An Amazonian Customer Experience
My wife and I buy a LOT of stuff from Amazon. When I say a LOT, I mean almost everything we buy (besides groceries) is purchased through their website. We buy everything.. diapers, books, electronics, hair products. If it be sell'n on Amazon, the wife be buy'n.
That said, I've been a Nook user for a while now, but when the new line of kindles came out I thought about upgrading. We are Amazon Prime members so i loved the idea of getting free books. And my nook's battery was now lasting not more than a few hours so I figured it was time for a new e-reader.
That was the beginning of my troubles.
My new kindle touch was delivered a few days after I "one-click" purchased it. It even came in it's own branded box. Cool. Well, not really. Right out of the box, I realized something was not right. The device was not responsive to touches. It wasn't a little unresponsive, it down right didn't work. Turning pages required several hard finger presses on the screen. It was a chore and reading became laborous. I drove to Best Buy to test another device just to confirm my kindle was defective. Sure enough, when I played with the one at the store, it was snappier and responded correctly. The virtual keyboard worked. The menu button worked. Back home, I finally called support in a last ditch effort before returning the device for a new one.
That's where things got worse.
The person helping me could not communicate well nor understand anything I said. She read off a script and didn't listen to anything I was saying about the device. After a 20 minute, one-way conversation, I was very frustrated. I had done the support checklist. I had done the "hard reset". At one point, she said well you can do a factory reset which will take some time. I should go do that and then if it doesn't fix the problem call back later.
I thought, "Really? Do you honestly think that will solve the problem? It's a hardware problem and you know it. You are just trying to get me off the phone."
She was about to hang up when I said I wanted a new device and that the factory reset option was NOT an option.
Breakthrough
She finally got the message, but she didn't just send a replacement which is actually WHAT I wanted. She simply sent me an email with a link to a return sticker for a full refund return. But whatever, I was going to get this resolved.
BTW, I tried to do this online and it told me to call support first for kindle products.
I got the sticker so I can return the device, but here is the kicker, it takes 10-15 days to get a refund. Really? They did explain that I could get my money back sooner if I called when they received the device, but that's extra work for me.
I have a 5 month year old who needs babysitting. My amazon return should not.
Dénouement
After resolving the issue, I requested to speak with a manager. I really wanted to give some constructive feedback. I got some strage, unintelligble response from the rep, and then was then promptly put on hold. And then enventually my call was dropped shortly their after.
Nice.
This was a terrible customer experience. If Amazon expects my family to continue to spend ungodly amounts of money with the online empire, they need to learn a few things from Apple and get their customer service organization in order.
Two tips to better customer service:
- Your customer service reps should be knowledgeable and have a solid grasp of the english language.
- Returning defective products should be easy and hassle free.
This experience has left a bad taste in my mouth. I'm questioning whether purchasing from an online giant like Amazon is worth it. I would rather buy from a company that has a decent customer service experience.
