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[Fixed2BeBroken]

Amazon customer service has really gone in the shitter....

I've been using Amazon since it was just a Bookstore. Never had issues. Always felt like Amazon had the best customer service...

Then this happens and it is literally unbelievable, only because I've always felt they had the best customer service.

If this was walmart or something, I wouldn't be surprised, but this is Amazon.

I made a purchase of some items that were in stock on Dec. 26, items that were shipped and sold by Amazon. Usually when I make a order, I will get a email confirmation a few days later stating that the items were shipped. This time, out of the literaly 100 times I've ordered from this place, I didn't get any email. After 3 days, I called up and questioned as to why it hasn't shipped out yet, because the Money is being held up at my bank. They said that it wasn't expected to ship until jan 2-jan 5 so I had to just wait even tho it's in stock and the money is being accounted for.

i questioned if this was because I didn't have Prime.....(I use to be a prime member but not in the past 3 years). It just didn't make sense that they would sit on an item for a week before sending it out. Either way, their response was basically #dealwithit and wait.

So I waited, then on New Year's day, I get email saying my card was declined. I contacted my bank, and the bank said they charged my card already and they are trying to charge again but the charge is there. I call Amazon and amazon says no that it isn't a charge and to call your bank back with a code. I call the bank back with a code and the bank says no, it has in fact been charged for already and they are trying to charge again and I need to call Amazon back. I call Amazon back and they tell me they see the error and I have nothing to worry about and that it will be shipped out. Spent 2 and half hours on New years day dealing with this.

Then today i get an email and they say its cancelled. I tried Live chat because people say this has always been better than phone support, and they say it isn't Amazon's fault and basically I have to #dealwithit and just re-order and they won't approve free expedited shipping (which they should, why should I be forced to wait another week and a half.) I called customer service and spoke with a supervisor.....his response is the same and not only that when I ask "so what are my options because this isn't my fault" he says "you're right its not your fault but I will have to end this call now" and hangs up on me. Like what in the actual Fuck?!

what happened to Amazon....

 

[TheGeniusArcana]

Let me tell you about the Zero Time Dilemma disaster, OP.

 

[judhudson]

...because I didn't have Prime.....

Pretty much that. You are of little importance to them without Prime :/

 

[Skellig Gra]

You are on pleb level service since you don't have Prime. Choose 1 of the 2 options:

1) Resub
2) Shop somewhere else

 

[Dazzler]

Amazon couldn't give a shit about you unless you're a prime sub

 

[Kilau]

Phone support is always better in my experience.

I've had prime for years and agree that amazon service has really gone down hill.

 

[Jag]

Ordered something very large yesterday, late night (1/4) on Prime.

Options for delivery were:
1. Next day (1/6) for $27 shipping or
2. Prime 2 day which would get to me on 1/10.

I called Cust service and said that 6 days was not 2 day shipping and that they had the ability to get it to me on 1/6. They changed the shipping to 1/6 and waived all shipping charges.

I don't think Sat/Sun delivery options were available because of the size and who was shipping it.

That's pretty damn good customer service.

Edit: Reread the OP. Get Prime or you are a plebe to them.

 

[Totakeke]

I have Prime and it's still pretty hit or miss nowadays. It feels like they have several companies where they outsource customer service to and some of them are utterly awful. They are usually characterized by poor english and lack of caring for your issues. There's also ones that can speak well but sure doesn't give a shit about your exact concerns.

 

[HvySky]

I feel you, OP. Amazon customer service has been on a downward trend for a while.

I am a Prime member, and had an issue with them a couple of months ago, too. I'm dumb and waited until the last minute to buy a gift for a friend for their birthday. I paid extra to have it shipped overnight and arrive the next day (a day before the birthday, just to be safe). Well I didn't get a confirmation that the item shipped until the day of my friend's birthday, and UPS tracking said it was estimated to arrive a week later. I called up UPS first and asked what was up; they said that everything on their end was green, but Amazon hadn't sent it out as 1 day, or even 2 day Prime (which I think would be the default), but one of their slowest options. I called Amazon next and was on hold and transfered to various people for an hour or two. After finally getting to someone who didn't want to just immediately transfer me, he confirmed that Amazon more or less fucked up but refused to refund me the money for the overnight shipping, let alone the entire product. At this point the gift was going to be late either way so I just wanted my money back. After being stubborn for long enough, I got a partial refund and the representative said it would be a one time thing and wouldn't happen again.

Needless to say, Amazon hasn't blown me away as of late.

 

[t26]

Let me tell you about the Zero Time Dilemma disaster, OP.

Or the people trying to price adjust

 

[BPoole]

I've never had an issue with them.

Recently I purchased an item that was $50, I received the wrong item, the item I originally wanted was out of stock on Amazon, but a third party seller had it for $100. Amazon refunded my purchase and gave me a $50 gift card so I could buy it from the third party seller right away instead of waiting for them to get it back in stock

 

[SlimySnake]

I agree. They used to be great. Any inconvenience and they would refund the money and tell me to keep the item. Now they wont even price match their own sales.

I pre-ordered a pro from Amazon and Bestbuy and totally forgot about it until Amazon shipped it to me. I figured i would keep the Amazon one and simply not pickup the Bestbuy pre-order.

Well this thing went down to $340 on an Amazon sale just ten days after release. People who bought theirs at bestbuy got Bestbuy to pricematch Amazon retroactively and got $60 back in return. People like me who bought from Amazon couldnt get Amazon to pricematch their own sale.

I decided then and there not to ever purchase anything at Amazon.

 

[tearsintherain]

Amazon is a data driven business and they have gathered enough data at this point to figure out who are customers worth giving 100% customer service to, and who are customers to just sorta service but not really care about. My wife orders thousands of dollars of stuff every year and she gets excellent CS, anytime she calls in they will do anything to make her happy and she regularly gets big discounts if something arrives damaged or whatever. She is prime of course.

I usually order off her account but I have my own (non prime) and like you they don't give a shit about me, one time something I ordered didn't ship for 3 weeks and when I emailed them asking where it was the order got cancelled with no emails, haha. Ordered the exact same thing (cheaper, price had dropped!) on my wifes account and it was in my house the next day.

 

[Fixed2BeBroken]

Phone support is always better in my experience.

I've had prime for years and agree that amazon service has really gone down hill.

I stated I was on phone support numerous times

Amazon is a data driven business and they have gathered enough data at this point to figure out who are customers worth giving 100% customer service to, and who are customers to just sorta service but not really care about. My wife orders thousands of dollars of stuff every year and she gets excellent CS, anytime she calls in they will do anything to make her happy and she regularly gets big discounts if something arrives damaged or whatever. She is prime of course.

does your wife have prime?

if you seen my order history with amazon.....I have spent TONS.

 

[echoshifting]

My experiences are still pretty stellar. Had to contact customer service twice during the holiday shopping season, and both issues were resolved well above satisfactory levels.

I did have one (very) late package that I contacted them about on the 23rd, stuck with FedEx in TN. FedEx said it wouldn't get to me until the 27th, the Amazon spokesperson said that since FedEx was shutting down for the holiday weekend there was probably nothing to be done, but he said he'd see what he could do. Gave me a month of free Prime and the package did indeed show up the very next morning on my doorstep, all the way in Washington. I have no idea how they even made that happen but suffice to say I was impressed.

 

[Istaerion]

I agree. They used to be great. Any inconvenience and they would refund the money and tell me to keep the item. Now they wont even price match their own sales.

I pre-ordered a pro from Amazon and Bestbuy and totally forgot about it until Amazon shipped it to me. I figured i would keep the Amazon one and simply not pickup the Bestbuy pre-order.

Well this thing went down to $340 on an Amazon sale just ten days after release. People who bought theirs at bestbuy got Bestbuy to pricematch Amazon retroactively and got $60 back in return. People like me who bought from Amazon couldnt get Amazon to pricematch their own sale.

I decided then and there not to ever purchase anything at Amazon.

Had something similar happen to me a couple weeks/months back with Final Fantasy XIV (ARR & Heavensward) for PC. I bought it full price and about a day or two later, it was half-off. Both copies were offered by Amazon and not a third-party.

When I contacted support to get a gift card or partial refund making up the difference since it was so soon after I purchased my item, I was basically told to go pound sand as price matching is no longer universally supported by Amazon but handled on a case-by-case basis when involving heavy electronic purchases such as televisions or what-have-you.

It's definitely made me reconsider purchasing from Amazon if it's something that's readily available at a nearby retail location as they generally support a one week policy when considering price changes and refunds.

EDIT: I've been a Prime member for about five years now and running.

 

[Vhalyar]

Wowee one bad experience and of course it's the entire system that has gone to crumbly shit.

 

[Fixed2BeBroken]

Wowee one bad experience and of course it's the entire system that has gone to crumbly shit.

its not just one experience....its one experience with dealing over 4 supervisors and about 6 different customer service reps....which means its not a singular thing. Since I dealt with so many people.

if it was "one bad experience" thats like one bad experience with one bad rep. this was with multiple supervisors. I mean a Supervisor hung up on me even though I was being reasonable.

 

[Tak3n]

Wait until something does not arrive or missing then....unless you are a prime customer with many years of orders they will demand a police report before refunding. Happened to me and I had been a customer for 10 years

 

[pokeystaples]

This stinks. I am sorry you had such a terrible experience. It sounds like screwing over people who don't have prime is customary. Is there another option that you could use outside of prime? Also, kudos for you for only ordering from amazon a few hundred times. They have me DEEP in their ecosystem.

 

[rjinaz]

I know that if you are not Prime, you're basically shit to them. They won't go out of their way for you, and their shipping sucks.

For example. I had prime for the last 6 years or so and loved it. Stopped using it recently. I choose the free shipping option. Now they charge me immediately. Used to be they didn't charge until the item shipped. So even if it's not currently in stock but will be, they'll just chance the order status to "preparing shipment" so they can charge me right away, even if that status stays that way for 2 weeks or more.

Shipping times are ridiculous too if you use free shipping. I am in Phoenix and some items they have in Phoenix warehouse, they will hold until the absolute last day it can be shipped so it won't be late with free shipping. They will hold on to an item for 13 days and then ship it that last day so it arrives at my house the very last day that falls on their estimated delivery day.

Anyway, this doesn't make me more inclined to buy Prime again, it makes me more inclined not to shop there ever.

Bottom line for me is, if you don't have Prime, don't bother with Amazon or try and buy from trusted 3rd party sellers only because Amazon doesn't give two shits about you.

 

[JJH]

Shopping on Amazon in 2017 without Prime?

 

[Trojita]

OP

When did you call and live chat?

 

[Pastry]

Once Amazon figures out what to do with your problem they're fine but up until that point the customer service is ass. Over the past 3 days I spent over an hour on the phone with them, all I wanted was to get a replacement Kindle shipped to me. It's not fucking hard. And this was with Prime so it's not like I got any special treatment.

 

[superdeluxe]

As others have said..I think being a Prime member makes a difference.

been Prime for 8-9 years, I have always had the best experience, Nice credits etc when they've made mistakes once in a great while.

Then again, I also have a subscription with them (for monthly items) and usually purchase between 60-80

We get expensive dog food/diapers every month. Crap adds up

 

[Darklor01]

Amazon couldn't give a shit about you unless you're a prime sub

In the past, I would agree with this, however, in recent experience which led me to cancelling my PRIME membership after years and years, they no longer care at all regardless of your status. They are now parroting a phrase in a book and that is all. They have a patterned answer for a scenario straight through corporate now which will now just about always wind up in their favor.

I didn't use most of the services they offer for Prime with exception to the two day shipping even if they are good services and I don't read so Prime Reading wasn't for me. I refuse to pay $100 a year to a company that doesn't care whatsoever about me as a customer. I was actually in one scenario offered by the agent to assist me in canceling all open orders, returning all items which could be returned and assistance in canceling Prime. I took that agent up on their offer.

 

[Freshmaker]

It's a busy time of year, so I can give them some lattitude, but when a package never arrives, the shipping meter never updates, and it says "Out for Delivery on Dec 13." Then I ask what's going on and Amazon replies with "It was delivered on the 13 and they give me a completely different shipping number...

Something's up.

All that for that new 3DS River City Ransom game.

 

[Azerare]

I'm a prime member and at least up till now they have been more than helpful. Though you not being a prime sub is probably why they didn't put much effort to helping you.

 

[Hispanic! At the Disco]

Amazon charged me for something incorrectly. Not checking my account i bought 3 things the same day from different places without knowing I no longer had money. I had about $120 in overdraft fees!

I called my bank they said if I could get the amazon payment taken back theyd remove the fees.

I contacted amazon saying hey I was incorrectly charged for this $100 item and in turn caused me $120 in fees and I demand a refund. They didnt only refund me, they also sent me $120 to make up for the fees!

Now that was a year ago, but i cant imagine it has gotten that much worse in a year.

 

[iModem]

Throwing in my two cents here, I've had nothing but good experiences with Amazon customer service. I accidentally got Prime for a second year, called them two months into the service and was like "Can we refund that? I don't use it" And they were like "Sure!" It took about 4 minutes.

The SECOND INSTANCE of good customer service is very recently I did that crazy GAF deal where we were getting FFXV for $10. Well it was hadn't arrived two days after the projected date so I called em' up, they apologized profusely (since it could have been a gift) and gave me the game for FREE, total refund AND gave me $30 Amazon credit.

TLDR; Got FFXV and $30 for free

 

[t26]

To be fair amazon is very clear about not doing price adjustment aside from TV, while bestbuy is very clear about matching Amazon price.

 

[Bornstellar]

Send an email to Jeff Bezos, seriously.

 

[Jazzy Network]

Prime is almost like a Costco membership at this point. You can buy without it but you don't get the membership perks.

 

[BadHand]

The problem is, you want a Prime experience without paying for Prime. Why should Amazon on their busiest time of the year suddenly prioritize you over everyone else? I shop on Amazon without prime and using their Super Saver Delivery. Most of the time I can wait 5-10 business days for something to be delivered, but when I can't you can pay for the faster shipping option.

The money issue is another kettle of fish. I know that Amazon place a hold on the funds while they are waiting to be shipped... this puts an "authorized charge" on the card. Then when they actually ship the authorized charge falls off and the actual debit to the account is made. I don't know if this is what the confusion is from.

I remember ordering Zool, Oh No! More Lemmings and Fuzzball (Amiga 500) in 1992 from a catalogue and it took fucking months. My parents made me buy it from there because it was B2G1F - I didn't even want Fuzzball!

 

[Fixed2BeBroken]

Send an email to Jeff Bezos, seriously.

for real? I mean, it wouldn't hurt right?

 

[Fixed2BeBroken]

The problem is, you want a Prime experience without paying for Prime. Why should Amazon on their busiest time of the year suddenly prioritize you over everyone else? I shop on Amazon without prime and using their Super Saver Delivery. Most of the time I can wait 5-10 business days for something to be delivered, but when I can't you can pay for the faster shipping option.

The money issue is another kettle of fish. I know that Amazon place a hold on the funds while they are waiting to be shipped... this puts an "authorized charge" on the card. Then when they actually ship the authorized charge falls off and the actual debit to the account is made. I don't know if this is what the confusion is from.

No, the problem is, My order got cancelled because my card was
"declined" even tho I had the funds and they TOLD me it would ship out, and now I am expected to re-order and wait ALL over again (which I'm not going to of course).

maybe you didn't read, the fact that I had to wait over a week and half for a item that was in stock and i was already technically charged for, was something I was willing to overlook, but then it got cancelled.

 

[Stumpokapow]

It kinda seems to me like the OP and first reply are both examples of problems with third-parties (in the OP, the bank, and in the first reply, XSeed).

It's not unusual for slow shipping options to actually be fast shipping options, but involve a delay before shipping. This is a logistics thing. Maybe they have stock closer to you but it's limited and they want to keep it available for same-day shipping. Maybe they use most of their shipping capacity on same/two-day shipping and use leftover capacity to serve slow shipping. I guess it's plausible they're deliberately doing a bad job to get you to order Prime, but I think it's a lot more likely that they balanced their logistics to favour the best possible performance for same-day or two-day shipping. The other option if you're concerned about being charged before something ships is to use any credit, and don't pay until the item ships. You won't incur interest in the 21 day grace period, and you also won't need to worry about having the money taken from you prematurely. Credit card companies are also better than banks about settling unwanted charges properly.

It also sounds like all of this occurred over the Christmas break, which is generally a pretty bad time for customer service queues, shipping, and returns.

 

[SpecX]

I've had nothing but great luck with their customer service, but I am a Prime member. Ordered some weights on Dec 31 which were supposed to be here by Tuesday and they got delayed to Wednesday. Did the online chat and they said it was a carrier issue and credited me an extra month of Prime. Wednesday comes and goes by, no package, so i do online chat again and they refund me $10 and promise to reach out to the carrier for a Thursday delivery. I'm keeping an eye out for my package today, but with the extra month of Prime and the $10 bucks back has already more than made up for the delays.

 

[FunkyMonk]

Wait until something does not arrive or missing then....unless you are a prime customer with many years of orders they will demand a police report before refunding. Happened to me and I had been a customer for 10 years

Yep. I ordered Chaos In the Old World & Forbidden Stars when it was announced that ffg wasn't going to be doing GW products anymore. They cost me £80 each and I stumped for the recorded delivery. I got Forbidden Stars fairly promptly but Chaos didn't show up and I only signed for one item but the invoice in the box showed Chaos as part of the delivery but the bottom was only just about big enough for one board game let alone two.

I'm still contesting it over 3 months later and I think I'll have to go to the ombudsman and even if I get the cash back I won't have the game which is going for £150 or so now. It's really put me off using the company znd this Christmas was one of the first for a while where I went shopping rather than order it all online.

I don't have Prime but I've been shopping with them for ages and tend to spend hundreds per year

 

[BadHand]

No, the problem is, My order got cancelled because my card was
"declined" even tho I had the funds and they TOLD me it would ship out, and now I am expected to re-order and wait ALL over again (which I'm not going to of course).

maybe you didn't read, the fact that I had to wait over a week and half for a item that was in stock and i was already technically charged for was something I overlooked, but then it got cancelled.

Yes I read you whole post and I think you need to have a bit more patience. This need for instant gratification is unhealthy.

The initial hold on the card is not a charge and the bank can still decline the card when the charge is put through. This happens because Amazon don't charge until an item is shipped.

 

[Tak3n]

Send an email to Jeff Bezos, seriously.

I remember reading on reddit from a guy who claimed to work at Amazon which said that was not a thing

 

[Bornstellar]

I remember reading on reddit from a guy who claimed to work at Amazon which said that was not a thing

It is 100 percent a thing. I've seen many a forwarded email with an attached "?".

However, after being a bit more thorough in reading through the case...

Yes I read you whole post and I think you need to have a bit more patience. This need for instant gratification is unhealthy.

The initial hold on the card is not a charge and the bank can still decline the card when the charge is put through. This happens because Amazon don't charge until an item is shipped.

You may want to discuss with your bank why the card declined in the first place?

 

[nicoga3000]

Yeah, they've gotten a LOT worse over the years. More noticeable the past 12-18 months.

 

[mysocksarepink]

I have prime and I literally get treated like royalty whenever I need to use support


ty amazon for making me feel respected

 

[Darklor01]

Send an email to Jeff Bezos, seriously.

I sent an Email to Jeff Bezos. It doesn't go to Mr. Bezos.

Below is most of the Email I directly to sent to Mr. Bezos:

[Original Email]

Hi Mr. Bezos,

I'm sure you have many many many more important things to deal with than one customer who is really angry. I am a LONG standing Amazon.com customer, PRIME member, and buy with your company all the time. I spend, for me, what is a lot of money with your company. I try to be fair about policies when I am told that an issue cannot be resolved.

Recently, I bought an item, a video game, through Amazon.com. In less than two weeks, the price was reduced from $59.99 to $35. In the past, I would get that difference refunded without asking for it, and an Email telling me this happened. This did not happen. I am told that policies have changed, and that you no longer do this. I don't understand why, and really, it's business. Amazon.com has it's reasons.

I have many items on order, which I would like to keep on order. I would like to keep my Amazon.com PRIME membership, and I would like to continue shopping with Amazon.com through the holiday season. It seems, Customer Service would "like to assist me" but cannot and will not. One even explained that you are a customer centric company and offered to help me cancel all of my items on order and assist with returns! VERY HELPFUL!

I came across an article written by Adam Clark Estes of Gizmodo who cited a NY Times article http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/18/technology/amazon-bezos-workplace-management-practices.html?_r=0 .

In it was the following quote:
The article doesn’t describe the Amazon I know or the caring Amazonians I work with every day. But if you know of any stories like those reported, I want you to escalate to HR. You can also email me directly at jeff@amazon.com<mailto:jeff@amazon.com>. Even if it’s rare or isolated, our tolerance for any such lack of empathy needs to be zero.

I'm taking you up on your offer to Email you. I've also included my personal Email address in the CC of this response.

Followed with a complete transcript of all chats leading up to that point which I didn't want to include since it would go on forever and ever to read....etc.

Below is an excerpt of the response I got:

Message From Customer Service

Dear ,

I'm Wilmani from Amazon.com. Jeff Bezos received your email, and I'm responding on his behalf.

Thank you for taking time in writing to us with your feedback about the price match. I can tell you've given this a lot of thought, and we're grateful you took the time and opportunity to send us your feedback. While I know you're disappointed with our stance on this matter, I want to assure you the information you received from our Customer support team is correct.

We work hard to find the best prices out there and match them for all customers every day. Our prices do change over time. With the exception of TVs, Amazon.com doesn't offer post-purchase adjustments.

However, you can let us know about a lower price by clicking the "tell us about a lower price" link in the Product Details section of some product pages.

To read more about our pricing, go to our Help pages:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=468502

Steven, I’m sorry for any disappointment caused and appreciate your understanding. While we won’t be able to comment further on this matter, we’re always happy to help if you have any other questions - you can click a button to contact us by e-mail or phone from any Help page on our website.

We hope to see you again soon.

Best regards,

Wilmani E
Thank you.
Amazon.com
Original Message

 

[AndyD]

Pretty much that. You are of little importance to them without Prime :/

Yep. Even on prime service has declined, but it's clear Prime itself is becoming a major focus for them, rather than actual sales of day to day stuff. Prices have gone up, fake reviews are still largely unchecked, and fake products are on the rise.

 

[Kite]

lol Why are you posting on gaf instead of calling your bank to find out why it was declined in the first place? There are RL issues to be fixed first, internet outrage points can wait.

 

[Northernlights]

So one bad transaction out of 100s?

 

[Darklor01]

So one bad transaction out of 100s?

For me, it was about five in a month where price drops occurred for items bought and sold by Amazon LLC within a return period. They refused to honor the reduction calling it a price match every time. They told me to return the item(s) at cost to myself and re-order it at the new price every time. That's just ridiculous.

 

[Fixed2BeBroken]

lol Why are you posting on gaf instead of calling your bank to find out why it was declined in the first place? There are RL issues to be fixed first, internet outrage points can wait.

pretty sure in the op i said i called my bank twice, why are you responding without reading