Sunday, December 7, 2008

Amazon.com SUCKS!!!

This is my recent online review of Amazon.com based on my experience

Amazon sells products they claim to have in stock, but don't. To hide this fact, they put a "hold" on your account so you can't log in and see what's going on.

This is a bit long winded, but worth the read to understand the depth of how bad their service is.

Customer service (yeah right) has their hands tied. With your account on hold "customer service" can't log-in to your account either. So, they email their "account specialists" (whatever that is) and then they are supposed to email you back within 24-48 hours to help. Seriously, that long. Three days later, they emailed me with a pre-generated email that said my order can't be shipped right now and that sometimes their stock of items fluctuates and they are sorry for the inconvenience. To add insult to injury the email provides a link to sign-in to my account, but since my account is on “hold” I can’t. Additionally, you can’t reply to the sender of the email, how frustrating. Wow, that was helpful huh?

So I email “customer service” using words that might only come from a death row inmate on his way to be executed, I mean it was really really nasty. I waited about 12 hours, which is how long the “customer service” emails are supposed to take to be answered. No email reply comes. So I call them and get this really nice agent on the phone who looks at the string of emails that have been sent. She stated to me that my last email was “awesome” and that she really appreciated it because that’s what the company needed to hear, she stated that she had regret that she felt this way about her own company. She was very nice to me and apologized for the way the company had been treating me. She even commented that she totally understood my frustration and that it wasn’t like I was just buying some $10 book, it was a $1,500 HDTV. She said very politely that all she could do was email the “account specialists” that my case has been mishandled and that I was a real living person with feelings and would like some answers, not pre-generated emails that don’t help. At the end of our conversation, she said, I have to tell you that after I hang up with you a pre-generated email will be sent to you, and please don’t be mad. I told her that I really appreciated her understanding and that since she told me it was coming, I wouldn’t blow another gasket.

This morning I checked my email and found that Amazon emailed me and had taken the “hold” off my account, but they gave absolutely no explanation in the pre-generated email. I still don’t know if I will ever get the TV, because when I log in, it says that my TV hasn’t shipped yet. So I decided that I will just cancel my order, retreat back and lick my wounds. No such luck, my account stated that I was unable to cancel my order because it was still being processed. Unbelievable. This is where it stands as of now.

Amazon is the worst online retailer I have ever dealt with period.

5 comments:

Chuck said...

Incidentally, luxury items like HDTVs are stacking up at international ports (especially in China) because no one can get letters of credit to send their wares away. The price of hiring a ship has dropped from $11,500 or so per day, last year I believe, to the high 600s. (Nope... not 6000s.) It barely even covers the crew's earnings and the gas. A lot of car parts are on indefinite back order because they can't get here from other countries.

So that could be Amazon's fault, or it could be the economy's fault. I don't rightly know where I'd place my bet.

Chuck said...

Rather, no one in receiving ports can get letters of credit to take in a shipment. That's what I meant.

Anonymous said...

After reading all of that -- somehow I am beginning to feel bad for Amazon. Go getum son. Dad

Anonymous said...

Who cares about amazon? I'm just so exited that you thought of me and are buying me a new HDTV!!!!

You are the best brother ever!!!!

Dave

Anonymous said...

Well I have seen the HDTV since it was finally delivered and I must say WOW - looks great. Dad