Imagine spending hours scouring the internet for the very best deals for Christmas presents. Imagine painstakingly researching the reviews of 30 or so toys and finally placing an order. Imagine delighting in your finds and rejoicing that you’ve finished shopping within your budget. Imagine spending the remainder of the day walking on air, eagerly anticipating the joy on your children’s faces. Imagine touting your success to your husband, being proud of your diligence, perseverance, and most of all your thriftiness.
Then imagine opening your email to read that the order has been canceled. Imagine that there is NO information about why. Imagine pulling up the website to see that items that were on sale 6 hours earlier are no longer on sale. Imagine calling customer service and being told that the order was canceled because there was a pricing error. Imagine being told you are shit out of luck, because the website has a disclaimer in their terms and conditions that absolves them of responsibility. Then imagine your rage when the pompous “Area Manager” asks how a customer can expect to pay $4 for a $40 dollar item. Imagine being blamed for an error made within the walls of their organization.
Imagine being really disappointed that you can’t purchase the items at their new prices because you simply can not afford to.
Then Imagine that the company in question is Amazon.com.
by Megin Hatch
[tags]Amazon poor customer service, shopping on a budget, Christmas, holidays, gifts, internet shopping [/tags]
Photos graciously provided by massdistraction, through a Creative Commons license, some rights reserved
4 responses so far ↓
thordora // Nov 28, 2007 at 4:56 am
While I can see their point about the expectation of a 40$ item for 4$, the correct thing to do would have been to let the order slide, or at least make some attempt to find a common ground. Most brick and mortar stores, if they have a price on signage, they will honor it, unless it’s something really crazy that’s obviously a mistake or they have conditions attached.
We’ve done 80% of our shopping online, and no issues yet (crossing fingers)
Megin Hatch // Nov 28, 2007 at 1:36 pm
t: I agree they should have made some effort, any effort to appease their disgruntled customer. Perhaps fulfilling the entire order would have been too much, but standing up and honoring one line item would have absolutely changed how I am feeling, and would hardly have broken their bank.
And yes- it was a deep discount. But items are overstocked or not moving and go on clearance all of the time.
Thing is, Amazon does not have to work to satisfy their customers. There are plenty of orders placed every day, even one noisy complainer is not going to make a difference. Some companies do not need to rely on customer service for their success. Their products and prices are competitive and convenient.
But I am still ticked off in a big way. And sad.
STL Mom // Nov 28, 2007 at 8:15 pm
I’ve never had any problems buying books from Amazon, but last year, just after Thanksgiving, my husband ordered several items (not books) that were supposedly in stock at Amazon but did not arrive until after Christmas. As they were intended to be Christmas gifts, he was not happy!
I’m sorry you had an even worse experience.
Marc Karasu // Nov 29, 2007 at 12:36 pm
Great blog
Measuredup.com is a site you might want to take a look at. It is for people like you that are involved consumers.
Measuredup is a leading Customer Service review site where you can read, write and share Customer Service reviews which can in turn be read and forwarded by thousands of users and can also be read by the company you are reviewing.
http://www.Measuredup.com
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