Amazon mixes the social with money and loses a customer
Amazon lost one of its most loyal customers yesterday – ME.
I used to be a walking billboard for Amazon. I felt like they cared about me and were delivering me good services. I ignored those who told me that I could buy products cheaper in other places. I felt special.
I know of at least a dozen people who bought their Kindle and countless others who bought books based on my recommendations. Knowing that customers who become customers through word of mouth can be twice as valuable as customers that come in through advertising, that must be worth something. Plus, I bought 850 items from them over the years – that’s a heck of a lot of stuff…especially when considering that many of those items are not books, but 4 digit purchases like high end cameras, high end lenses, and barbecues.
But I will now donate my new Kindle, buy the iPad, and test other book delivery services.
Why?
Because they told me I was not special after all…
My Kindle (the second one I bought) broke last Friday. I called Saturday and was promised a new one by Tuesday. Tuesday, no Kindle. Wednesday, no Kindle. Wednesday I call again. This time their automatic callback system calls me and puts me in a 10 minute queue. The chipper customer service rep assured me that this feature was working properly – as there is no way for the system to know how many people are in the queue. Duh, how dare I expect technology-savvy Amazon to write software that would check the length of the waiting line before calling me…
She proceeds by telling me that there is no record of my call on Saturday, and that she will reenter an order for a replacement Kindle that will get to me on Friday…no 1 day shipping this time, two days. She also apologized for the inconvenience and offered me a $5 discount on future purchases to make up for it. I choked, asked her whether she really said $5, and when she confirmed I told her that she could keep the generous offer.
So that is the value that Amazon puts on me as a customer: $5.
And I thought I was special.
I have been staking my social reputation for more than a decade on recommending them, I have been sending them thousands of dollars for stuff that I did not always need…$5.
You see, this is what went wrong here, and many companies make that mistake. I wasn’t looking for any compensation. I was just looking for a good old apology. If they wanted to give me something, they could have done it through a gift – like upgrading my 3g so it works in Europe, or sending me a few free books based on my recommendations. I would have been blown away and would have continued to act as an unpaid advertorial for the company. But the minute they put a monetary value on me I switched in a totally different mode. So that is what they think I am worth…$5.
You do not need to pay people to make up for mistakes and you do not need to pay them when they help you…mixing the two is bad business.
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June 3rd, 2010 at 11:09 am
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by francois gossieaux, Jim Storer. Jim Storer said: RT @fgossieaux: New blog post: Amazon mixes the social with money and loses a customer http://bit.ly/b5Dqu2 [...]
June 3rd, 2010 at 12:07 pm
you got hosed… always know front line agents have the least amt of power to do, well ANYTHING! By this point I would have asked for a supervisor, and just kept going til they gave me what I wanted… unfortunately you have to do this with phone support sometimes, otherwise they will take your threats as minor. Get back on the phone, ask for a supervisor, and let them know how you feel about all the products, years of usage, etc… they will most likely send you what your looking for. (hopefully)
June 3rd, 2010 at 12:16 pm
Very interesting and appropriate read. Thanks for your personal share. I’m sure there are thousands of customers who end up feeling “cheapened” when a company switches from “giving a freebie” , even one that’s worth almost nothing to them, to assigning a $$$ value to the customer’s dedication through a “coupon”. It’s an important distinction. “Words matter” and what you call something might be the difference between a dedicated customer who sings your praises and a disgruntled one who feels sleighted, takes their ball (friends who are also customers) and leaves you. The social game is SOCIAL! It’s all about relationships and how you show you value them.
June 4th, 2010 at 11:03 am
@Matt, @Dari – thanks for your thoughtful response.
@thetwentyone – no one ever called me back. I had to find out that the Kindle had not shipped, then I had to call back and request another one…between breaking and replacement = 1 week + aggravation. I have over 100 books on my Kindle.
June 26th, 2010 at 11:17 pm
I feel like you just shared my story with Amazon. I went from being a big customer to a defeated victim of poor service. They have got to figure it out over there.
June 3rd, 2010 at 11:02 am
New blog post: Amazon mixes the social with money and loses a customer http://bit.ly/b5Dqu2
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
June 3rd, 2010 at 11:07 am
wow! gr8 read on cust svc RT @fgossieaux: New blog post: Amazon mixes the social with money and loses a customer http://bit.ly/b5Dqu2
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
June 3rd, 2010 at 11:08 am
RT @fgossieaux: New blog post: Amazon mixes the social with money and loses a customer http://bit.ly/b5Dqu2
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
June 3rd, 2010 at 11:13 am
Great point! RT @fgossieaux: New blog post: Amazon mixes the social with money and loses a customer http://bit.ly/b5Dqu2 (via @jimstorer).
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
June 3rd, 2010 at 11:22 am
Good Customer Service =Vital RT @BethHarte @dariasteigman @fgossieaux Amazon mixes social with money & loses a customer http://bit.ly/b5Dqu2
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
June 3rd, 2010 at 11:56 am
Somebody forgot to hit SAVE on his first call, he calls back, the problem is fixed with two-day shipping and a $5 bonus? I don’t really see what Amazon did so wrong? They made a mistake, but fixed it the next time he called. I don’t really see how them throwing in a $5 bonus is equal to the blogger’s value as a customer.
This comment was originally posted on Reddit
June 3rd, 2010 at 3:35 pm
RT @fgossieaux: New blog post: Amazon mixes the social with money and loses a customer http://bit.ly/b5Dqu2 > excellent
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
June 3rd, 2010 at 3:39 pm
Wow!! A must read RT @fgossieaux: Amazon mixes the social with money and loses a customer http://bit.ly/b5Dqu2
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
June 4th, 2010 at 7:49 am
Amazon mixes the social with money and loses a customer:
Amazon lost one of its most loyal customers yester… http://bit.ly/cmlnrA
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June 6th, 2010 at 12:31 pm
It is easy to be a whiner in “Amazon affiliate clothing”. http://bit.ly/9×13pf
This comment was originally posted on Twitter