Hey guys,

I know customer service snafus around Christmas time are to be expected and I always do what I can to avoid them. I order as insanely early as I can, try to stick to merchants that have a good track record and, whenever possible, avoid using Fedex. But things still can, and will, go wrong.

On the Thursday evening before Christmas my mother called me to say that she wanted to get a digital camera for my sister as a last minute gift. Since I am an Amazon Prime member and can get free second day shipping, she thought I’d be her best bet.

I logged on to the site, found the model she wanted and noticed that it said if I ordered within the next two hours I could have the shipping upgraded to overnight for $1.99. I finished up the order and called my mother back to say the camera would be here Friday, the 21st and then went to bed.

In the morning I checked the order status. UPS said that it was on time for delivery that day (in Washington, DC) but the tracking info said nothing beyond the fact that it had been picked up from Amazon in Kentucky at 3:46 that morning. It didn’t seem like an issue so I just went on about my day. Every so often I would check the tracking info but it never updated beyond the 3:46am pickup. Late in the afternoon I called UPS where, surprisingly for it being so close to Christmas, hold times were pretty short. UPS tells me that, due to volume, their system is slow to update. It still shows on time for delivery today so I will receive it today. I ask what the deadline for “today” is and I’m told 7:00pm.

7:00pm comes and goes. Around 9:00pm I check back on the tracking info. Not only has it still not updated from the original pickup time, it still shows as being on time for delivery that day.

I call UPS again.

Again, reasonable hold times and apologies all around. I’m told again about slow updates to the system and am assured that it will be delivered Monday, Christmas Eve. Whatever. Off to bed.

Saturday morning I check in again. The tracking info is still exactly the same. I call UPS and try, once again to convince them that this shipment has gone missing. It was supposed to have been delivered the day before and the tracking info has not changed since the package was picked up eighteen hours ago and still shows it as being on time for delivery *the previous day*. This finally begins to make sense to them. I’m told that I’ll have to call Amazon and have them start a trace.

This makes no sense to me. Once UPS has taken possession of the shipment I don’t see this as being Amazon’s problem anymore. But since I’m getting nowhere with UPS I decide to give it a shot.

I log into Amazon’s support section and instead of a phone number to call I’m presented with a box that I’m to click to have them call *me*. Although skeptical I click away and almost immediately my phone rings. Kind of spooky, actually.

I explain the situation to the rep, expecting to get nowhere. He puts me on hold for about ten minutes. When he comes back he tells me that Amazon to going to ship me a replacement camera. It will be delivered, by private courier, Christmas Eve, free of charge.

It takes me a minute to process this. I repeat it back to him to make sure I haven’t misheard him. He confirms. I thank him and hang up. E-mail confirmation arrives within half an hour.

Thinking my problems are over I head off to the movies with friends. When I arrive home I have a notice on my apartment mailbox that I have a package waiting in the management office, which is now closed until the day after Christmas. With a sinking feeling I go upstairs and check the UPS site. Yes, the tracking info on that first shipment has been updated. After the pickup time in Kentucky two days before is now a single line, “Delivered.” Nothing else. No interim steps at all.

I now have no idea if Amazon is going to ship the second camera or not since now, as far as they’re concerned, I’ve received the first one. And at this point I don’t care much either. I decide I’m just going to let this play itself out and see what happens.

About 6:30pm Christmas Eve a courier delivers the second camera directly to my door.

Amazon even paid for the return shipping on the first camera since it didn’t arrive on time. I just had to print out the label and drop it off at UPS.

These days you’re lucky if you can get any resolution at all from customer service when things get mucked up. I am completely floored at how far Amazon went above and beyond to fix a problem that, in my opinion, they weren’t even responsible for.

I buy a lot of books, DVD’s and the like. From now on, whenever I can, Amazon’s getting my money. They’ve earned it.

-William

P.S. My sister loved her camera.

Yay, we love happy endings. For those of you having troubles with Amazon, we recommend the click-to-call feature, and their executive customer relations email: ecr@amazon.com.

(Photo:zyphbear)

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