06-21-2011, 02:23 PM | #1 | |
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Amazon Customer Service :D
Several months ago (well past the official limits for sending a book back!), I ordered and paid for a copy of "The Complete Midshipman Bolitho (The Bolitho Novels, Volume 1)" from Amazon. Well, I got caught up in a different series, and didn't get a chance to start it until a couple of weeks ago. What a huge disappointment! The book has gaps in continuity, horrendous spelling and formatting errors, and is just totally unacceptable. Now it would be one thing if it were a freebie, or maybe even a $1.99 book. But it's not. It's $7.99book, and I was frankly Seriously Unhappy.
I looked at how long it had been since I bought it (3 months) and thought "Well, I'm just screwed." But my wife said "Contact CS. What's the worst that can happen?" And so I did. Well, I must say, Amazon CS for the Kindle continues to amaze and please me. Their initial response was to forward the complaint to their "technical" people. Who, apparently, verified that there was no unintended corruption of the file on Amazon. Then they contacted the publisher, who claimed that Quote:
Now I really couldn't ask for better from Amazon. Yes, I'd rather have had a good quality book. But that is directly the fault of the publisher, not Amazon. |
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06-21-2011, 05:02 PM | #2 |
Wizard
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I have yet to be disappointed with Amazon Customer Service, they are awesome!
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06-21-2011, 05:13 PM | #3 |
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I could certainly be wrong, but from what I read about all the data they collect from our Kindle usage, they could probably tell you hadn't really read the book yet.
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06-21-2011, 05:16 PM | #4 |
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Technically they could, but I doubt that they would go through the trouble for that, when giving a free ebook costs next to nothing, and buys a lifetime of loyalty.
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06-21-2011, 05:33 PM | #5 |
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ebooks aren't free to Amazon, they have to pay the publisher for any sale.
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06-21-2011, 05:59 PM | #6 |
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And they could undoubtedly see that I mostly read it. But was continually annoyed and jolted by missing pieces and stupid conversion errors.
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06-21-2011, 06:07 PM | #7 |
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i'm glad to hear this. i had a couple books i bought i wish i could return but haven't. won't do anything about it now, but i'm empowered for future regrettable purchases, within reason.
Last edited by Ditchleyportrait; 06-21-2011 at 06:13 PM. Reason: caveat |
06-21-2011, 06:08 PM | #8 |
Spork Connoisseur
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Always impressed by Amazon's CS.
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06-21-2011, 10:34 PM | #9 |
LB's lolz Mutt Minion
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+5. Amazon sets the standard for online customer service - pretty much since their inception.
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06-22-2011, 09:17 AM | #10 |
Wizard
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I agree that Amazon's customer service is excellent - as this example shows.
But, really, Charlie's experience is no more than Amazon is obliged to do by law. I don't know how things stand in Canada, but in most European companies - and almost certainly in the USA and Canada - the retailer is obliged to stand by the quality of the goods they sell. For example, here in the UK, the law says that goods sold by retailers must be "of merchantable quality" and "fit for the purpose for which they are sold". If an ebook has lousy formatting, to the extent that some people might find it difficult or unpleasant to read, it clearly doesn't fill those criteria. The retailer is obliged either to provide a suitable substitute (not practical in this case) or give a refund. Ebooks are no different than any other product in this respect, and Amazon is no different from any other retailer. Also, the fact that there was a three month delay between purchase and making the complaint doesn't change anything. Where a time limit exists, it's generally specified in years rather than months (six years in the case of the UK). I assume the law in USA or Canada is similar to elsewhere. I'm not suggesting Amazon is merely doing the minimum it needs to do to comply with the law. The company has often showed that they go well beyond the minimum in customer service. I'm just not particularly surprised when I hear stories like this one. |
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amazon, customer service |
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