I haven’t ordered a lot of stuff from Amazon over the years, but the odd book here and there. Last year, I decided to check out what was available on the website after hearing about some great prices. Generally though, I’m more of a “loyal” person and it takes more than to save a few dollars if I’m already happy with the local shops, to go somewhere else.
So, I did find some things on Amazon.ca that were quite a good deal though. I bookmarked a few things I might want in the future as well, and made an order. I was offered the “Amazon Prime” program, which includes things I’ll never use, but the free shipping seemed like a good deal, along with some free music. So, I thought I would give it a try, after making some notes of some future items I might consider purchasing in the future.
In November, I ordered a product which is impossible to find locally. What made it even more appealing that along with my Amazon Prime membership, Amazon was even offering a “guaranteed” next day delivery of the item for a small extra charge! That was great because the item would sure come in handy with some activities that were planned for the weekend. So, I checked the button for the guaranteed next day delivery and was pretty excited.
The next day, I waited and waited, watching for cars or other vehicles to stop outside my door with the expected package. The afternoon wore on to the evening… but the message said it would arrive before 8PM.
It didn’t arrive.
We’ve experienced delivery issues before, and I was worried maybe that it had been mis-delivered when nothing arrived by 8PM. And I “chatted” with an Amazon rep who advised me that there had been “unforeseen” circumstances and the package could not be delivered until the next week.
The disappointment aside, Amazon did agree to refund me the “next day delivery” charge that I had been billed. It wasn’t much, but it was a suitable thing for Amazon to do. But nothing they could do could take away from the disappointment that the package had not arrived when they guaranteed it would. The product was not for me, but was a gift, actually, that would have gone along way to some “comfort” for some joint activities that had been planned.
The gift recipient and I did get over the disappointment eventually – and finally, the following week, the package arrived. We were pleased with the product, but it was not the same as if it had actually arrived when we were told it would. But okay – a deep breath, and life goes on…. right?
Since then, I have not ordered anything from Amazon. But on Thursday, March 14th, 2019, after getting frustrated with some memory issues with my PC, I decided to see what I could find in regard to upgrading my PC memory. After a lot of research, I decided to order a brand I cannot get here in town (although I could get other brands of the same type of memory sticks that I need). The price was awesome, and I decided to go ahead and order it, especially as Amazon.ca “guaranteed delivery” the next day – Friday November 15th, 2019.
We Wait & Wait For Amazon Prime Guarantee To Come Through
We waited all day. I changed my schedule in fact, with the expectation of this package arriving. I got a notification from Amazon.ca that the package had shipped at around 5:30AM EDT. I postponed some outings that were in the schedule so I could be here for the arrival of the package. The afternoon went on. We kept checking the door in case they had dropped it off without us hearing any knock at the door. Every time we checked, nothing…
Amazon Prime Guarantee Is No Guarantee
Nothing showed up by 8pm. I went to my Amazon account, and there was a notice to the effect that the package had been delayed, and that if I don’t receive it by Wednesday, I should let them know.
Wednesday??? Hold on – they guaranteed today!
Why am I waiting until Wednesday? I paid extra for the guarantee! The only way I could find to contact Amazon was through a chat, which I did. I made it clear to the person I was “chatting” with that I was not blaming them personally, but this was totally unacceptable. TWICE – two times in a row, I’ve not received the delivery on the guaranteed delivery date that I agreed to and paid for!
To be fair to the Amazon Rep I was “chatting” with, there is probably not much they could do. They did say they were going to give me an extra month of Amazon Prime (not much good if I don’t use it) as well as a 10.00 credit on a future order. I don’t see either of these in my account though.
And really, that’s not good enough. Look Amazon – one time of unforeseen circumstances is disappointing enough – but two times? Two times in a row??
And my postponed plans, the postponed thoughts about upgrading the PC, the postponed plans of how that PC was going to be used over the next few days, etc.. it’s totally unacceptable! You can’t make a guarantee, and screw up on it TWO TIMES IN A ROW and expect a measly one month extension and a 10.00 credit is going to soothe things over.
As I mentioned to the rep, “Look, if you order a pizza, and the first time they screw up, they say ‘sorry’, and the second time, they screw up again, what are you going to do??”
Is It Amazon’s Fault Or Intelcom Courier?
The Amazon Rep claimed that their courier, Intelcom, had issues. Fine. They had issues in November as well. And now today, they have issues. But it was Amazon.Ca that guaranteed the delivery, and it is Amazon.ca that contracts to Intelcom. And if you do a search, you’ll find that Intelcom has major review problems with this same sort of thing. So, in the contract that Amazon.ca has with this company, Intelcom, what performance measurements are there? And why, if you look at the history, has not Amazon.Ca dealt with these performance issues?
And why is Amazon making a “guarantee” that it must know, from all the complaints, that Intelcom might not really keep, in the first place?
My Future With Amazon Prime
There is none – no future with Amazon Prime – unless Amazon can find a much better way than a 10.00 credit to make up for not only, disappointing me, but also causing me to change and postpone plans, for the sake of nothing and some excuses. Honestly? They ought to cancel their contract with Intelcom immediately and no longer offer guarantee deliveries until they can be assured that guarantees really are guarantees. It’s not about the money; it’s about the expectations, the hopes, and then the big disappointments when they fail to deliver.
It is not simply an inconvenience to have a missed guarantee. And to have it happen two times in a row? That’s… just utterly unsatisfactory.