Just received a sincere, unprompted response from Woot customer service:
"Dear midnightslide,
We try very hard to stay ahead of issues, but almost no one could predict the trouble Hurricane Sandy would cause. We don't want to make light of the situation on the East Coast so we're just gonna say this one straight: your 32" 720p Philips LCD HDTV has been delayed in shipping from our vendor because of the trouble with the storm.
We've been told the TV should be shipping in the next day or so, and we'll send you tracking as soon as we have it. We're sorry that you have to wait, but we promise: that TV should be in your arms very soon. Thanks for your patience, for real. It's appreciated.
All the best,
Woot.com"
The response does make me feel like someone over there actually cares, and it is genuinely appreciated on my end. However, the situation still leaves a very bad taste in my mouth, considering the time that I am going to have to wait for the TV to get to me once it does actually ship.
I agree that something needs to be done to remedy this situation. Whether that come in the form of a partial refund, credit on a future purchase, or something else, it will need to be somewhat substantial. As mentioned above, there are other retailers that have taken the storm in stride, and managed to take care of all of their customers. Tracking info was issued, and people have received their goods. Here we are, 7 business days later, without tracking info or a definitive date when our product will actually ship. Completely unacceptable.
Once again, I miss the old Woot.