[Google Pixel XL Guides, News, & Discussion] jaybirddog:
Story Time:

I ordered the Google Pixel XL 128GB (Quite Black) from the official Google Store online on April 25, 2017. The free shipping option put the device being delivered in the May 11 - May 15th window. I was okay with this as I was taking an international flight on May 16th and figured I would have the device by then. Shortly after my order on April 27th, 2017 I received an email stating that my device has been shipped and expected to arrive between May 11 - 15. This email provided a FedEx tracking number, which I closely monitored every day.

I watched as my phone slowly made it's way from Carol Stream, IL to Los Angeles, CA. Each day inching it's way across the country. It finally reached the FedEx facility in Los Angeles on May 3rd, 2017 at 4:42AM. I was pretty excited to see that it was probably going to arrive much sooner than stated. That was until I saw a status update on the tracking that simply stated "Delivery Exception - Future Delivery Requested". What? I didn't understand what this meant so I called FedEx on May 4th, 2017 and the gentleman on the phone told me he would check with the LA facility and ask them about the package. After a brief 10 minutes hold, he came back and told me that delivery exception means the delivery hub was busy and the package would be out for delivery that day (May 4th) by the end of the day.

I was satisfied and went along with my day only to find out by the end of the day that a delivery attempt was not made. May 4th came and went. May 5th came and went. No updates on FedEx tracking, and no attempted deliveries (I was home waiting for the delivery). I decided to be patient and wait until Monday morning to see if there was some update on the FedEx tracking. There wasn't.

I called FedEx first thing Monday morning and asked for some new info on my package. After being placed on another brief 10 minutes hold, I was told again that the package would be out for delivery by end of day and the rep asked me for the cell phone number of the delivery address so the driver has it. I provided it and again went along with the day waiting for delivery.

That was until I later refreshed the FedEx tracking and find this gem: 5/08/2017 - Monday 10:34 am Returning package to shipper

LOS ANGELES, CA Shipper requested shipment to be returned - Unable to deliver shipment - Returning to shipper

Okay. So I called FedEx again and asked another rep what happened and he dug a littler deeper for me and found out that a woman by the name of Donna from Ingram Micro made a request for the package to be returned to the shipper on the morning of May 5th, 2017 (this status was not listed in the tracking website). I asked FedEx for any contact info for this Donna at Ingram Micro and he couldn't help me. I set out on my own to dig for the info I needed and ended up finding a phone number for Ingram Micro support. I called and naively asked for Donna and was met with confusion. I told the rep about my issues but she was less than willing to help me out because I was not from Google. So I asked her kindly if she had some contact info at Google since it is nearly impossible to find a proper phone number online for support (even after you spend almost $1,000 on a phone). She was able to supply me with a phone number and I thanked her and went with it.

I called the number and reached a very friendly rep at Google and explained my situation (that the phone was being returned to the shipper and I saw no chance of it being re-delivered on time). She was caring and expressed her apologies but told me she is with the Google Play Store support but that she could transfer me to the Google Hardware Store people. I waited on the line for about 15 minutes before being introduced to a first level support for the Google Hardware Store. Again I explained my situation and the rep was looking at the FedEx info and told me "Sir, if you look, you can see it should be delivered by May 9th, 2017." I explained calmly to him that that is the expected date for the device to return to the shipper, not me. He didn't quite understand what was happening and he offered to call FedEx and ask them what happened. I waited for about 20 minutes and he came back and told me that FedEx didn't have any more info for him than what was on the tracking log.

He told me I should be patient and that he was confident that the device would arrive on time to me. I knew better and kindly asked him to speak to a manager to explain this more. He hooked me up with his supervisor and I went on explaining it to him as well. He was able to finally understand that the device was being returned without even one attempt to deliver it to me. He said there was nothing he could do until the device reached it's destination. He said his system would not allow him to cancel the order/ship a new device, etc. until it was no longer "in transit". He told me he would make a case number for me and put it on high priority and after the expected date of the devices return to Ingram Micro (listed as May 9th) he can help me get it straight and even ship a new device with the fastest shipping possible. He told me they would call me on May 10th and check the case with me.

They did call me today and I again received the same first level support that didn't understand the situation in the first place. He AGAIN told me that the device says it will be delivered (now somehow updated to May 12th (back to the shipper of course)) on time. I told him again to please go over the tracking log with me and pay attention to the part that says that the shipper requested the package to be returned back to them. He told me he understood now and he would check with Ingram Micro/Google Shipping and find out what happened. He called me back about 2 hours later and said he confirmed that the device was heading back to the shipping company and he will transfer me to the Google Shipping department to have them help me out.

- This story is almost over if you are still with me -

I was connected with the shipping department and the rep there told me he confirmed that it was on the way back to the shipper and he could go ahead and start a refund for me. I informed him that I did not want a refund right now and I just want the device to be delivered by May 15th as promised and to please figure out a way to send me another one with express shipping since they already know the original one was on the way back. He tried telling me that it was undeliverable and that his "security system" would not allow him to place another device in shipping until this one was back. I actually only now started to lose my patience. I told him how unfair this was. He made the mistake of informing me that if the device was lost in transit or even stolen, then he could then authorize another one to be shipped out.

I explained to him that this really was not logical that they now know for sure they are getting the device back and still won't ship another one. I ended up getting absolutely nowhere with this guy and he offered me the great deal of initiating a refund for me. He offered it like it was some kind of compensation. To be refunded for a device that I paid for and did not get... this was too good for me to pass up, so I took him up on his offer and agreed to the refund and expressed my deep feelings of frustration to him. At this point, I am not sure I will ever order another Google device from the Google store. I love Google. I always have. This was an incredibly disappointing experience and I have no idea what phone I am going to buy now since I had my heart completely set on this device.

TLDR; I ordered a $1,000 Pixel XL. The shipping company made some error and had it sent back to them before even attempting to deliver to me. Google support was hard to reach and offered no help except for a refund. Thanks Google.