Telepresence Robot Crosses Atlantic Seven Times Trying to Get Home
fedex.com
fedex.com
The package is a QB robot from Anybots. It's on it's way home from London to San Jose (we thought) for an upgrade. Over the last 18 days, FedEx has literally flown it across the Atlantic 7 times.
The sender inadvertently reversed the Sender and Receiver on the waybill, and was advised to 'just put arrows between the two, it happens all the time'. It got as far as San Jose distribution, who apparently missed the arrows and shipped it right back to London. Since then, and in spite of literally dozens of phone calls, this guy has been racking up frequent flyer miles.
QB in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mz4FshiMu3U
The thing went to Uruguay, to the US (same city name), to Australia (ditto), to the UK, back to Australia, back to Uruguay, to the UK again, to Spain and Germany (think it wanted a holiday), and finally showed up on our doorstep 18 months later, thoroughly mangled, covered in scrawls by bemused postal workers.
Hell, you can't fault them for trying, and I was impressed it ultimately reached us - and that its 40,000 odd mile journey cost the grand sum of £2.95.
Common enough that they have preprinted stickers.
Anyway, I was in the middle of moving and misplaced the note and forgot about it for some time. When I went to the post office I was informed that it was mailed back to the sender since I did not pick it up in time. It has been a few years and my friend never received the returned package.
Anecdote: my brother mailed photos to his in-laws in Bangalore. The in-laws never got the package, but they found local children carrying the pictures around as novelties.