10 facts about Amazon

[soulfuldog]

I once emailed Amazon support about an MP3 album I'd bought to say that the sound quality of it wasn't up to scratch and so I'd like a refund so I could buy the CD and make my own MP3s from it. They were pretty helpful.

I can appreciate the "boilerplate response" complaint though, I do however think if you have a genuine support issue they can deal with other than just a general complaint/query, they can be very helpful, even via email.

[fancybee]

ok . now I read a lot of negative things about Amazon, I didnt know before. But I never had problems so far with the service and I order a lot of stuff there...but good to know anyways

[cghipp]

Originally Posted by forsooth

now I think maybe she is Vice President of Human Resources
That explain her taking so much time

Nice one!

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by wizwor

I can't think of any other CS that isn't terrible.

Logitech has epic customer service. At least, they had a few years back. I called them because the glide pads under my MX700 mouse were wearing down, and the mouse was only 2 years old; they told me they'd fix it as soon as possible by sending some new pads in the mail.

2 days later, I received a package, holding a new MX700, and some pads as a reserve...

In 2010, I called them because the battery in my Harmony One became so big (bloated) that I couldn't get it out. They told me they'd fix it.

They did so by sending me a new Harmony One with their apologies, and a note that I didn't need to send the old one back. "Just disconnect it from your account, connect the new one, and you should be fine."

I didn't; I finally managed to get the battery out by sliding a *very* thin knife under it, then squeezing, and pulling the battery and knife at the same time. A new battery for about €15 fixed the old Harmony One, and I gave it away. It's still in use today. (As well as the new one, which I still use.)

[cghipp]

There is a cosmetics manufacturer in the US that has incredible customer service - Art of Beauty. Their main lines are ZOYA nail polish and QTICA nail and skin care. I've been a customer for a few years and I have never seen a company give such great coupon deals and outright free stuff to its customers. (Plus, if you like April Fool's gags, you'd love theirs from this year. "Grassy Nail: Grow it, then mow it!" The chia french tips were my fave...) If you should happen to have a problem with a product (like a bottle I received with a cracked rim), they take care of it STAT and with no trouble. I got on the live CS chat they have on their site, texted a cell phone pic of the bottle, and they sent a new one out to me right away.

Another great site for customer service is Zulily.com - a daily sales site. On one occasion I didn't get the free shipping I was supposed to receive (for the second order within a certain time period) and after emailing them I got the free shipping plus a $10 credit. Another time I received the wrong item and, because they couldn't get the size I needed, they gave me my money back, plus a credit, plus they told me to keep the item I received (which I was happy to do, and give to my niece as a gift). Recently they were unable to get an item I had ordered, and they gave me my money back and a credit. I'm making it sound like they screw up all the time, but I have ordered from them a lot over the last year.

If anyone is interested in either of these companies, let me know and I'd be happy to send you a link that would give us both a coupon or credit.

[ProfCrash]

I thought fact number 1 was that Amazon is run by a Seth Master who only appeared to be good.

[glebarc]

Originally Posted by David Munch

11. The headquarter is not located in the Amazons. (Took me a few years to realize that!)

Good article.

Amazon is run by extremely tall women - and apparently they live on a cloud.

[NickyWithNook]

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

I've never used Amazon's customer service, but their customer service is why I have a Kindle instead of a Nook. I listened to a friend who had to deal with B&N customer service.

I definitely have to admit, having dealt with both, that Amazon wins the customer service competition between the two easily. Amazon is always on your side, trying to make it right and make you happy. B&N seems to make me feel like an adversary.

[Difflugia]

As long as we're sharing customer service stories, I recently had a fantastic experience with Books on Board. I bought an ebook that wasn't formatted properly and sent an email asking for a refund. I was expecting at best a grudging refund and at worst the runaround, but instead got an email at 6AM the next morning that apologized for "the delay", informed me that they had contacted the publisher, and offered me the choice of waiting for the new edition or getting a refund. They then put up a message warning anyone else that might want to buy the book that they're waiting on a new edition.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by Difflugia

As long as we're sharing customer service stories, I recently had a fantastic experience with Books on Board. I bought an ebook that wasn't formatted properly and sent an email asking for a refund. I was expecting at best a grudging refund and at worst the runaround, but instead got an email at 6AM the next morning that apologized for "the delay", informed me that they had contacted the publisher, and offered me the choice of waiting for the new edition or getting a refund. They then put up a message warning anyone else that might want to buy the book that they're waiting on a new edition.

Good for them.


That said, that is pretty much the only reasonable response, no?
Once they know they are selling a defective product the best way to avoid further CS activity (and costs!) is to either stop listing the defective product (and lose sales to less scrupulous vendors) or to list it with a warning.

[johnnyb]

Customer service ... Blabla...
They should require their managers to work in their warehouses periodically...
Once everything is in the cloud, fine, but until then, there are real people slaving over real goods, while being customer-serviced by a bunch of self-important morons...

[Indio777]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

That's why you don't bother with the email support and just pick up the phone. That's where people get confused when talking about Amazon's "great customer support:" they're talking about when dealing with a human on the phone. Email support for extremely large entities always sucks... everywhere. That's why you don't use it... anywhere.

Amazon's CS is great = Amazon's phone/human CS is great.

Don't even bother with anything else.

Perhaps the quality of email support depends on the nature of the problem (technical vs. non-technical).

I have only dealt with Amazon's CS via email or online (to return items) and have never had a problem.

My one experience with Amazon UK's CS was also positive. Earlier this year, one order divided into two shipments never arrived. After waiting well past the estimated arrival date, I sent an email. A replacement order was set up within a few hours.

On the other hand, if I were to have a "technical" problem, such as a problem with a Kindle Reader I think I would probably call. Seems as if that would be faster and more efficient.

[HansTWN]

The only thing I am not satisfied with at Amazon is international shipping. Their rates are not competitive, in many cases they just offer the most expensive options. And, about a year ago, they started to collect local taxes and custom clearance fees --- something I never had to pay for before because the value per shipment is not high enough.

So now I just have my items shipped to a transshipping company in the US and have them send it to me. If a shipment sent directly from Amazon costs about $60-70 for shipping, customs, and handling I can get the same for about $40.- through a transshipper. And that includes the transshipper's fees.

Other than that Amazon definitely has the best service in my book.

[jersysman]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

...If a shipment sent directly from Amazon costs about $60-70 for shipping, customs, and handling I can get the same for about $40.- through a transshipper. And that includes the transshipper's fees.

Other than that Amazon definitely has the best service in my book.

Have you bought that to the attention of Amazon? Since they like to price match anything I wonder would that be willing to do that with shipping fees as well. Or else, use the same trans shippers that you use.

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by jersysman

Have you bought that to the attention of Amazon? Since they like to price match anything I wonder would that be willing to do that with shipping fees as well. Or else, use the same trans shippers that you use.

I didn't bring it to Amazon's attention since I also buy a lot of US only items and then I need the transshippers anyway. I also am a US prime membership so the shipping part inside the US is free. Also I suspect Amazon is either pocketing the tax and customs fees or they just pay every time to save on handling. Either way, it stinks for us customers. For non-commercial shipments below $500-800 we never pay any import tax and VAT. And I didn't even mention the worst case I have encountered. A very bulky shipment, but value was less than $250.-. The only shipping option Amazon offered was US$ 450.- (including about 5% import tax and 5% VAT). That is when I got the prime membership, had the items sent to the transshipper for free, and on to my home for about $82.-, all included. Still received the goods in less than 2 weeks. The savings in this case alone paid for quite a few years of prime membership.