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Book Nook provides readers with insights into the world of books. Vick Mickunas takes you into the center of the publishing world with the latest book buzz, book reviews, and exclusive chats with authors..Home > Blogs > Book Nook > Archives > 2008 > January > 05 > Entry
customers come first at Amazon.com?!
I guess I’m not the only one who is amazed by Amazon.com. In an age where the term “customer service” is becoming a sad oxymoron, Amazon.com is providing customer service at a high level to millions.
An article by Joe Nocera in today’s edition of the New York Times sums up my feelings about Amazon.
He starts the article by describing a recent near tragedy that was averted because Amazon took his word for something and gave him a 500 dollar item for free. Check this out:
“My Christmas story — the one I’ve been telling and retelling these last 10 days — began on Friday, Dec. 21.
It was early in the morning, and I had awoken with the sudden, sinking realization that a present I had bought for one of my sons hadn’t yet arrived. It wasn’t just any present either; it was a PlayStation 3, a $500 item, and a gift, I happened to know from my sources, that he was hoping for.
Like most things I buy online, the PlayStation had come from Amazon.com. So I went to the site and tracked the package — something, thankfully, that is a snap to do on Amazon. What I saw made my heart sink: the package had not only been shipped, it had been delivered to my apartment building days earlier and signed for by one of my neighbors. I knocked on my neighbor’s door, and asked if she still had the PlayStation. No, she said; after signing for it, she had put it downstairs in the hallway.
Now I was nearly distraught. In all likelihood, the reason I hadn’t seen the package earlier in the week is because it had been stolen, probably by someone delivering something else to the building. Even if that wasn’t the case, the one thing I knew for sure was that it was gone — for which I could hardly blame Amazon.
Nonetheless, I got on the phone with an Amazon customer service representative, and explained what had happened: the PlayStation had been shipped, delivered and signed for. It just didn’t wind up in my hands. Would Amazon send me a replacement? In my heart of hearts, I knew I didn’t have a leg to stand on. I was pleading for mercy.
I shudder to think how this entreaty would have gone over at, say, Apple, where customer service is an oxymoron. But the Amazon customer service guy didn’t blink. After assuring himself that I had never actually touched or seen the PlayStation, he had a replacement on the way before the day was out. It arrived on Christmas Eve. Amazon didn’t even charge me for the shipping. My son was very happy. So, of course, was I.”
Astounding, right?!
In this day and age when we get uniformly mediocre service almost everywhere that we go this tale of Amazon.com is stunningly refreshing.
Customer service requires dedication, high standard, and sincerity. If you peruse the entire article you will find that providing good customer service is its own reward. Amazon.com is kicking you know what these days!
(a current best seller at Amazon.com)
One never knows what one will find IN THE AMAZONE.
Vick Mickunas
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