I’ve yet to contact Sprint PR about this because it looks bad on my part. If Sprint tracked the package, they would see that it was left at my door (who knows if that’s what really happened). The company might think that I’m trying to pull a fast one on them. Having said that, I’m probably going to call them today and explain the situation (I wonder if the PR rep will believe me). For now, I want to know what you think happened. Please vote in the poll and explain your case in the comments section.

[poll id=”71″]

Author: RPadTV

https://rpad.tv

42 thoughts on “Coffee Talk #218: The Case of the Missing Samsung Epic 4G”

  1. Someone stole it, I doubt it was the delivery man they handle thousands of dollars worth of products. It was either a resident or a security guard, I'm leaning towards the security team. No matter which way you slice it security was involved and I used to work security and people have sticky fingers. They did not do their job of securing the package, its their fault and why would they have everyone's packages in the back room but let the FedEx man drop the box off at your door?

  2. your best bet is to call sprint to see if someone uses the phone, if so they can track it, and when they tell you where it is, you can kick in their door, wielding dual sawed off shotguns, and callously murder everyone in the apartment or house, terminator style

    if someone is stupid enough to steal a phone, they are prolly stupid enough to try to activate it.

  3. @Big Blak That's sound logic, but I've read so many stories of FedEx drivers stealing iPhones, iPads, etc.

    @thundercracker If it was stolen, I'm hoping that the person was dumb enough to use the phone. I'd love for Sprint to track it down and have the guy arrested.

  4. @ray

    it sounds to me like this will forever be a mystery unless someone uses that phone…why else would you steal a phone if you had no intention of using it?

  5. My bet is that they aren't looking hard enough for it. It's a phone so the box is probably small and they don't want to do a thorough search of their back room.

  6. i think the security guards and driver are in on it. i don't know who's got it but if i had to guess it would be the driver. Security is covering up for him and probably getting a cut from him selling it on ebay or on the street.

  7. @Ray: If it was stolen by Fed Ex, chances are you would have received an empty box. I used to work the in the unload at their Harrisburg, PA hub, and it's the package handlers that would steal stuff, not the drivers. The drivers get paid a lot better than the poor grunts lifting all the boxes all day long and beaten into submission by their supervisors. I wold often have guys standing outside my trucks with a stopwatch counting how fast you I was going and other such archaic BS.

    I'm also fairly certain that it was while working there that my neck problems started, as I once opened up a truck to unload it and a U-Haul trailer hitch that some idiot had packed on top of a pile of pillow boxes fell and cracked me on the head. They sent me to a "doctor" due to my concussion like symptoms who told me I just had a flu bug. A couple weeks later my shoulder started acting up, likely due to the pinched nerve in my neck I now suffer from regularly.

  8. Ray while you were out we had a small party. We brought the package inside, but at some point N8R had it, I asked him to grab me a beer. Next thing you know Tokz asked why there was a FedEx box in the fridge. He put it in the oven to warm it back up. Thundercracker smelled something burning and pulled the box out of the oven and chunked it in the shower to put it out. Smartguy then suggested that we just hid the evidence. We are sorry.

    Seriously though I hope whoever has it does use it. That would just be hilarious.

  9. tokz was baked, so he thought your box needed to be as well

    @nightshade

    im a supervisor at ups, none of what you said surprises me…also FEDEXers dont have a union, so the management can get away with whatever they want

  10. It might get worse.

    My boss just went through something recently that I hope doesn't happen to you Ray. Apparently the guy I replaced had a duplicate of a phone on my bosses account made by forging a document saying it was stolen.That phone ended up in Venezuela and my boss noticed his $6500 cell phone bill.

    They got it cleared up and the phone shut off… but still… that sucks.

    I think it was a resident at this point. Fed Ex seems to have screwed up the tag, but it seems likely that it did go to your door. Hopefully, it's not on Ebay right now.

  11. @ a Windows video editing software worth a damn.

    *shrugs shoulders* Beats me, I bet Adobe Premiere is the best your gonna get.

  12. @slicky & thunder

    Ha! i like how this ended up me ruining the phone by baking it while i was baked myself.

  13. I voted for the FedEx driver. However, the security people do seem like a logical choice as well. The driver, although paid well, is the most likely because simply getting paid well does not mean that he gets access to expensive electronics on a regular basis. He has access to labels, tracking numbers, and probably maintains a good relationship with the security people. After he marked the package as delivered, the security team ran interference by listing the package as delivered to them to keep the heat of the delivery guy. Track him down, and then follow Thundercrackers terminator plan.

    I like Slicky's explanation the best though.

  14. Blockbuster filed Chapter 11?!? I knew things weren't good but I didn't know they were bad enough for that.

  15. When I go to the supermarket tonight, I'm gonna kick the RedBox for Arguello.

    And then I'll go home and watch Netflix… after Fringe.

  16. @ Arguello

    How do you pronounce your name by the way? Is it like the Hispanic pronunciation (Ar-gway-yo)? Or, like the Filipino pronounciation (Ar-gwell-yo)?

    (Ray gets the joke).

  17. @ redtailman

    Torrents aren't helping either.

    Which reminds me, I watched Get Him To The Greek last night… it was okay. I think I found most of the humor because I'm familiar with the music industry and how out of touch with reality some artists truly are.

  18. @n8r

    the Enter the Matrix game? it was okay but the focus power (that's what the thing was called to slow things down was called, right?) made that game too easy. it seemed rushed to me and probably would've been a better game if they would've worked on it some more.

  19. I'm going with a resident or some other passer-by stealing it. The longer a package is left unattended in a residential hallway, the greater the chances are that it will be pilfered.

    @N8;

    Miami 7, Pitt 0 (2nd quarter, 10:08)

    -M

  20. F U AT&T!!! There is a OTA update being pushed to Samsung Captivates to fix the GPS issue. That I wanted. What I didn't want was them removing the "PC Internet" button from my USB selection. It was the easiest tethering I have ever had right next to WinMo phones.

    Lucky for me I have always been skeptical that AT&T would keep that in there so I have EasyTether already installed on all of the machines I tether to.

    But just for trying to screw me I plan on downloading and deleting and redownloading the biggest torrents I can find. My goal this month is now 15Gb. Most I have previously done was just under 5Gb.

    AGAIN F U YOU SLIMY BASTARDS.

    thanks for listening I feel better (a bit)

  21. Oh the best part is I just found out the GPS still doesn't work. I am picking up 10 Satellites with 2 at 50%, 3 @ 90%, and 5 @ 70% and it still cannot determine my location.

  22. So one of the security guards told me that the guard that was working when my Epic 4G arrived stopped showing up to work the day after I started asking about the package. Interesting….

      1. Interesting. Their loss really I guess, I just wouldn't think that they would want to leave a phone out there like that when it wasn't meant for whoever has it now.

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