Poor Service with Amazon :(

I have been a victim of really bad service at Amazon and thought I might share my story for those of you thinking about placing an order there.

I ordered a software book on Monday (Jan. 31st) and received a notice that the items would arrive on the 3rd or 4th by standard shipping (1st class - $3.99) which was fine since I needed the book by Friday for a weekend project. Thursday and Friday rolled around...and nothing. I thought well it is our screwed up US Postal Service-let's give them another day...Saturday...nothing. Finally I send a polite but firm email asking "what's up?"

Amazon's response? Give them to Wednesday! the 9th before contacting us again.

At this point I go to the "tracking" number at USPS (so much for truth in advertising) and see that the only information is that it shipped Tuesday Feb. 1st from Kentucky! I'm only in Atlanta...are they delivering it by walking?

If I had known that standard shipping by USPS from Amazon was going to be so bad, I would have paid $10 extra and bought it from my local bookstore.

I think this is the last time I ever use Amazon. It's just too much trouble and they are using a horrific delivery service.

Sorry about your experience, but I (as thousands of others) feel that Amazon is top notch. I've actually pre-ordered stuff with 5-6 day delivery and have received it the day AFTER it was available.

Now THAT'S top notch service! I've actually been ordering from Amazon, every month, for the past 8 years with no problems.

I think that's a good indication on their reliability.

Again, sorry about your experience, but your case is probably a-typical.

oh, and p.s. It sounds like your gripe is with the USPS and NOT with Amazon. I'd collect all your facts before bashing a company that might not be at fault.

I'm confused, is your complaint against Amazon or against the USPS? If they shipped the day after you ordered it, I don't see how you can fault Amazon, and they have lots of other shipping options available.

Once Amazon holds up its end of the bargain and ships your item (which it did in Amazon fashion, very timely), how can they be blamed if USPS takes "forever" to deliver it? I've used the USPS shipping option on most of my purchases and I don't have a complaint. But I do know that you have to trade off prompt delivery for lower costs. The specialized delivery services Amazon offers are much timelier but cost more.

Bruce

I DO blame Amazon. It is their responsibility to provide a good estimate of when the package is to arrive. From their email, there are two problems: 1) there is no way to tell where the package is unlike UPS and 2) they appear to be 5 days past the estimate in reality for delivery.

I also blame them for choosing a delivery service that does not work.

As an online vendor it is Amazon's business to make sure their supply chain is tight and well run. It is most definitely not. Think about it this way...if the USPS delivery is unreliable then Amazon will lose market share to a bookseller that uses UPS or Fedex or some other delivery service.

They also must keep credibility with their customers. They can't do that by promising a certain delivery date and then slipping that by a wide margin.

If any more than 5% of shipments arrive late, then Amazon should make us aware that the delivery method is unreliable.

I had the option for $9-10 to do second day delivery but then the book would have cost as much as my Barnes & Noble price.

I understand your frustration, but I do hope you realize that there is very little that Amazon can do to keep the USPS in line. The budget conscious consumer will always demand USPS as an option, even though most people understand that USPS is a crap shoot. As they clearly list all of the various shipping options, and as most customers are familiar with these various options and the relative trade offs, I still don't see how this can legitimately be called Amazon's fault. If you absolutely need it ASAP, then select a more expensive shipping method.

Of course it's Amazon's fault. They promised a delivered date of Friday and now they have pushed it back to Wednesday. That's bad faith-that's also destroying their credibility.

If I had known this I would have gladly paid $9 for 2 day shipping. In fact, at that price Barnes & Noble would have been cheaper.

If a USPS worker is sitting on his butt or if a USPS facility is backed up and extremely slow, how the heck is that STILL Amazons fault???

Are you faulting them for not being able to predict the future? for not being able to tell you that your package will arrive late because one of the chains in the USPS chain isn't proficient?

I think your expectation on Amazons part is a bit unrealistic. Exactly. If you do not like USPS (which is where your frustration is coming from) then chose a more reliable delivery method and stop faulting Amazon.

p.s. If your local supermarket leaves milk out until it is expired (on the shelf), is that Hood's fault?

Did they actually "promise" it?

According to Amazon.com: So since when is an 'estimate' a 'promise'?????

Because it is Amazon's responsibility to make sure they live up to their promises to customers.

Because it is critical for an online vendor to have control over every part of their supply chain.

Because I paid $4 for shipping a single software book from just Kentucky to Atlanta should be plenty of cash for 4-5 day delivery.

You guys are a bunch of unsympathetic jerks.

I think what is being repeated over and over again is that no one (except the injured party) believes this is Amazon's fault (and I join that group) and that "poor service" from Amazon is extremely atypical of our experiences. I don't know how many times you have ordered from them ... I have done so dozens and dozens of times. I choose the free delivery and it is usually far far ahead of their estimate. I have had them refund me money, umprompted by me, just because THEY lowered the price of the item within 30 days of me ordering it.

I count Amazon among the absolute top notch vendors, online or b&m, that I have ever dealt with.

I am very sorry you had a bad experience.

No argument there from anybody that knows me.

I just think that your being a little hard on Amazon in this instance. Hopefully you give them another chance someday and you will experience the same high quality service that most of us have experienced.

If Amazon broke an "promise" or a "guarantee", then I would definitely be on your side. In this case, I think most would agree that it was merely an "estimate" (and we have all had horror stories regarding USPS).

Lee,

I'm very happy with Amazon (.com)'s general delivery, even from overseas. Never have I read a "promise" like you continue to claim was made to you. Was it a personal promise? By whom?

Mark Hastings already quoted their text, I'll repeat it:
Did you read Mark's post? Why then did you simply repeat your use of the notion "promise"?

Now, that's very unpleasant for someone who doesn't react to helpful remarks of other posters who friendly take the time to react to their post....
I say it's even not in the spirit of our rules...

Cees

Amazon doesn't promise any delivery date, since once the item leaves their facility they, like anyone else who ships (unless you are willing to pay a premium for courier service), have no control over the shipping time. You gambled that the economy rate would get you your book in a hurry, and now you are denigrating others who don't feel sorry for you. Who is acting poorly?

What's wrong with you people?

Do you think it's fair that Amazon sets me up to expect that I will have the book in my hands by Friday and instead they feel if it gets here by Wednesday it is okay?

Don't you think I have should have a right to a reasonable estimate of when to expect my shipment?

I would gladly have paid extra if I had any hint this would happen.



I did not gamble, I took Amazon at their word.

I guess I made a mistake thinking people here would be sympathetic given the sympathy given for people at every single little issue with Sony. I guess it's different for Amazon. Maybe they have been sainted.



My issue is that this estimate is a good 4-5 business days off. That's too big a margin of error.

If the book is late, and you dont want it or need it anymore Amazon would also be more than happy to refund the order. They are a top notch company. I bet Barnes and Noble would NOT be able to PROMISE a book in the same time if you had ordered from them either.

...your inappropriate attitude. Calling us "jerks" (because we're not agreeing with you) is a good indication that you probably get mad at anyone for no real reason (i.e. Amazon). No, I take offense to people who crucify a great company with absolutely no backup with their defense.

Lee, everyone here is in agreement that Amazon is not at fault and you are totally blowing this out of proportion. How many more times can we tell you that they DID NOT GIVE YOU THEIR WORD!


p.s. I feel sorry for any general contractors who give you an "estimate" and you hold them to that number, right down to the very last penny.

You want a "Amazon poor service" post?

Last November, I order several toys (using the Toys R Us Big Toybook). Couple days later I get word that the charge was declined, so I retried it (plenty of credit on card).

We go through this dance for about a week. Finally I called the credit card company

Me: "Why is this being declined?"

CC Comp.: "What do you mean? The charge has been authorized and the money is on hold"

So I call Amazon.

Me: "What is the problem? The CC company told me the
charge was authorized, yet Amazon says it is still declined?"

Amazon: "I don't know. We can cancel the order and place it again"

Me: "But the money is on hold, the charge will really be declined this time"

Amazon: "When we cancel the first order, it will drop the hold on the money, and the charge will go through"

Me: (Not believing it at all)"Ok, well give it a shot"

Amazon: "Please hold"...."Ok, it has cleared, and was charged to the card with last four digits XXXX"

Me: "What! That is linked with my bank account, I did not authorize you to use that card, how do you have access to those cards?"

Amazon: "That was the only card that would accept the charges"

Me: "But I never authorized you to charge it to any other card, cancel this order now"

Amazon: (3 minutes after the order was placed)"Sorry, it is in shipping status and cannot be cancelled"

Me: "But this may cause things to bounce if I do not have the money in the account to cover it, let me speak to a team leader"

Amazon: "The only thing we can do is let you return them when they arrive"

Amazon team leader: "I'll issue an immediate credit, just return the packages when they arrive"

Me: "Why does Amazon allow employees to make purchases
on customer accounts, using any form of payment, without their consent? Isn't this a potential liability, and very unsecure?"

Amazon team leader: (sound of crickets)

End results:
Charges posted in 2 days
Credits posted in 1 week
Amazon account deleted by me after credits received
Letter sent to Amazon - never responded

I never got an answers as to why they can create a new order on anyone's account, without some form of authorization. I understand changing current orders, but this girl closed one and started a new one, using a payment method I did not authorize.

Chris

What the...? I'm reading this thread and you, unfortunately, are coming off looking very unsympathetic. Calling people jerks, and saying that "everybody" has evidently "sainted"(????) Amazon, will not win your arguement or make people feel bad for you. I also have ordered numerous times from Amazon, and have always been VERY happy with their shipping, timeliness, and customer service reps. If you would actually go ahead and call Amazon and explain what has happened so far, they will probably do their best to give you a credit or something to make up for your EXTREMELY ISOLATED(can't stress that enough!)situation. The overwhelming experience of people here on HTF has been that Amazon cares very deeply about their customers and does the utmost to make them happy. They have expressly stated that their is no guarantee for shipping ONCE IT LEAVES THEIR WAREHOUSE. For some unexplained reason, you don't seem to understand that part......it is an ESTIMATE, not a guarantee. As I and other people have said, call Amazon and nicely explain what happened. They will do something to make up for your poor experience...of that I have no doubt. Sorry you've been VERY unsuccessful in your rant about Amazon so far, but you 'll have a hard time finding anyone who agrees with your assessment of their service and methods. Best of luck........go have a cold one!! It might help

My ONLY bad shipping with Amazon was when UPS, (not USPS), LOST my shipment. Was it Amazon's fault? No. But, in fact, with just a simple e-mail inquiry, they credited me the shipping costs involved, and reshipped my order, (no charge for this shipment), over night, (not using UPS), and I was very pleased. I think you just need to communicate very clearly with them, and they work very well to satisfy the customer. Nobody can guarantee anything when at the mercy of any shipper. The ranting against them is not really necessary. If you still think THEY did you harm, speak with your wallet and don't do business with them any more; but, I think you have given up too easily.

You people read my amazon stinks now thread. Twice they shipped a dvdboxset via UPS with NO PADDING AT ALL! Now they wont even send another replacement probably because it was on sale at the time I ordered. So I think that AMAZON is at fault for poor packaging and UPS for mishandling (which they always seem to do).

They did. The product made it through their supply chain and shipped the day after you ordered it. You now have a beef with USPS's supply chain.

As others have stated twice over now, you were given a reasonable estimate. Choosing the $3.99 option is a 3-5 estimated shipping time. Amazon was spot-on estimating you would have the book by Friday.

Again, since it was an estimate, Amazon is saying that if your order doesn't arrive by the 9th (Wed), you would have a case that the item has gone missing/lost/stolen and they would send you another copy.

Bruce

I understand your situation Lee, but in the case where I really need an item, I always do the 1 or 2 day shipping. There are just too many unforseen variables in the shipping world. As mentioned earlier, amazon gives you an estimate, and no promise or guarantee on shipping methods which are not overnight or 2 day.

As for your comment about Sony, I don't see how this applies to the situation as the complaints about Sony have nothing to do with shipping

J

I have just started using Amazon (the US, Canadian and UK branches) in the past six months or so. I have had nothing but excellent service from them. In fact, I had an item that streeted on 1/25, they shipped on 1/24 (and I got an email with the ESTIMATED delivery date of between 1/30 and 2/1). It arrived on 1/26. And unfortunately, Lee, I think that under time constraints, I would have gone with the retailer that could deliver it on time, REGARDLESS of the extra cost to guarantee it. And I think you need to be reminded of the old saying "The only things in life that are guaranteed are death and taxes..."

I rarely order from Amazon but when I do I get great service. With all the transactions they do not 100% of them can be perfect. If you pay for the cheapest shipping option possible you shouldn't be surprised at a delay.

I have to agree with everyone in this thread but the initial poster, this isn't really bad service from Amazon. It is bad service from the USPS. I had to ship 2 packages, it was going to cost me $21 or so via UPS or USPS, but Fedex ground did it for $15. I dropped it off at Fedex on Friday around noon in NY, it is being delivered outside of Boston on Monday.

Amazon only Guarantees one and two day shipping.

"Guarantee Information

* If you choose One Day or Two Day Shipping as your shipping speed and your order contains items eligible for guaranteed accelerated delivery, we guarantee that your items will arrive on or before the delivery dates shown at checkout. This means we will refund shipping fees associated with your items if they are not delivered to their destination on or before those dates.

YOUR ONLY REMEDY UNDER THIS GUARANTEE WILL BE A REFUND OF THE SHIPPING FEES ASSOCIATED WITH THE ITEMS IN YOUR ORDER THAT ARE ELIGIBLE FOR GUARANTEED ACCELERATED DELIVERY."

According to other posters here, if you email them about the delay in the shipping on your current order, they'll most likely refund the shipping on it even though it wasn't guaranteed.

I use the supersaver shipping whenever I order from Amazon. I would have liked to get the speaker bracket I ordered last week, but it isn't coming until Monday. Am I disappointed? Sure, I would have liked to have my center channel speaker mounted on the wall in time for the Super Bowl. But I paid a lot less than I would have locally, Amazon didn't collect sales tax, and there was no shipping charge. When I need instant gratification I go to a retail store, suffer with parking, their sales staff, higher prices and local sales tax--and vow to only shop on the internet.

Mebbe its just a glitch, you know things happen.

Ive always had good service with them and no probs..

Prolly just one time problem..

OK, Lee, let's explore the technicalities of your complaint, versus Amazon's published info.

Here's the shipping estimate info:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...743125-7967961

As you can see, their estimate for Standard Shipping (the option which you willingly chose) is "3 to 5 business days". There's even an added caveat stating that "Deliveries to Alaska, Hawaii, P.O. boxes, and APO/FPO addresses may take longer." (That would only apply to you if you have a PO box, of course.)

Anyway...here's how that "3 to 5 business days" part works out:

You ordered the book on Monday, Jan 31. That means:

Tuesday, Feb 1 = ONE business day

Wednesday, Feb 2 = TWO business days

Thursday, Feb 3 = THREE business days

Friday, Feb 4 = FOUR business days

Saturday and Sunday are NOT counted as "business days". Even though most businesses (including many delivery services) operate on Saturdays, this is a universal truth. The definition of "business days" is "non-holiday weekdays", period.

So, today is Monday, February 7, which is the FIFTH business day since you placed your order.

So, according to Amazon's own published info, as of this very minute, your order isn't even yet outside the expected delivery date range for your chosen shipping method. True?

And, this applies ONLY if Amazon's published estimates are based of the total amount of time between when you PLACE YOUR ORDER and when it reaches your hands, which I strongly doubt.

Much more likely is: Many companies define "delivery time" as exactly that -- the time it takes to for an item to be DELIEVERED to the final desination AFTER IT HAS SHIPPED. I don't know for sure how Amazon bases their estimate (but my guess, and supporting evidence, will follow), but, if they use this more lenient definition, then the "3 to 5 business days" would actually start counting from Feb 1, the date the book was shipped.

Using my example above, you can see that that would then make Feb 8 the fifth business day. And, since they requested that you contact them again on Feb 9 if you still haven't received your order by then, I very strongly suspect that this is how they base their estimates (which is very common), and that's how they came up with that date. Apparently they don't consider the order late until then, for the reasons that I just explained.

My suspicion (that this is indeed how they base their delivery estimates) seems to be supported by much of the info on this page :

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...743125-7967961

Note this passage in particular:



Now, refer back to the first page I referenced above. If you'll notice, the One- and Two-Day shipping options list delivery estimates of 1 and 2 days (respectively), just like the Standard Shipping option lists "3 to 5 business days" as the estimate. That seems to indicate that those published estimates are, indeed, calculated from the time an item is shipped rather than from the time it is ordered.

So, actually, it's quite probable that, by Amazon's own stated estimates, your order really wouldn't be beyond the estimated delivery date unless you still don't have it by Feb 8. (Even longer if you have a PO box.)

Until then, you do not have a legitimate concern, IMO.

In any event, since Amazon shipped the package out on Feb 1, any holdup (if one even exists) obviously is not with them or their warehouse...it is with the delivery service, in this case the USPS. Still, however, Amazon is ultimately responsible, so, if your order has not arrived by Feb 8, you would want to contact them (as they requested), and I'm sure they will be more than happy to attempt to resolve the matter.

Now, as for what you feel you were "promised" in your confirmation e-mail... I've received a LOT of "order confirmation" and "shipping confirmation" e-mails from Amazon in the many years I've done business with them, and I just scanned back through a few dozen of them. None of them has ever PROMISED any particular delivery date. Some give a range of expected dates, but anytime a SPECIFIC date is given, it is very clearly stated as an ESTIMATED delivery date.

That being the case, I find it doubtful that what you consider a "promise" by Amazon was actually stated as such. You may have INTERPRETED it as a promise, but unless they made an actual explicit guarantee (which I don't think would ever happen with Standard Shipping), it wasn't one. If you took it as such, that's an error on YOUR part.

Even on the webpages referenced above, NOTHING is stated or presented as a guarantee, with the exception of the "Guaranteed Accelerated Delivery" option.

I don't mean to sound unsympathetic, but I simply don't see a problem at this point. All other arguments and technicalities aside, what it all really boils down to is that an estimate is exactly that...an estimate. By its very definition, it is nothing more than an approximation. It implies neither a promise nor a guarantee, and certainly should not be assumed as either.

I am sorry, though, that you didn't receive your book in time to use it for the purpose you had intended. When all else is said and done, no matter how much we dissect the semantics, that doesn't help the project you had hoped to get done over the weekend.

I am sympathetic to your situation, however, I do agree with Linda Thompson on this matter. I've ordered from Amazon.com myself and, being the impatient arse that I am, always use 2-day or if I'm really impatient and want it now, next-day delivery. I have had nothing but great service from Amazon and will continue to use them in the future for books and things I can't get locally.

It definitely isn't Amazon's fault if they ended up actually packaging and shipping the item the day (or even the day after) you placed your order. It would now be USPS's fault. And that's why I never use USPS for delivery options because I know it can be a PITA waiting that long for it.

Well I am feeling better about things. I received a more polite email from Ben in customer service and they did agree to refund my shipping charges and they also agreed that the delivery service reflects on the business and they would add my feedback to the group that looks at improving delivery.

Here's the thing: it is USPS that has screwed up but they are a subcontractor to Amazon and Amazon is responsible to see they get their work done in a timely fashion.

I also feel strongly that Amazon shipping estimates should be as accurate as possible. If you look at deliver days, then Wed. Feb 9th is a full four days beyond what the expected shipping date was. If this is a normal occurance, then fine but add some language on the shipping page that says something along the lines of "you may expect in some cases it may be a week or two" or "these estimates have historically been 60% (or x%) accurate based on our customer feedback", etc. I would not expect a contractor to be within a penny of an estimate but at least in Georgia they are required to be within a certain range.

I thought I could save some money and even if the shipment slipped a day then I would still get the book on Saturday.

I will never use a USPS shipping option again, but that will take a lot away from Amazon's value proposition of price and deep inventory if the extra $10 makes it equivalent to a Barnes & Noble or Borders price and there I get instant gratification of walking out with a book.

I'll let you know if I get the book today.