I don’t like to complain too much about companies, but the way I was treated by certain Amazon employees today (and yes, more than one) is something that I feel I have to document. I had ordered a CD by the Waco Brothers, and it arrived today (several days later than originally promised, but that is not the issue at all). The CD case was cracked, and all the little teeth that hold the CD in place were broken, every single one. So the CD would just slide around in its case. I immediately called Amazon in order to get a replacement.
Call #1
I explained the situation, and the first person, Eve, told me she’d have to transfer me to another department. She did. The next person almost immediately hung up on me. I believe that was not deliberate. I called back.
Call #2
No one ever answered. I listened to that same jazz song multiple times and then the call just ended without my ever having spoken to someone. So I called again.
Call #3
No longer in a good mood, I explained everything that happened, and asked that they be careful not to hang up on me. The man apologized for my earlier experience, and assured me he wouldn’t hang up on me. He also told me that he couldn’t help me, that it looked like there wasn’t a replacement available for the item, and he transferred me. The guy he transferred me to was incredibly rude, and kept interrupting me as I explained what had happened. He said I would have to take a photo of the item to show that it was damaged and fill out a form he would send in an email. And that I would have to call back again after filling out the form. I said, no, let’s just stay on the line while I fill it out. He told me that wasn’t possible. As I was responding, he said he had to end the call and hung up on me.
Call #4
Now furious, I called again. I explained the entire
thing, and asked to be transferred to a supervisor. I told the supervisor that
I understood that normal procedure is to send the item back, but that I did not want to spend any more time on this, that I did not want to wait in
line at the post office to return the item. After how I'd been treated, I just wanted the money put back on
my account. He said he couldn’t offer a refund until I sent the item. I told
him to forget the item; now it was about how I was treated. Call it an act of
good will in the name of customer relations. He refused, and actually – and I
can’t believe this – he hung up on me. While I was asking him to transfer me to
whoever is above him, he just hung up the phone. The thing is, they absolutely can offer a credit to a customer. It happened to me several years ago when I had ordered something and they had - twice - sent me the wrong thing. They refunded the money and told me to keep the item for the inconvenience. It can be done. Not only did these people refuse, but they treated me incredibly poorly.
I am done with Amazon. There are other reasons to hate Amazon, of course. But I don’t think I’ve ever been treated like that by any company ever.
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