Poor Service with Amazon :( (1 Viewer)

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?

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,

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.



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.

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. :rolleyes

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.