I recently decided to build myself a brand new computer system based on the new Intel P55 chipset and a Core i7 860 processor (I'll be blogging about that entire experience shortly). While I was at it, I decided I would dive into the wonderfully speedy world of SSD drives, too. Unfortunately, my local retailer wasn't able to source my preferred drive (an OCZ Vertex 120GB) and my usual online retailer (ncix.com) had no stock.

I decided to try OnHop.ca since they had the lowest price on PriceCanada.com and they had stock. They also have favourable reviews on PriceCanada, so I figured I was safe. The product page for the drive listed the item as "in stock" and a delivery estimate of 1 to 2 days. I ordered the drive late on a Tuesday night, so I figured it would arrive by Friday which would have worked out great since I had put aside the entire weekend to build my machine.

But Friday arrived and there was no drive. Boo. I was disappointed but well, these things happen so I decided to be patient. By the following Tuesday there was still no drive, so I sent an inquiry to OnHop to ask about my order. Wednesday morning I got a response back claiming that the shipping company had "lost" the order, and that OnHop was shipping out a new unit immediately, and that I would have it the following day. Thursday came and went, and so did Friday - no drive. So, weekend number 2 and I'm still unable to assemble my system.

At this point, I'd had enough and dispatched a strongly worded (but not abusive) email to OnHop demanding my money back, since their order fulfillment process was apparently horribly broken. Naturally, I had to wait until Monday afternoon for a reply, and while they complied and immediately refunded my purchase, I was rather shocked by their laissez-faire attitude about the whole matter. They claimed my order had been "delayed" because the item they had in stock was a "defective unit." I guess they only had the one defective item as stock, but why would a defective unit count against their sales inventory? And why did it take almost 2 weeks to discover the error? I was expecting a bit more along the lines of "sorry we screwed up - please allow us to fix it and keep you as a customer" but no, here's your money back, now get lost.

Anyway, I'll never order from OnHop again, and I've since reordered the drive from trusty ol' NCIX since they now list it back in stock. Here's hoping it arrives by THIS Friday.