Serrano's got the disks

Because the company I work for thrives on business with photographers, customer support can be tricky.

On Monday, I received the following e-mail:

Tech Support: Display not working

[…] The device is a mere 2 weeks old. I purchased it by mail order from MacWay in France.

I'd tell Monsieur Author to RMA with MacWay, but:

As I am on a world tour (I am in Istanbul, Turkey for the moment), I cannot simply send my device in. I would appreciate a quick answer as I am moving constantly and I depend on the device.

He is moving constantly. Like a fugitive.

I asked him to provide me with his travel itinerary for the near future so I could arrange a direct RMA.

He replied:

Well that's difficult as there is nothing organised. I can tell you which (main) cities I plan to pass and give you an _approximate_ time schedule:

Konya (1 – 2 weeks from now)
Goreme (2 – 3 weeks from now)
Van (4 weeks from now)
Trabzon (5 weeks from now)

These are all Turkish cities. Next, I will cross into Iran where the first port of call likely will be Tehran.

A practical solution may be that you send a new device to Van (enough time and a major city) and when I pass through I pick it up and return the defective unit to you.

I will have no access to I-net in the next few days (around a week or so). So if you organise a delivery in Van, please tell me the address from where to pick up the new device.

Okay—

1. He must receive the replacement device before he enters Iran. Endicia doesn't insure shipments to Iran and I don't trust the Iranian postal system.

2. His access to the Internet is intermittent, snarling contact.

3. He wants me to determine a rendezvous point — in Van, Turkey.

Uh… The UPS Store?

Scouting secure pick-up locations in Turkey wasn't part of the job description.