Don't Even Think Of Ordering A Pizza Stone From Amazon
We'd like to share a personal story: it involves Amazon, Christmas presents, and three broken pizza stones.
We and our sister both asked for, and received, this lovely Old Stone Oven pizza stone for Christmas. They were bought through Amazon. Ours arrived on the the twenty-third, in several pieces, as the above picture shows. Probably because Amazon took the box that contained the stone, which was marked "FRAGILE," and stuck it in another box not marked "FRAGILE," and used a piece of paper as padding. Like this:
Putting a fragile package in another box in such a way that it isn't surrounded by padding probably means that it will break, which it did. Whatever, we called Amazon as soon as we unpacked it, told them what happened, and they assured us that a new one would arrive the next day, Christmas Eve.
It never came.
When we spoke to our sister, we found out Amazon sent her the same stone, packaged the same way, and it broke. We're currently on the phone with Amazon, asking where our replacement stone is, and they've told us that UPS has returned it to them because it broke. That's the third broken pizza stone, and we're sure they packaged it in the same careless, ineffective way that they packaged the first two. Amazon is now out of stock on pizza stones for at least a month, and although we suggested they overnight us one from a Marketplace seller, they've demurred, instead offering to mail us a gift card for the amount sometime next week. No thanks.
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How frustrating. I had no idea pizza stones were so fragile. Mine is so thick and heavy - I'd never considered it breakable sans hammer.
Even if the box said fragile it does not guarantee escape from harsh handling. In fact, from tales I've heard, I wouldn't be surprised if it made it worse.
Don't know if you can really blame Amazon for it.
Buy it in a B&M store and support your local economy.
My mom ordered 3 of them over the years from The Pampered Chef, and all 3 of were impeccably packed. I'm sure there is a price difference, though their warranty is nice.
Get a large terra cotta tile at any tile store. It works just as well and is a lot cheaper.
do you guys read the posts before you publish it? A quick perusal would find a couple of obvious errors.
Makes me think that a gift card would arrive in the same condition.
I looked for quite some time trying to find a replacement for my cracked pizza stone, which I was never that happy with to begin with- they just don't seem to hold enough heat to get a nice, crispy char for me. I finally found a nice big slab of travertine at Menards (kinda like home depot) for like 7 dollars. It has served me well for months of use at 550+ degrees, and makes the crusts exactly the way i like it , usually in about 4-5 minutes. It's the closest im going to get to a real brick oven (in an apartment anyway)
For what it's worth, I ordered a pizza stone from Amazon.com and it arrived perfectly intact. They had the sense to mark "Fragile" on the exterior box that time, though!
I have ordered dishes from Amazon twice and the same thing happened, broken without enough packaging. Now I just order two sets. Make 1 complete set and ship back the broken one.
@SomeoneGNU: Damn Skippy! I worked as a package handler for Fed Ex during the holiday season this year and stuff gets tossed around pretty quickly there. Sorting about 1500 packages over 3 hours means moving quickly (14000 for the whole place)
I'd take the gift card and order a stone after the holidays if you still want it, or get something else. I can't see where Amazon screwed up that badly.
@Ninja007: I think that sideffects is refering to your use of the work quick as an an adverb in conjunction with peruse. Since peruse refers to an in-depth or very detailed examination rather than a once-over for obvious errors.
Separately, since you may not be familiar, this is suggested reading.
I ordered the same exact baking stone from Cooking.com. The first one broke. It was packed in a slightly larger box with 2" of packing peanuts on all sides.
The second one came through without a problem. I'm just glad they didn't insist on the broken one being shipped back (as is generally a store's prerogative).
I bet whole pallets of these things arrive broken at resellers all the time. The only padding in with the stone was corrugated cardboard on each of the four corners.
@valarmorghulis: perusal: to look over or through in a casual or cursory manner.
source: [www.merriam-webster.com]
You should read the commenter code yourself, particularly the parts about "Commenters are not Moderators"
@mipakr: Don't know what a B&M store is but unless it's locally owned most of your money probably isn't going to the locals anyways.
I think we can safely assume through clever use of context clues ("quick") that the second definition is intended here.
You should read to the end of the page before stopping.
pe·ruse
transitive verb
Definition:
1. read something carefully: to read or examine something, usually in a careful and thorough way or taking time to do it
2. read something quickly: to read through or scan something quickly
That pizza stone would probably be safer shipped in it's own box, just like it is.
Ideally though, packing peanuts should tightly surround the package in a slightly larger box.
Source: I ship about 50 packages a week.
Terra cotta tile FTW
@Ninja007: Hmm...first I've seen of an actual dictionary citing that definition. The dictionary.com page had the following which was included in the 2006 version of the American Heritage Dictionary:
Peruse has long meant "to read thoroughly" and is often used loosely when one could use the word read instead, as in The librarians checked to see which titles had been perused in the last month and which been left untouched. Seventy percent of the Usage Panel rejected this example in our 1999 survey. Sometimes people use it to mean "to glance over, skim," as in I only had a moment to peruse the manual quickly, but this usage is widely considered an error. In a 1988 survey, 66 percent of the Panel found it unacceptable, and in 1999, 58 percent still rejected it. (italics mine)
Perhaps there is a dictionary war brewing between Mirrian-Webster and the rest of the crowd.
Also: how the hell did I mistype "word" as "work?" Too busy looking forward to the evening I guess.
Happy New Year.
good thing i cook for just myself.... maybe i will see if i can get a good deal on HALF a pizza stone from someone on craigslist!
Having worked in a shipping company warehouse for over 4 years, I can unreservedly say that I'll never order fragile products through the mail. I even saw people break stuff that -was- packaged properly.
"....and used a piece of paper as padding"
So what is all the brown paper next to the box? Just happened to be in the room when they took the picture of the pizza stone box & "piece of paper" - possible this paper was also used as packing.
Yeah if you read the article, they put the stone, in another box that was not labeled fragile. So in a sense, Amazon failed at packing the stone.
Dictionary definitions and popular usage are sometimes at odds.
I have always used the word perused in the context of casually looking through or over something. I don't know that I have ever heard someone use the word in the opposite context.
Hmmm.
I'd like to know how the pizza stone was packed in the original box from the vendor.
"Well there's yer problem!" as Adam Savage likes to say on Mythbusters.
I bet the original vendor is the weakeast link here.
@tmed: You're missing the point. It wasn't that the item was shipped marked fragile and therefore was handled poorly, this package wasn't even close to being packaged as a fragile item. Packing peanutes or other packaging would likely have prevented this from happening.
anybody look to see that it wasn't amazon that shipped this but a company that opperates through amazon. That's like being mad at ebay because one of the sellers did something wrong.
@Skankingmike: The article states that Amazon is sold out. When Amazon is sold out, it lists 3rd party retailers who have it in stock instead.
The same thing happened to us. Both our Pizza stones from Amazon were poorly packed & cracked by the time we received them. We gave up after the second one, realizing that no matter how many times we order, they are going to package it the same.
@MikeF74: The company I work for sells a lot of pizza stones. The are probably the most commonly damaged item in shipping. I would be really hesitant to order one to be shipped.
Why a gift card and not a refund?
I just expect that next survey (apparently in 2010) will have an even split between the two camps.
Ah, the living language, it may be dull, but it beats work. Word.
Happy New Year
@mipakr: If you live in a one-horse town that's not an option. Not everybody lives in a bustling metropolis.
@dakotad555: I don't disagree, but my guess would be that Amazon looked at the package and thought "big hunk of stone - not likely to break" and have not experienced a big problem with this. Only after a larger set of complaints will they alter their packaging to the other side of the spectrum (I don't think they have a middle ground).
I have dropped my (pizza) stones from waist high and never had one break, so I don't think they are that off base.
When the packages came more slowly at FedEx, the word "Fragile" carried more weight.
Why not just go to Lowe's/Home Depot and get an unglazed quarry tile? Just as effective, but only a few bucks! And no need to keep dealing with Amazon.
Simple solution: Hot Pockets in the future!
I have a really good friend that worked for UPS for about 5 years. He would always tell me that if I wanted something to arrive in good condition, I had to pack it well and NEVER write "Fragile" on the package.
To them, Fragile, always meant, Throw it harder.
I think we only can blame Amazon for not paying attention when packing fragile items. When the box is marked Fragile does not mean it will be handle carefully. from Amazon warehouse the the customer's designated location, there will be many people, who are paid by how fast they work, handle this package. I will be surprised that package will come in one piece without any padding inside. At least, Amazon tries to offer the compensation when there is out of stock, instead of making excuse and not doing anything about it.
Frankly, the only way for a business to learn a lesson is by the almighty dollar.
Keep ordering. Keep refusing broken shipments. It's only going to cost them more and more money. I would let it keep happening (at Amazon's expense) for years. If they're too stupid to get it right, they're too stupid to earn a profit, and soon, they'll do us all a favor and run themselves out of business. Someone smarter, who can actually pack and ship fragile objects will come along and take over that segment of the business, and everyone will be happier.
i had the same problem ordering some corelle dishes. except after the 2nd time, they refunded me the full amount and the order was canceled. since they were broken dishes, amazon said to throw them away because returning them would be hazardous.
since only 3 were actually broken, i called up corelle and they FedEX'd me the missing dishes free of charge! so in the end i got free dishes :)
I gave Amazon three chances to send me a right-handed veggie peeler, and three times they sent me a left-handed one. I love Amazon for the most part, but sometimes they just can't get things right, and unfortunately their customer service (which seems to be in India or somewhere, as usual) sucks if you ever have to deal with them. I had to give up and go elsewhere.
Don't take the gift card routine, you are in all rights for a total refund. Their refusal is grounds for a chargeback as they are unable to fulfill their order.
Yes, you can blame Amazon. If you pack something right, it could be those glass beads full of poison gas from "The Rock" and you could kick it down a flight of stairs and they'd be fine.
@PlasmaMachine: Yeah, pretty silly to pay $50 for something you can get for less than $10 at any hardware store.
EXACTLY the same thing happened to me - ordered this pizza stone a few weeks ago from Amazon, with it arrived I saw that the original box marked "Fragile" came inside a bigger box with no padding and no "Fragile", and it was busted in half.
Unlike the OP however I just decided to return it for a refund, rather than getting it replaced - I had run out of time for Xmas, and it seemed like the risk of another one breaking was too high.
@sashazur: By the way the outer box was an Amazon box, so this was shipped by Amazon - and I misstated when there was no padding around the inner box - but there might as well have been none: the 'padding' was a single big piece of crumpled paper, no air bags or peanuts.
Usually it's way too much packaging.. now it's not enough. Oh Amazon..