The Rainbow Connection

So, as you may remember, we are cloth diapering. Actually, we do kind of a mix between cloth and disposables for a couple reasons – 1^st, we got a ton of disposables at baby showers. And 2^nd, we only had about 8 cloth diapers that fit her right now, which means a load of laundry every day and sometimes that just doesn't happen. 

I decided we needed a few more diapers so that I wouldn't be tied to the washer every day. The ones we LOVE are called “Blueberries” - they're actually made in Knoxville and they're wonderful. But they're, like, $25 a diaper, and mama's on unpaid maternity leave. So, I found a much cheaper option called Alva diapers- $5.00 each. The only hitch: they're made in, like, South Vietnam. So it was going to take 3-5 weeks to get here. I decided I was okay with it.

I ordered the diapers on July 13^th. On July 19^th, I got a shipping confirmation. “Sweet!”, I thought. “Diapers by early August!” Um, no. On July 25^th, I get this email:

Hi,

 We are so sorry to tell you that we have not sent you order,because now that the A6 and M13 are out of stock in your order, could you please change them to others instead?  You can just tell us 2 replacements here.  After you changed.  We will send your order out.  Thanks a lot,have a nice day.

-Your faithfully, Rainbow.

Errrr......Rainbow? Interesting name. I picture a girl named “Rainbow” like this:

Obviously, Rainbow's on the left, wearing a rabbits face for a hat.

So, I'm pretty irritated by this, but I respond with a few alternate diaper selections for “Rainbow”. Here's what I got back:

Ok. Thanks. We will send out today. You can get it after 3-4 weeks, pls kindly wait.  :)

-Your faithfully, Rainbow.

Pls kindly wait my ass. I felt like this deserved, at least, some faster shipping. I replied:

Rainbow,

It would be great if you could express mail it, especially since my order has already been delayed by no fault if my own. 
 -Becca McCurdy

To which “Rainbow” wrote back:

Hi,

We are cuz your order is under 49 usd, so we can just ship it by normal airmail. Maybe if you can order 40usd, we will also send for you by Express in order to make up our delays. Is ok?

-Your faithfully, Rainbow

Um, nope. Is not "ok". I don't really want to order 40 more dollars in diapers from you so you can justify Express mailing my, already hella late, package. I replied:

Rainbow,

I understand that, but since your company messed my order up, I feel like you could make amends by shipping it faster. 
-Becca M 

To which Rainbow replied:

Hi,

We are sorry we have no right to do that. Also we did not mess your order up just because of our short time trip from June 13 to June 7 and the out of stock items, so hope can get your great understanding. Thanks.

Okay, lemme get this straight: it's not your fault my diapers are late because of....time travel? That's the most I can get out of this email. Also, notice that this one wasn't signed “Your faithfully, Rainbow”. I think I made Rainbow mad. :) But Rainbow made me mad! So, I unloaded on him/her (what gender is a “Rainbow”?) Well, as much as I unload on anybody:

Oh, Rainbow, but you DID mess my order up! I ordered on June 13th. On June 19th, I was sent an email saying my order had SHIPPED. Then, on June 25th, I received the email saying it had NOT shipped AND my items were out of stock. That's called "messing up my order".

It would make good business sense to provide me with either some kind of refund or faster shipping, since it was NOT MY FAULT that my order is now super late. It would make me a happy customer who would give other moms a good review of your business. But instead, I'll be telling other mother's this: Alva Baby is hard to work with, lies about shipping, blames the customer, and is unwilling to make up for mistakes.

-Becca McCurdy

BOOM. Suck on that, Rainbow! Here's her/his response:

Dear friend,

We are sorry for the delays. We do really know your feeling now. But after our trip, only past 2 days, our weekend was coming. So we back to work on June 23th.  You know, after several days, there are lots of order need to be processed, pls also stand by us and understand us. But even so, we also thought we have fault cuz our workmates a little bit less in this situation. We must do something to make up.  But now your package has been sent out by normal airmail, it is on the way to get to you. So how about sending you a gift or give you a discount when you order next time? Is it ok? Thanks.

“We really do know your feeling now” LOL

I don't know what the hell Rainbow is talking about with trips and weekends and time travel, but I know what he/she means by “gift”! :) I replied:

Rainbow,

Thank you. That was the response I'd been waiting to hear from you.

I would love a gift to make up for the error! I assume you have my address?

Thank you,
Rebecca

To which Rainbow replied:

Thanks. So kindly of you. But is it possible to send you a gift together with your new order? Your faithfully, Rainbow

HA! Rainbow, you jackass. I'm not ordering more diapers from you! You crazy. I wrote:

Rainbow,

Well, I don't have a new order, since I just placed my first order and haven't received it yet. So, you can go ahead and send the gift. Thanks!
-Rebecca 

To which I got: 
Hi,  

Pls kindly keep waiting for your package. One of our workmates will go to America on July 19, I will ask her send the gift by USPS for you after you got your package.Is ok? Thanks. Your faithfully, Rainbow.

LOVE that Rainbow is going to make one of her/his “workmates” carry my “sorry we effed up your diaper” present all the way to the US just to save on shipping. Rainbow's a man/woman after my own cheap ass heart.

Eventually, my Alva diapers arrive. They're cute and work just fine, despite Russell's constant jokes about them being made by a 5 year old in a sweatshop. I say, that 5 year old does a damn fine job.

After this last exchange, Rainbow and I went back and forth for awhile: “Did you receive the gift?”  “No I did not”   “Please let us know when you receive the package”   “I have not received the package.” Finally, Rainbow replies that he/she will send it again. Sigh. By the time I receive the diapers, Claire will be potty trained. He/she also tries to get me to buy MORE diapers which he/she will include with my gift. I pass. :) It's now August 21^st and I'd pretty well given up on getting my gift, but as it turns out, Rainbow had the last word.

We are trying to wean Claire off the swaddle when she naps and she's really fighting it, so naptime (and nighttime) have become pretty rough. Today, after an hour and 40 minutes of nursing, she FINALLY went down for a nap. I tiptoe out of the room to change into real clothing (It's 2 in the afternoon). Right when I've stripped down, the doorbell rings. Sidenote: if you haven't heard our doorbell, check out this post with a video. It's pretty cool, but also super loud. Anyhow, Bijou loses her mind, runs downstairs barking her face off. I throw on clothing and run after her, as the nursery is directly below the front door, where she is having a complete fit. It's the mailman. I throw open the door, shushing Bijou frantically. He needs me to sign for a package. It's from China. 

 Rainbow....

As I walk inside with my free diapers, I can hear Claire start crying. And I can almost hear Rainbow start laughing, all the way from China.