The Saga of the Brett Favre Jersey

Thursday, Aug 28, 2008 at 12:00 pm ET

A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away, an order was placed with NFLShop.com for a Favre Jets jersey. The saga begins normal enough with the announcement of a trade between Green Bay and New York for an NFL icon. Shortly after the announcement, our hero decides to place an order for the already-advertised jersey. Admittedly, the order wasn't placed until the day AFTER the announcement.

First Stop: Silly me for thinking about going to the NY Jet's website. As I posted earlier this month, more than 1 person had the same idea as me and the site crashed from the onslaught of traffic. Management Lesson: Give IT a head's up so they can prepare for the traffic. You didn't need a crystal ball to predict the spike in customers.

I tried multiple times throughout the day to place the order, but was continually greeted with "Sorry, the shop is inaccessible temporarily. Please try again later". Management Lesson Learned: Missed business opportunity.

Another Option: The next morning, someone suggested NFLShop.com. Why didn't I think of that? Seriously - the prospect of the NFL missing out on that revenue should have dawned on me the day before. So I browsed over to the site, and YES!!!, right there on the homepage is a convenient ad touting the availability of the #4 Jets Jersey. A few clicks later and my order is complete! Mission Accomplished!

A week goes by and the status of my order remains "Special Order: Awaiting inventory". I call again and the customer service rep informs me that she doesn't know when it will be ready for shipment. She politely informs me that she would be happy to cancel my order if I would like. No thank you. Oddly enough, there are plenty of others in both New York and Wisconsin who could be seen wearing the new jersey - did they order before me and I'm still #10,490 in line?

More time goes by and answers remain elusive as to where the jersey is. The saga continues.

Further calls and emails ensue politely asking for a status update on the order. By now, the folks at NFLShop.com have their responses scripted and can rattle them off without thinking twice. What amazes me is the constant suggestion that I cancel my order. I kid you not - they genuinely believe that cancelling my order for me will result in a happy customer and they give me that option at every turn. Thanks guys - but I wouldn't be politely inquiring about my order if I wanted it cancelled. Every saga needs a morale undertone, and this saga's nagging question is "Why do nice guy's finish last?"

NFLShop.com

And who could forget my new best friend Delores:

What amazes me is that they continue to advertise it. Should I finally take them up on their offer to cancel my order and place a new one so that I can "get it today!"?????

Every Saga Needs An Ending

Luke Skywalker defeated Darth Vader. Indiana Jones saves the day (and the world). Austin Powers reconciles with Dr. Evil. The Godfather learns what loss means. How will the Favre Jersey saga end? Stay tuned.

Join the Discussion

Nerd CommentedAug 29, 2008 11:00 am

Latest update: I called this evening and got the automated system. I spoke my order number and billing zip code into the system. The automated response was "This item has been back ordered. Thank you for shopping with NFLShop.com" and then it hung up on me.

Ok. So I called back, but this time I said "Continue" when it asked for my order number. When it asked for my phone number, I gave it "555-111-2234". My billing zip code is now "90210" (no - I don't live in Beverly Hills). The system told me that it was having trouble finding my order. I acknowledged the information was correct - and then it finally put me in touch with a service rep.

Mark was nice enough but still unhelpful. Nope - he doesn't know when it will ship but guesses that it will ship within 6-8 weeks. Somehow that seems scripted to me. The answer came way too fast.

So, the saga continues until I wisen up and order from somewhere else. I assumed (yes I know what that makes out of you and me) that NFLShop.com would be the definitive source for this item. Had I been a little smarter, I would have taken a look at Epinions.com. Believe it or not, NFLShop.com hasn't had a single positive review, but at least I feel a little comfort knowing that they treat every customer and order in the same consistent manner.

Hurricane CommentedSep 6, 2008 11:00 am

If you're still looking, you could try this URL.

Plenty of 'em out there. Of course, you'd have to contact NFLshop.com and let them know you want to cancel your order... or has 30 days elapsed?

Nerd CommentedSep 7, 2008 11:00 am

Thanks for the link Hurricane!

I'm giving it one more week and I highly doubt that NFLShop.com would mind canceling my order.

Nerd CommentedSep 12, 2008 11:00 am

Ok - I gave it a few more days. Still no estimate on shipment, so I canceled the order. I'd be curious to know the average delay among their customers and what percentage of orders have been canceled. They sure got a lot of press touting their record number of orders, but nothing post-sale.