A WWYD question

[anamika]

A friend of mine recently had a baby girl and I sent a dress for her baby thru HA online. I also ordered some stuff for my DD at the same time. I received DD's clothes a week back.
When I tried to track my friend's order, HA informed me that there was no tracking on the package. Is this normal? I thought most online stores ship with some sort of tracking. I know DH usually spends way more time tracking when he's getting his electronic goodies than he should.
Anyway, I asked HA what to do about it and they said I should call my friend and make sure she got it. Also they offered to contact her and find out if she had received it so I gave them her email id (I hate giving out my own phone number so I definitely didn't want to give out my friend's). I haven't heard from them or my friend.
I feel I would be putting her on the spot if I did call and she had received it. She's a new mom - I'm sure she's busy. I don't want her to feel bad for not acknowledging it! I'm really not the sort to expect a thank you note. I just want to make sure she got it!
Also we're not in close contact - we are the kind of friends who talk infrequently, email once a month or so but manage to pick up the threads whenever we meet up. So I can't just call to talk about her day and hope she mentions it.
Aahhhhhh!!!! Why, why couldn't they just let me track the package?
What to do? Should I just send her email and ask her if she got it?
What would you do?
TIA for any suggestions,

[annasmom]

I am torn. I am also not the type to expect a thank you note, especially from a new mom. I did however once ask a friend if he has received a baby gift that I sent to him and his wife. If I remember correctly I couldn't track the package, but I also had just ran into a friend who asked ME about a package that she had sent to me after the birth of my dd a year earlier (which I never got), so I was in a particular mind set.

Honestly, I felt like kind of a jerk when I asked my friend about the gift I had sent. They had received it, and it was obvious that I had put him on the spot and he felt a bit awkward. It was no big deal, he knows I am not like that and I made a big deal about "just wanting to make sure they had gotten it", etc.

How long ago did she have the baby? She most likely received the gift. I think I would wait at least one month to ask whether she received it. But then again, if she didn't receive it, what will HA do about it, if anything? Will they refund you if she says she never received the gift? Maybe you should try calling HA again.

[almostamom]

I would call her and tell her exactly what you stated here. You tried to track the package, there isn't a record of it, and you're worried she didn't receive it. If she says she got it, you can always say something like "Oh thank goodness, I didn't want you to think I hadn't sent something or forgot about you."

HTH,
~Linda~
DS 11/9/04

[annasmom]

You know what, I agree with Linda. My response completely overthinks the issue. I know that I wouldn't be offended if someone asked me if I had received a gift and explained the situation to me.

[almostamom]

Oh, Eileen, please don't think that I was trying to contradict your advice. We posted at about the same time and I didn't even see your suggestions. I'm just a "tell it like it is" kind of gal in these situations.

~Linda~
DS 11/9/04

[annasmom]

No no, not at all, I just think you are right! :)

[anamika]

Hi Linda and Eileen,
Thanks for the input. I think I will wait till Friday and then send her an email and hope she's got it.
I'm really extremely irritated with HA - to me it seems to make absolute sense to allow tracking for a gift. I always track anything I mail out to people who have bought stuff from me - for theirs and my protection. When I mentioned that they should offer tracking, they said I should have put a note in the special request. Well, d-uh!! If I knew they were going to ship without tracking, I would have!!
SOrry - that turned into a total rant!!
Thanks again - I won't feel so bad now about asking my friend outright but I'm still hoping it won't come to that.
Eileen, I totally agree with you about overthinking situations - I do it all the time!

[alexsmommy]

Ditto the say exactly what you wrote here. Including the part about being torn because it is so not about acknowledgement from her - you get the new mom thing, but just because you didn't know if you needed to follow up with HA. I wouldn't think anything of that.
Alaina
Alex 2-4-03

[almostamom]

I'm so surprised that Hanna didn't have tracking on the package. Everything I've ever ordered from them has had a way to track it. Who would have thought you had to put in a special request for it?

~Linda~
DS 11/9/04

[kcimato]

If I have a small package from Hanna, I often don't have tracking,especially if they send it USPS.

[BeachBum]

I would pretend like you had a problem with the stuff you ordered at the same time, and that is why you were checking to see if it had arrived.
Kind of lame, to blame it on HA but I think it would help to diffuse the situation. :)