A Frustrating Story About My Jeep

Herezja · May 18, 2009, 09:00:57 AM

So....

As many of you know, I just got back, in January, from a 2 year posting in Rwanda at the U.S. Embassy. I ended up not selling my Jeep (2004 Rubicon with a WHOLE LOT of work and parts) so I sent it back to the States.

Fast Forward to this past Friday:

On the 5 month anniversary of my leaving Rwanda, I still hadn't heard ANYTHING about the Jeep...and I mean I heard NOTHING through all that time. I had been begging for info, but no one had been forthcoming with anything.

Seeing that I was the Senior IT person at the Embassy there, I know all the email address naming conventions throughout the Department of State...especially in Rwanda. So I decided to start emailing choice people in the Embassy about where my Jeep was. I cc'd the U.S. Ambassador to Rwanda (thought he might like to know how well his employees perform when it comes to other people's property :evil: ) and an entire line of Americans and Rwandans that have anything to do with shipping. Let's just say that the email that I wrote and sent all through the Embassy was not the nicest email I have ever sent...to say the least :twisted:

So, the email that I sent was basically begging for ANY information at all. ANYTHING! Up til this point, I was still expecting it in my driveway (it should have already arrived, to be honest). So since I hadn't heard anything at all...I decided to inquire. The emails started to fly Friday morning (EST) and I received a response that basically stated it was in Belgium (the DoS storage facility where they transition personal property between the U.S. and any place to the East) since March 30th! Yep...as of Friday....the Embassy had left it sitting in Belgium for 45 days without doing a thing other than sending a periodic email, of which they received no response and didn't bother following up. So...another....nastier email was sent to EVERYONE again with a closing paragraph that stated:

"I am incredibly disappointed in the manner that the U.S. Embassy in Kigali handles employees' (former or not) personal property. I hope that this issue gets resolved in the VERY near future and I would appreciate any information that anyone can provide as it transpires. I have not taken any formal action concerning this, but if these types of unprofessional delays continue, I feel I will have no choice."

Let's just say that the rest of the email was nowhere near as nice :twisted: .

Fast forward to this morning....

I had also included a few choice people in Washington on the email sent on Friday, to include my ex-father-in-law, who is the former head of the storage facility in ELSO. Come to find out, the Embassy never notified Belgium that the Jeep was shipped from Rwanda to Michigan, via Belgium.

Yep....they never told Belgium that a $30,000 Jeep with $20,000 worth of mods was even heading their direction. So...Belgium all of a sudden ends up with a Jeep on March 30th and they have no idea why it is there. Nice, huh? Well...I also got about 4 emails from 4 different people this morning that have ALL stated that my Jeep is NOW scheduled to depart Belgium and arrive in Baltimore on June 11th. It should have already been here, but at least something is happening, so I am a little more calm now.

As I stated in one of my nasty grams to the Embassy (with the Ambassador cc'd):

"Once again, I have had to take matters into my own hands to solve this issue. I do not understand why I am able to work on this all the way from Michigan, but the people in the position to do this efficiently are "feeling useless". If a former IMS in Michigan can end up solving this issue with NOWHERE NEAR the resources of the General Services Section in Kigali...."

And the funny thing is....not only did I solve this without the resources that the shipping department in the Embassy in Rwanda has....I managed to do it in less than 1.5 working days.

And people wonder why I left my cushy job as a Diplomat. :roll:

4x4x4JK · May 18, 2009, 10:42:41 AM

Nice. You wold think that if they had a vehicle arrive with no determined destination, they would at least question it. Not just shuffle it to the side.

From my history in the car business... once a vehicle hit Baltimore, we would see them as early as seven days later. I am unsure how yours will arrive of where it goes through but it sounds like you are getting close.

Herezja · May 18, 2009, 11:23:04 AM

Quote from: "4x4x4JK"Nice. You wold think that if they had a vehicle arrive with no determined destination, they would at least question it. Not just shuffle it to the side.

From my history in the car business... once a vehicle hit Baltimore, we would see them as early as seven days later. I am unsure how yours will arrive of where it goes through but it sounds like you are getting close.

Yeah....you would think they would have at least raised an eyebrow, wouldn't you? Come to find out...since the Embassy didn't forward the paperwork, they thought it was soon to follow. With all the stuff transitioning in and out of that place....they put it off to the side waiting for the info and it basically got forgotten about. It seems EVERYONE involved droped the ball.

With that being said, I am getting a little closer to receiving the Jeep, finally. After I posted this up, I got several emails from some "higher-ups" in travel for the State Department who are watching diligently for my Jeep to arrive in Baltimore. They are planning to expidite the delivery as soon as it hits port. My household effects were on my doorstep within 8 days of arriving in Baltimore....I am hoping that my vehicle will be the same! Although, since my parents still live in MD (45 minutes from downtown Baltimore) I am tempted to "go visit" and pick it up myself in June and then drive it back from MD. Dunno....we'll see what comes about in June. 8-)

Chris

::Jeep::

longarm · May 18, 2009, 01:14:08 PM

Man, that sucks! Yup, good ol Uncle Sam says "Hurry up and wait." I'm just happy for you that they are shipping your Jeep to your house. I didn't think that they did that. When I got out of the Army, the gov contracted shipper shipped my car to Pontoon Beach Ill, right across the river from St. Louis. I had to find my own way there to pick it up.
Check your milage and do a thorough inspection for any damages. My ex-brother-in-law had his mustand shipped from Peurto Rico to D.C. when he was in the Navy. His car didn't arrive either (Very nice tricked out Mustang) on time. As it turns out, the idiots who were incharge of shipping decieded to drive it around the island and ditch it. My sisters Tracker showed up in Peurto Rico (also Navy) with a much older battery than it left stateside with, the ac (freon?) depleted, along with a few other issues.

Ohhh, my household goods, they broke a coffee table (part of a set I couldn't get anymore) and when I asked about it, they pointed the finger at the military for collection. The military pointed the finger back at the movers. This went on back and forth for 45 days until the time limit for collecting was up. I swear I could have heard both of them laughing.

Best of luck to ya recovering your Jeep.

Herezja · May 18, 2009, 04:06:40 PM

Quote from: "longarm"Man, that sucks! Yup, good ol Uncle Sam says "Hurry up and wait." I'm just happy for you that they are shipping your Jeep to your house. I didn't think that they did that. When I got out of the Army, the gov contracted shipper shipped my car to Pontoon Beach Ill, right across the river from St. Louis. I had to find my own way there to pick it up.
Check your milage and do a thorough inspection for any damages. My ex-brother-in-law had his mustand shipped from Peurto Rico to D.C. when he was in the Navy. His car didn't arrive either (Very nice tricked out Mustang) on time. As it turns out, the idiots who were incharge of shipping decieded to drive it around the island and ditch it. My sisters Tracker showed up in Peurto Rico (also Navy) with a much older battery than it left stateside with, the ac (freon?) depleted, along with a few other issues.

Ohhh, my household goods, they broke a coffee table (part of a set I couldn't get anymore) and when I asked about it, they pointed the finger at the military for collection. The military pointed the finger back at the movers. This went on back and forth for 45 days until the time limit for collecting was up. I swear I could have heard both of them laughing.

Best of luck to ya recovering your Jeep.

Believe me...I am going to check it with a "fine toothed comb" so to speak! :mrgreen: Of course, I have to deal with insurance first on anything that is missing or broken...which I am almost expecting at this point. I always inlcude the "shipping" insurance when it travels....I don't pay $1500 a year in insurance premiums for nothing!!! :mrgreen: At least, I hope I don't!!

::Jeep::

LPM606 · May 19, 2009, 08:48:14 AM

Wow, unreal... I am looking forward to seeing the beast when it finally arrives, though.

Herezja · May 19, 2009, 03:00:17 PM

Quote from: "LPM606"Wow, unreal... I am looking forward to seeing the beast when it finally arrives, though.

Hehe...me too! :mrgreen:

::Jeep::

Herezja · May 19, 2009, 03:03:00 PM

Quote from: "Herezja"
Quote from: "LPM606"Wow, unreal... I am looking forward to seeing the beast when it finally arrives, though.

Hehe...me too! :mrgreen:

::Jeep::

Here's a couple pics....just cause I feel like posting them and not running the vacuum through the house (which is what I am supposed to be doing) :mrgreen:

jeepfan1974 · May 19, 2009, 04:30:01 PM

bet ya cant wait to get some u.s mud on it again ::Jeep::

Herezja · May 19, 2009, 04:58:45 PM

Quote from: "jeepfan1974"bet ya cant wait to get some u.s mud on it again ::Jeep::

No doubt!!

LPM606 · May 21, 2009, 10:34:57 AM

That's a sweet looking rig. I love the snorkel! If you see some of our pics from the liberty last year, you will know why i am a big snorkel fan...