Amazon’s automated customer service

[Packard]

I just spent 20 minutes online trying to negotiate Amazon’s customer service site.  Almost all of it is automated, and if your issue is not one of the standard ones, there is no help. 

I was finally able to reach “chat”, which starts out as automated too, but when it figured out that my complaint could not be handled in that way, I got “Princess”, which I guess is Asian as my earlier phone conversations had been with someone sounding like they were from India or. Pakistan.

In any case, I received a sealed envelope delivered by Amazon’s own truck.  The envelope was entirely empty.  It showed no signs of being tampered with.  I am certain it left Amazon entirely empty.  It was just wooden mushroom button hole plugs ($12.00 value), but they had no standard way of dealing with this.

To make things worse, I’m typing with a remote keyboard on my IPad, and the space where I am to type a response is completely covered by the IPad status bar that shows suggested spellings.  So I am unable to read what I have typed until it is sent.

Overall, AI has failed me today.  Princess did say that she would refund the $12.00 to my Amex card.  So not all for naught.

 

[PaulMarcel]

Usually, it is pretty smooth.

Go to your orders, select 'return/refund' and it will show a pick list of all items on that order; select all that apply.
It then has a pull-down menu for the reason. You'd pick "broken/missing parts" then fill in a description in the box below (shows up after you select broken/missing).

For an exchange I did last week, I put "Item was loosely packed with others; cover is missing and not in the box". Got a notification in less than 15 minutes saying they were sending a replacement and that I could keep the current one with no need to return.

I'm certain this would have worked for you.

 

[Michael Kellough]

They also have a toll free phone number when the usual method does not work.

 

[Packard]

Usually, it is pretty smooth.

Go to your orders, select 'return/refund' and it will show a pick list of all items on that order; select all that apply.
It then has a pull-down menu for the reason. You'd pick "broken/missing parts" then fill in a description in the box below (shows up after you select broken/missing).

For an exchange I did last week, I put "Item was loosely packed with others; cover is missing and not in the box". Got a notification in less than 15 minutes saying they were sending a replacement and that I could keep the current one with no need to return.

I'm certain this would have worked for you.

I tried that.  But they don’t have a working option for them having shipped an empty package.  Maybe they have something for theft, but that didn’t happen.  The package was never opened or tampered with.

But I got a QR code for the package and I brought  it to the drop off station.  I was told that they could only accept merchandise, not empty packages.  I guess they didn’t imagine that their own shipping department would ship an empty package.

 

[Packard]

They also have a toll free phone number when the usual method does not work.

I tried that, but the agent’s English was not sufficient for my rapid New York English, and by the time I had finished I found that I was speaking to a dead line.  The agent apparently hung up.

 

[ChuckM]

Usually, it is pretty smooth.

Snip

It has always been VERY smooth for me. On returns, they send a courier to my house to pick them up. Totally hassel-free, thanks to competitions from others like ebay, Aliexpress, etsy, shein and the new kid in town (temu).

The bad, old days of online purchases and returns are just memories.

Over these past few weeks, I've ordered $220 of goods from LVT and $450 from online sites including Amazon. They are delivered thru UPS and Canada Post. Zero glitches. I prefer them over in-store shopping. Time and gas are both saved.

 

[Packard]

Usually, it is pretty smooth.

Snip

It has always been VERY smooth for me. On returns, they send a courier to my house to pick them up. Totally hassel-free, thanks to competitions from others like ebay, Aliexpress, etsy, shein and the new kid in town (temu).

The bad, old days of online purchases and returns are just memories.

Over these past few weeks, I've ordered $220 of goods from LVT and $450 from online sites including Amazon. They are delivered thru UPS and Canada Post. Zero glitches. I prefer them over in-store shopping. Time and gas are both saved.

I have never had a problem with returns with Amazon, but this was not a return.  They shipped me an empty package.  They even had a photograph proof of delivery of that package.  The problem was, that there was nothing in the package, so nothing to return. 

Their system is not set up for this type of shipping error.  So, not smooth.

 

[ChuckM]

I can't exactly remember the choices available for returns. But if it was an empty envelope, I'd choose the reason of "product not as described" or something like that for the refund request. The photo would show the empty inside of the envelope.

 

[Packard]

I can't exactly remember the choices available for returns. But if it was an empty envelope, I'd choose the reason of "product not as described" or something like that for the refund request. The photo would show the empty inside of the envelope.

That would not have worked.  They would then issue a QR code.  You would go to the return depot and the agent would say, “We only accept merchandise, not empty packages.”

I did write in the comments section that the envelope apparently left Amazon empty and that there was no theft involved. 

On a positive note, a few minutes ago AMEX notified me that I had a merchant credit for $12.97 from Amazon (includes NYS tax).

So the only harm I suffered was frustration.  I’ll get over it.

I would note that I’ve read that Amazon has some customers with so many returns that they are on the do-not-accept-orders list.  I have never seen that verified though. 

 

[ChuckM]

You got to do what worked for you. It has never happened to me, but if nothing is inside, I'd pass the original empty envelope to the courier when he or she shows up at my door as long as Amazon authorizes the return.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

I have only ever had one problem where I needed to contact the seller. It was a pair of the connectors for Bessey Kbody clamps. The package was torn badly and one was missing. I contacted them through the Amazon return tab and they responded with "oh, we're sorry. Send it back and we will replace your order." To which I responded, why do we need to cross-post? Can't you just send me one?
No...... so I never bothered. I still have just one to this day.
Seemed like such a waste to me. Amazon returns don't go back where they came from. They end up on some pallet and get sold to the highest bidder.

 

[ChuckM]

I have only ever had one problem where I needed to contact the seller. It was a pair of the connectors for Bessey Kbody clamps. The package was torn badly and one was missing. I contacted them through the Amazon return tab and they responded with "oh, we're sorry. Send it back and we will replace your order." To which I responded, why do we need to cross-post? Can't you just send me one?
No...... so I never bothered. I still have just one to this day.
Seemed like such a waste to me. Amazon returns don't go back where they came from. They end up on some pallet and get sold to the highest bidder.

They also resell some returned items as warehouse sale items. I have had two experiences with that, one good, one resulting in a return because some of the identical sale items were defective.

 

[Packard]

I think they also sell some stuff through Woot, a deep discounter that they own.

 

[squall_line]

I have only ever had one problem where I needed to contact the seller. It was a pair of the connectors for Bessey Kbody clamps. The package was torn badly and one was missing. I contacted them through the Amazon return tab and they responded with "oh, we're sorry. Send it back and we will replace your order." To which I responded, why do we need to cross-post? Can't you just send me one?
No...... so I never bothered. I still have just one to this day.
Seemed like such a waste to me. Amazon returns don't go back where they came from. They end up on some pallet and get sold to the highest bidder.

They also resell some returned items as warehouse sale items. I have had two experiences with that, one good, one resulting in a return because some of the identical sale items were defective.

I bought what was listed as a 36" clamp from Amazon Warehouse once.  The package I received was barely big enough to hold the head of a 36" clamp, and instead had only a 6" clamp.

I returned it and wrote in as many places as I could "this is not a 36-inch clamp".

Someone along the way switched the tags either accidentally or intentionally, but I'm of the belief that it was completely intentional based on what I know of human nature.  I didn't need the next poor soul to have to go through the same hassle I did and also worry about being accused of switching merchandise.