It all started some 6 months back when the start/stop button
of my Fitbit Charge started giving problems. It would light up the display
screen of my charge with the slightest movement of my hand. I dismissed it for
some temporary problem and overlooked it. I ran the Pinkathon with my Charge on
my hand. And it showed me my first ever running performance and I was immensely
proud of the statistics. Then one fine day after finishing my Yoga class, when I
came back home, that very problematic button had fallen somewhere much to my
dismay and it was so tiny that I couldn’t find it anywhere even after searching
on the road from where I got home. I was left with no tracker and that left me
little dejected.
That was a gift from my hubby for our last wedding
anniversary and it had come from Germany. And I thought that I lost such a useful
and expensive gift. I mentioned it to my colleague, Mansi W, who suggested that
I write to Fitbit and ask what can be done in such a case. I was convinced that
nothing can be done and some months passed in my laziness. I still hadn’t
written to Fitbit. Then one fine day on an auspicious day, I wrote to them and
immediately got a response from Fitbit USA. They asked me send the invoice of
the Fitbit Charge and also a photo of the Charge which prominently showed the push-button
missing. I got a response from them in a few days where they were ready to give
me a replacement of Fitbit Charge without any additional cost. I was
spellbound. With great excitement, I told them my readiness to have a
replacement. But they did not have my size (S) and so they were ready to send
me the next available size, L. With a heavy heart, I was ready to take whatever
size available. The S size of my earlier Charge from USA was so big for me that
I had to use the last 2-3 slots in the belt to wear it. L size I thought would
be enormous and would fit on my upper arm only.
I waited for the product to reach me and it came as promised
but with a glitch. I was asked to pay custom duty of INR 1500/- if I wanted to
take the delivery and I was told that I will not be charged anything. I refused
to pay and take the delivery. They came one more time and I refused again. So
it went back to US. I exchanged a few mails and asked Fitbit to settle the
matter with the courier company, Fedex. But nothing happened and the product
went back. I lost the hope of getting a replacement. I got a mail again from
some different associate asking me the reason for refusing to take the product.
I again explained the whole matter to her and she was ready to send me the
latest Fitbit Alta, again free of cost. She have me choice of S, L, XL and
Black, Blue, Plum and Teal colors. I chose S and Plum. I made it very clear to
handle the custom duty in advance and hoped to at least get the tracker this
time.
To my surprise, on the 3rd day of confirming the
color and size, the door-bell rang to deliver my new Fitbit Alta, sans any
duty. I couldn’t believe my eyes and my luck for a few minutes. Where had it
all started and where did it end. My laziness, Mansi’s suggestion, my writing
to them and finally getting the product in my hand. I immediately configured it
and started using it. Was more than happy for the response I got from Fitbit US
and thanks dear Mansi. If you hadn’t given me the idea to write to them and
followed it up with me, I would have been sitting lamenting over my old Fitbit
Charge.
Fitbit Alta is a sleek tracker without any push button. It
tracks your steps, calories, kilometer travelled in a day and also your sleep
pattern. It automatically records any activity which you do for more than 15
minutes. I went for a walk today for 30 minutes. It gave me all the statistics
for this particular activity. I am happy that I got hold of this one and look
forward to many more milestones such as marathons, walkathons and much more.
Amen!
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