It hurts me to say this because I have been an Amazon.com customer and fan for decades, but there is a serious customer care problem that needs to be corrected, and apparently, they don’t even realize it. The problem is the breaking of trust among their valued customers. While that is their cornerstone, that is also what they are ignoring and that is damaging.
Let me give you a recent, personal example. We needed new vacuum cleaner bags and found original Oreck replacements on Amazon. Perfect, or so we thought.
When these bags arrived, they were generic replacements, not the original equipment we ordered. I know this because the actual OEM bags have the vacuum maker’s name and logo on every bag and the packaging. What was delivered were blank and they came in a blank bag.
The first problem with the Amazon.com order
If I had ordered generic bags, fine. However, I ordered original manufacturers bags. So, this was not fine.
My next step was to complain to Amazon about the problem. That’s when I learned the purchase was not from Amazon, but with one of their third-party businesses.
So, here is a question for you. Who do you call at Amazon about customer service issues? That’s right. It’s hard if not impossible to find any way to reach someone for help. There is not an 800 number. And it can take time to find the link for customer service.
This may surprise the average shopper. Amazon is not what many think it is. Think of them like a giant shopping mall with lots of different stores. Independent stores are there because that’s where the shoppers are.
The problem is when you buy something from Amazon, you think it’s coming from them. In many cases, it is not. It is coming from one of a bunch of other stores, large and small.
This needs to be clear on every purchase.
I could return the items, but I wanted to talk with someone to let them know. You know, complain. After searching for quite a while, I was unable to find a way to notify Amazon customer care.
Next, I finally clicked on a link for service. When I clicked to send the message, I was notified they were sending the message to the vendor.
What? Wait! That is not what I wanted. I want to notify Amazon of this problem. But apparently, they don’t care. They don’t give customers a quick and easy way to reach them to talk.
The second problem with the Amazon.com order
So, this is the second Amazon problem. They need to make it easier to get real customer service from Amazon.
Next, the seller contacted me. They claimed that they only sold original manufactures OEM products. So, I replied with photos showing that’s not what arrived.
Then they explained that Amazon often sends what they consider the equivalent of what was ordered, from other vendors, just to get it there earlier.
Sounds good in theory, but that’s not what happened.
If I had received the same item I ordered, I wouldn’t care where it came from. However, the order was not from Oreck, it was a generic substitute.
The third problem with the Amazon order
What that means to me is Amazon is more concerned with getting the order to the customer sooner, rather than sending what was ordered. While this goal may sound good on paper, it doesn’t hold water.
This damages Amazon in the mind of the shopper, and the reputation of the businesses who sell using their service with the customer.
Remember, the problem is they sent something other than what I ordered. And that is the rub.
This created more work and took more time from me. You see, first I have to return the item, then wait for them to receive it, then wait again for the replacement to arrive.
Amazon more focused on speedy delivery than accuracy with order
It would have been much better if Amazon would have taken the extra day to get me what I actually ordered.
Bottom line, based on experiences like this Amazon is more focused on speedy delivery than accurate orders. And that is yet another problem they face.
Customers would prefer the order to take an additional day then get the wrong order and have to spend days returning it and wait for and hope that the right one finally arrives.
Amazon must focus on customer satisfaction over delivery speed
I know Amazon is a huge marketplace. I know they are a successful company. In fact, I have been their customer since the 1990’s when they were just an online bookstore. So have countless others. Today, they are a source of goods difficult to find at your local stores or just more convenient.
That being said they are apparently growing too big for their britches. They are walking all over their customers rights and dashing user expectations in an effort to deliver faster.
While this is admirable, the cost is too great for the customer. And this is a recipe for disaster.
So, a friendly word of advice to Amazon.com. Understand this problem. Make changes to take better care of your customers, get the orders correct, deliver quickly and continue to build and grow.
These are the kind of basic blocking and tackling mistakes that sent many top retailers to the chopping block in the past.
Remember, the most important piece of this puzzle is great customer care, customer service and customer satisfaction. As this case illustrates, it is much more important to get the order correct, rather than rushing to get it there in record time. Enough said.
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