I ordered something and wanted it fast so I paid the extra $13 to get it sooner. It didn’t arrive when promised and Amazon sent an email saying, Sorry but it’s delayed, you’ll get it later. Okay, but what about the $13 that I paid? No notice, nothing about that. I gave them a few days but then still nothing, no word.
I tried contacting them through the app, live chatting with an agent, but had extreme difficulties contacting them. Thankfully I had a customer service phone number and called them (here it is! 888-280-4331). I quickly reached an agent who helped me, and I got my $13 back. Call me old fashioned, but it is reassuring reaching a live human.
Hey, it’s only $13 but it’s the principle of the matter. I thought this was kind of sleazy.
It’s pretty standard, as they basically say they can’t guarantee delivery times, and I’ve never seen them directly offer back money if you paid to get it sooner.
I agree it is a bad practice, and would also spend the time to get it refunded, but I’m sure a lot of people don’t. And unless that actually harms Amazon’s business, making more money is all that matters.
Whattya mean It’s only $13? Thirteen bux buys you lunch at Sonny’s BBQ!
You need it worse than they do.
You want sleazy? We got a HUGE mailer from a local car dealer — scratch off the correct number and win $2500 (among other prizes)! We knew No way, but curiosity got the better of my wife and I haven’t been out of the house in four days. Off to the dealer. Long story short, there’s a tiny little reference number next to the address on the front which tells you what you really win ($5 Walmart gift card). On the bright side, the salesman was the nicest guy you could ever meet and we gabbed for a half hour about his and his family’s narrow escape from South Africa. Harrowing stuff. We wished him well and hit the bricks, GC in hand. Oh, what to spend it on?
On July 7 I ordered some insulin syringes to use for my diabetic cat. I had enough to last until July 14 and the expected delivery date (with free shipping) was by July 13. I’ve ordered these before and they always arrived in just a few days so I wasn’t concerned. But then the delivery date changed to July 16. That did concern me so I put in another order and paid $9.99 for next day delivery to make sure I had some in time. That was not a smart move because the original order hadn’t shipped and the seller combined the orders with a delivery date of July 14. There was no mention that I’d paid extra to get them sooner. I waited two days and managed to get through to a agent who refunded the charge. The syringes did arrive on July 12.
You can get refunded but you have to initiate the process. The biggest problem is trying to figure out how to speak to a human. Through trial and error, I found a section where you could leave your phone number and have someone call. They called within a few minutes.
Only in the sense that Amazon has screwed up and each time I’ve been able to reach a live person (which as you note, can sometimes be a challenge) they make it right.]
Not specifically about paying extra for fast shipping.
I don’t like that they don’t make it clearer that the fast shipping is not a guarantee. Because I do see the option to pay extra for fast shipping all of the time, and at least when it’s offered I don’t see any disclaimer. I never pay extra for it though; generally for me, fast shipping is usually the difference between getting it later today or tomorrow, and I usually don’t need it as fast.
Given their presumed emphasis on customer service, and treating customers right (which to me they live up to if you can reach a real person, and yes they don’t make that easy) you would think that a refund on the extra payment for fast delivery should be standard if it’s running late enough that it won’t arrive any earlier than it would have if you hadn’t paid the extra fee. Even if it’s not guaranteed, it sounds like you paid for a service that you didn’t receive. That just seems like common sense.
Lately they have been offering me a fast track service, but it’s not that fast. It will be “choose same day and you’ll get it overnight, or choose regular and you’ll get it tomorrow.” Which is essentially the same for my purposes so I don’t bother taking them up on it.
Australia is a big country with large empty distances between the cities. If it’s not being fulfilled by my local distribution centre (a couple suburbs away from me) then it will be three or four days no matter what they promise.
