How long do the books really take to print?

I ordered my book early on the morning of Wednesday 12/7 and chose express shipping. I keep checking my order status and it says my book is still printing 6 days later. Apple says the books take 3-4 days to print. It has been 6 days and I was hoping to receive book by tomorrow to give as a present to Mom-in-Law. Has anyone had this experience w/ super-long printing time and what was the final outcome? I've emailed APPLE and not heard back yet. I'm paying a lot of money for this book and express shipping and no answers. Help!

iMac, Mac OS X (10.4.3)

Posted on Dec 15, 2005 8:09 AM

Reply
14 replies

Dec 15, 2005 8:48 AM in response to Adry19

I ordered 4 book (Medium 36 pages) on 12/3/05 @ 6pm. 3 of the book were printed and shipped by/on Monday 12/5, according to the receipt, and I received the 3 books on Thursday 12/8/05. I've been emailing Apple about 10 times now trying to explain this to them and they just don't understand that is seems that the 4th book got "missed" or something. Does anyone know how I can call the iPhoto (Book) people at Apple. I've called Customer Service (1-800-676-2775) and they don't even know how to contact anyone in the iPhoto Dept. They have now offered me a $15 coupon but it seems like they can't/won't follow up on my missing book. This is now the 9th working day and the book status still says “Printing”. I don’t think that is true. Each time I contact them via email it takes 24 hours for them to reply. Which means another day with the 4th book not printing. BUT...if anyone know how to CALL the iPhoto people please let me know.

Dec 15, 2005 9:09 AM in response to Louis Palladino

thanks Lou..I'been all over that page, but nothing there can help. All's I get back from Apple is this generic speal.... I think 9 working days (even though it appears they work on weekends) is WAY too long.

Dear Matt,

We sincerely apologize for the delay in printing your iPhoto book.

During peak periods surrounding holidays, there may be an additional 3-5 days needed to process orders due to volume increases. Rest assured, we are working diligently to fulfill your order. Thank you for your patience.

Sincerely,

The iPhoto Team

======================

Dear Matt,

Thank you for contacting iPhoto Customer Support.

As of today, 12/10/05, we are still processing your iPhoto order 4092XXXXX. We apologize for any inconvenience this delay may have caused.

Rest assured, we are working diligently to fulfill your order. A shipment notification will be emailed to you at 'xxxxx' as soon as your order has shipped.

Sincerely,

The iPhoto Team

Dec 15, 2005 12:37 PM in response to Louis Palladino

I just got a response and this is all they said, really no help at all:

*************************

Thank you for contacting iPhoto Customer Support.

Your order xxxxxxxx is currently in process. Once your order has shipped you
will receive a shipment notification with any tracking information available.

To check the status of your current iPhoto order as well as your order history,
please visit <http://www.apple.com/internetservices/yourorderstatus>. Sign in
using your Apple ID and password.

If you are unable to locate your order status, please refer to your shipment
confirmation to verify you are using the correct Apple ID.

Sincerely,

The iPhoto Team


***************

If the books are going to take longer to print than they indicate because of the holidays, they should warn us. I would've spent my money on something I could have actually given to someone. Now I've spent my money and still have no gift for Saturday! I won't get a chance to give this gift now until after New Years. Some gift.

This is my second major disappointment with iPhoto. This fall I ordered about 50 prints that mysteriously never arrived. I was eventually credited and had them printed elsewhere but it was a pain. I thought maybe that was a fluke - apparently customer service isn't their strong suit.


iMac Mac OS X (10.4.3)

Dec 15, 2005 3:49 PM in response to Adry19

i just got my response, the standard:


Unfortunately, we were unable to process your order. The files we received contained data that was unreadable or otherwise unprintable. Your order was cancelled and your credit card has not been billed.


The kicker is that I uploaded the file on 12/11... oh well. I'm very disappointed. These books seem to be hit or miss.
Lou

Dec 16, 2005 11:22 AM in response to Louis Palladino

I ordered my first book this week. It is a large, hardcover, 20 page. Ordered it on Dec. 11th and according to my order status it was shipped Dec. 14. I thought that was pretty fast. However, I ran the tracking numbers and come up with nothing. Kind of makes me nervous. Mine is also a x-mas gift. I have been pleased with the process..I just hope it looks good!

G3 ibook Mac OS X (10.4.2)

Dec 27, 2005 2:15 PM in response to Adry19

Here's my experience thus far...
I ordered
1 medium softcover- Dec. 19
1 medium softcover- Dec. 20
1 medium softcover- Dec. 21

I chose standard delivery.

Today, Dec. 27 (8 days later) I received the album ordered on Dec. 19 & 21. Not the one that was ordered Dec. 20th. Though these were intended as Christmas gifts, rather late on my part and they didn't make it. I am surprised they came as quickly as they did. I was hoping that they would be coming from a more local area to me (such as, California bay area) I am located in Northern California. But the tracking information said they were coming from WHITE PLAINS, NY 10610.

Incidentally, the emails they sent to show order status tracked the orders in proper sequence. So now I am wondering what has happened to the one ordered on Dec. 20. I suspect it will show up tomorrow. But interesting???

Good Luck!

iMac Mac OS X (10.4.3) 800 MHz PowerPC G4, memory 512 MB SDRAM

iMac Mac OS X (10.4.3) 800 MHz PowerPC G4, memory 512 MB SDRAM

Jan 4, 2006 8:49 PM in response to Adry19

I ordered 3 small books on 12/3 and received them on 12/29.
They missed Christmas, so that was really disappointing.

I was very frustrated during the process since the amount of info offered on the site on the status of the order, shipping, and delivery, is far less than other e-commerce sites. I think if Apple is going to provide this service, they should bring up the standard of customer service that you would expect on other sites, include estimated print date, estimated ship date, estimated delivery date, and tracking numbers, as well as an 800 number where you can talk to a human being.

My first order was not during the holidays. I had ordered a hardcover book, and it had come within a week. I was delighted and impressed, but I guess it ultimately set me up for a disappointment!

iBook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.2)

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