LM_NET: Library Media Networking
Nancy,
Please see my response to Joni with carbon copy to the list. I know
that Amazon's form letter response implied that I had ordered multiple
copies it also implied that it was a heavy order but what I ordered were 12
individual paperback titles. Nine of state award nominees and three others
from the Sammy Keyes series. The major problem is that they didn't use
USPS, I am sure that Priority Post would have cost far less than the $15 I
was charged for shipping and handling and would have had the books to me a
week ago. I know that they got a complete desktop computer system from my
small town post office on Saturday afternoon to my son in Honolulu, HI by
Monday afternoon.
Dorothy E. Tissair
Library Media Specialist
Mark Twain School
Hartford, CT
ricflair@mail2.nai.net
----- Original Message -----
From: "Nancy" <ntorok@idt.net>
To: "'Dorothy E. Tissair'" <ricflair@MAIL2.NAI.NET>
Cc: <LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU>
Sent: Monday, July 31, 2000 1:59 PM
Subject: RE: Customer Service (Amazon correspondence)
> Dear Dorothy,
>
> My experience with Amazon for school orders has been very good. I placed
> two orders last year. One was for a bundle of Harry Potters, hardback and
> paperback, and more than one copy of each - no surprise these were easily
> available. It was much faster (and cheaper!) than going through a regular
> jobber and waiting for processing. With this success, I ordered a few
> hundred dollars worth of current fiction, and this order arrived within
the
> week. I would, on the basis of my experience, do this again.
>
> Amazon, in their reply to you, imply that you wanted multiple copies of
the
> same title. They seem to be hedging a bit on the "usually ships in 24
> hours" designation. I can imagine that they keep at least one copy of any
> title so designated, and upon getting an order for it, order a replacement
> or replacements, and probably adjust the stock on hand according to the
> popularity, or potential popularity of the title. Did you want multiple
> copies? Then the delay seems understandable. However, in that event,
> they should have let you know, without your having to look at the status
of
> the order yourself, that it could not be filled as quickly as you thought.
> You then would have had the time to consider alternatives for yourself.
>
> I think most perceptions of Amazon's service are good. I think they are
> not making any money because they discount their books rather deeply and
> often spend more on delivery than they collect from the customer. I
> suppose the idea is to get a large and dedicated customer base while they
> are putting together this operation. A lot of it depends on computer
> programs, and the cost of these falls off after a while. I am only
> guessing, however, about what is going on in Jeff B.'s head! Whatever it
> is, he's managed to convince some money-lenders to give him the cash to
> operate...
>
> Of course, your concerns about delivery when you do not expect to be at
> home were not addressed by Amazon. If they used the USPS, you can ask the
> post office to hold packages.
>
> Best of luck!
>
> Nancy Torok
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Dorothy E. Tissair [SMTP:ricflair@MAIL2.NAI.NET]
> Sent: Monday, July 31, 2000 11:24 AM
> To: LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
> Subject: Customer Sevice
>
> Given customer service threads of the last two weeks regarding Scholastic
> and our own facilities, I would like your opinion of my most recent
> customer
> service complaint. I am beginning to see why Amazon's stock price is way
> down and they haven't made a profit in their history. I should add that
> the
> two ground based "superstores" compete directly across the street from
each
> other a few miles from my school. I chose to order personal copies of the
> paperback in question at the time I was making my school order for library
> bindings from another vendor. Since my school order has to be processed
> through central office and if I am lucky will at school when we open after
> Labor Day and I wanted to be able to read during the three weeks I planned
> for vacation, I placed a personal order that would no doubt be placed into
> circulation when I was through. My e-letter and Amazon's response follow.
> Please comment.
>
> TIA,
>
> Dorothy E. Tissair
> Library Media Specialist
> Mark Twain School
> Hartford, CT
>
> ricflair@mail2.nai.net
>
>
> X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.50.4133.2400
> > >Date: Sat, 29 Jul 2000 17:25:27 -0400
> > >Subject: Dissatisfaction with latest service
> > >To: orders@amazon.com
> > >From: "Dorothy E. Tissair" <ricflair@mail2.nai.net>
> > >
> > >I am writing to express my displeasure with the service I received
> with
> my
> > >latest order. It was definitely not up to what I have experienced
> with
> past
> > >orders from Amazon. I chose to order a dozen children's paperbacks,
> on
> the
> > >morning of July 18. All of these books were listed as "usually ships
> within
> > >24 hrs." My past experience had shown shipping estimates to be
> accurate, so
> > >I specifically delayed the order of a book with a longer shipping
> date.
> I
> > >wanted these books for reading during vacation which started today
> (July
> > >29). Expecting 24 hour shipment standard shipping of 3-7 days would
> have
> > >the books to me in plenty of time, especially since all of my
previous
> > >orders form Amazon have been shipped Priority Post. I was not even
> > >concerned when I didn't get shipping confirmation until last Saturday
> > >morning. I anxiously waited for delivery when I came home each
night.
> I
> > >began to worry by Thursday night that perhaps my package had been
> stolen
> > >from my door step during a rainy week that had me working late. When
> the
> > >books still did not arrive in this afternoon's mail, I went to your
> site to
> > >trace the order. I was shocked to find out that my order had not
even
> left
> > >Reno, NV until late on the 25th (three days after I had been advised
> that it
> > >had been shipped) and had just arrived in New Jersey today. This
> means
> that
> > >it will not arrive at my door before Tuesday, two full weeks after
the
> order
> > >(that was to ship in 24 hrs.)was placed. As I plan to leave for my
> out
> of
> > >town vacation tomorrow this means that I can probably count on the
> package
> > >being stolen from my door step, if my house doesn't get broken into
> because
> > >someone notices that the package hasn't moved. It also means that if
> I
> want
> > >to read the Nutmeg Award nominees before school starts I will have to
> make a
> > >trip to one of your competitors stores tonight. I will have to pay
> cover
> > >price for the books but I will have them in my hand. Given the fact
> that I
> > >have paid back more than my supposed "discount" to Amazon.com in
> shipping
> > >and handling fees, I will have to reconsider the "convenience" of
> shopping
> > >with your firm in the future. Of course I know that I am a very
small
> > >customer by volume for Amazon.com, but I do believe that the 13,000+
> members
> > >of the LM_NET listserv where I am an active participant will find
this
> worth
> > >discussing.
> > >
> > >Dorothy E. Tissair
> > >Library Media Specialist
> > >Mark Twain School
> > >Hartford, CT
> > >
> > >ricflair@mail2.nai.net
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <orders@amazon.com>
> To: "Dorothy E. Tissair" <ricflair@mail2.nai.net>
> Sent: Monday, July 31, 2000 7:34 AM
> Subject: Your Amazon.com Order (#104-0310340-0059968)
>
>
> >
> > Dear Ms. Tissair,
> >
> > Greetings from Amazon.com.
> >
> > Thank you for writing to us concerning your order. Please accept my
> > sincere apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused you.
> >
> > If this package arrives too late to meet your needs, please feel free
> > to return it at our expense. We will issue a full refund for the
> > price of any item you return.
> >
> > I am sending you a postage-paid return merchandise label, which you
> > can expect to receive within the next 1 to 2 weeks. Simply affix this
> > label to the package and give it to your mail carrier.
> >
> > I hope you'll understand that we do our best to ensure that all of our
> > customer orders leave our distribution centers as close as possible to
> > the availability and shipping estimates that are listed on our web
> > site.
> >
> > I've checked into the availability of the items in your order and
> > found that these items were listed on our web site with this
> > availability estimate: "This item usually ships in 24 hours." This
> > means that we can usually ship these items within 24 hours after an
> > order is placed.
> >
> > This reflects the fact that our distribution center has made known to
> > us that they have at least *one* copy of this item. It's worth noting
> > that, in general, we strive to keep the availability listings on our
> > web site accurate for single-copy orders. Larger orders may take
> > longer to assemble than single-copy orders.
> >
> > We currently use both UPS and the U.S. Postal Service for standard
> > domestic shipments, depending primarily on the weight of the package.
> >
> > As stated on our web site, we expect these shipments to take 3-7
> > business days to arrive. A package shipped via UPS Ground which
> > leaves our distribution center on a Saturday or Sunday does not
> > actually reach the first UPS hub until Monday morning. I do apologize
> > if you were not aware of this at the time your order was shipped.
> >
> > Our shipping charges reflect the handling costs for assembling and
> > packaging each order, as well as the cost of shipping. Shipping costs
> > are an inherent feature in any mail-order service. We understand that
> > sometimes, the shipping costs may represent a large percentage of the
> > overall price of an item.
> >
> > It is always important for us to hear how customers react to all
> > aspects of our service. Strong customer feedback like yours helps us
> > make important decisions about how our shipping procedures can be
> > improved over the course of time.
> >
> > In addition to our large selection, one of the benefits we'd like to
> > offer our customers is convenience, and I realize that we have not met
> > that standard in this case. I hope that you will give us another
> > opportunity to prove the quality of our service to you in the future.
> >
> >
> > Best regards,
> >
> > Jill B.
> > Amazon.com
> > Earth's Biggest Selection
> > http://www.amazon.com
> > ==============================
> > Check your order and more! http://www.amazon.com/your-account
> > Questions? We have your answers! http://www.amazon.com/help
> >
> >
> > >
>
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