# Amazon wanting me to answer customers questions **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 8, 2021, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-wanting-me-to-answer-customers-questions/943858 "2021-06-08T17:35:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2021, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-wanting-me-to-answer-customers-questions/943858/61 "2021-06-09T15:01:37Z")
Just answering the damn question would have taken WAY less time than however long O.P. has already spent, here, bitching about an automated email. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2021, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-wanting-me-to-answer-customers-questions/943858/62 "2021-06-09T15:09:50Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > > [@breakneck](#): > > > > its not a hatred for amazon but its more that i was threatened to be kicked off for mentioning the richest man in the world is asking me to answer his customers questions > > Could you copy and paste what they said? Becuase I doubt they said “dont talk shit about the might tzar or you will be kicked off” I’m going to guess that he replied with a lot of misspelled cursing and insults, and received an automatic form letter back warning not to use abusive language in the Q&A section. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2021, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-wanting-me-to-answer-customers-questions/943858/63 "2021-06-09T15:39:10Z")
Yes, and I think his mistake was that he reacted to an automated request as if the company was demanding that he answer some question, rather than merely alerting him to the question and making it easy to answer. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2021, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-wanting-me-to-answer-customers-questions/943858/64 "2021-06-09T15:42:50Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > > [@breakneck](#): > > > > its not a hatred for amazon but its more that i was threatened to be kicked off for mentioning the richest man in the world is asking me to answer his customers questions > > Could you copy and paste what they said? Becuase I doubt they said “dont talk shit about the might tzar or you will be kicked off” And don’t forget to copy and paste here the exact words you sent in your reply. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2021, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-wanting-me-to-answer-customers-questions/943858/65 "2021-06-09T19:45:56Z")
I don’t blame them. The Q&A forum is not the place for your opinions about the politics of Amazon. If I ask if a blender I am contemplating purchasing dices tomatoes well, I really don’t care to hear your opinion of Jeff Bezos, good or bad. ---
**Author:** ![tricoteuse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tricoteuse/32/4334_2.png) [@tricoteuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tricoteuse)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2021, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-wanting-me-to-answer-customers-questions/943858/66 "2021-06-09T20:11:56Z")
By “snake tongs” do you mean actual tongs you pick up snakes with? And you use them enough to leave a review and ask questions? I’m glad I don’t live where you do! I’ve been asked to answer questions on Amazon and some other mail order sites. I don’t mind. Often the question & answer part helps me pick one thing over another and sometimes only a user knows the details of using the item. Like anyone can see that the coffee maker has a stainless steel caraffe but you have to use it to know that the spout drips like crazy but it does keep the coffee hot for 4 hours. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2021, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-wanting-me-to-answer-customers-questions/943858/67 "2021-06-09T20:20:44Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Amazon sells well over 350 million products. More than 95% of them are Marketplace products, with Amazon just the middleman. > > I’d love to see the OP do the math on the number of employees that would be needed to handle that many products and how they would fit the training into an ordinary lifetime. Exapno explained it here- they can’t possible know such info. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2021, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-wanting-me-to-answer-customers-questions/943858/68 "2021-06-09T20:22:56Z")
“Thank you for your question. Bob and I tried out the ACME Buttplug last night, and it was well made, but it seemed designed for a smaller anus than the typical American has.” 😆 ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2021, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-wanting-me-to-answer-customers-questions/943858/69 "2021-06-09T20:35:48Z")
The other benefit to the Q&A is that it is searchable. So if I have a question that I’m curious to know, I can put the keyword into the search bar and immediately see if anyone has asked and/or answered a question on the keyword. So I get the info relatively immediately as opposed to waiting on a CSR to answer a question on a product they may not know anything about. I tend to like to crowdsource before buying a big purchase. I search Google for reddit threads, customer product reviews, etc. The Q&A section on Amazon helps a lot with that. ---
**Author:** ![sunstone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunstone/32/3372_2.png) [@sunstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunstone)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2021, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-wanting-me-to-answer-customers-questions/943858/70 "2021-06-09T20:50:33Z")
With questions that I have actual knowledge about, I will answer - mostly because I’ve found out that even folks in retail brick stores often don’t know the technical aspects of the product they are selling. So IF I know, why not help the person who needs help? An example might be on the programmable features of a multifunction quartz watch. The manuals that are provided with these are very difficult to follow in some cases. If I don’t know the answer to a question, I don’t reply to the request, or suggest a source that might be of help. Helping others is needed in our society, if for no other reason than to make our lives easier and happier. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_the\_Turtle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_the_turtle/32/2926_2.png) [@Fear\_the\_Turtle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_the_Turtle)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2021, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-wanting-me-to-answer-customers-questions/943858/71 "2021-06-09T21:13:10Z")
I’m baffled as to why he would post this here since none of us are paid to respond to his post Surely he can’t be expecting an answer. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2021, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-wanting-me-to-answer-customers-questions/943858/72 "2021-06-09T21:36:53Z")
> [@tricoteuse](#): > > By “snake tongs” do you mean actual tongs you pick up snakes with? And you use them enough to leave a review and ask questions? I’m glad I don’t live where you do! We’re in the country. During spring/summer we see garters and rat snakes most weekends. They do rodent control in our barn and sheds, worth their weight in gold. My gf doesn’t like them near the house, because then they are eating toads and chipmunks. So we constantly relocate snakes. It’s actually fun. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2021, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-wanting-me-to-answer-customers-questions/943858/73 "2021-06-09T23:59:32Z")
😄 Well, he has got some feedback for sure… Can’t say I’ve ever done it for Amazon, but I have done it for Tripadvisor, which I think is fair since I was already writing reviews. In any case with Amazon I just ignore it. Unless the product was real crap and I feel the need to warn people about it. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2021, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-wanting-me-to-answer-customers-questions/943858/74 "2021-06-10T00:04:30Z")
> [@digs](#): > > …I’d assume a ‘repersantive’ of Amazon… So I’m not the only one who finds his/her posts hard to read. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2021, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-wanting-me-to-answer-customers-questions/943858/75 "2021-06-10T00:10:43Z")
Well, I think Jeff Bezos should answer _ **all** _ those questions personally, because the richest man in the world must own one of _ **everything** _. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2021, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-wanting-me-to-answer-customers-questions/943858/76 "2021-06-10T00:16:33Z")
Sometimes when I need a good laugh, I go to the Amazon “sexual wellness” section and read the product reviews. Seriously. A lot of the products aren’t reviewed, but when you find the ones that are, some of them are hysterical. My all time favorite line was “There is a hole in the back for cleaning. I don’t think you’re supposed to use it but it felt really good”. ETA: The product was some sort of partial sex doll. I didn’t know they made such things, but why buy the whole woman when all you need are the “good” parts. You can buy those as a stand-alone, with a torso attached, or with a torso and head. The things I’ve learned from the Internet………… ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2021, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-wanting-me-to-answer-customers-questions/943858/77 "2021-06-10T18:26:41Z")
One question. What the hell is an engine hone? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2021, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-wanting-me-to-answer-customers-questions/943858/78 "2021-06-10T18:29:58Z")
It’s a device that holds abrasive blocks (or balls, sometimes) in the correct position to sand (hone) the cylinder walls. Honing creates a pattern of slight scratches on the cylinder walls which are necessary to create a tight fit with the piston rings. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2021, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-wanting-me-to-answer-customers-questions/943858/79 "2021-06-10T22:33:23Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > It’s a device that holds abrasive blocks (or balls, sometimes) in the correct position to sand (hone) the cylinder walls. Reported for inappropriate medical advice. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2021, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-wanting-me-to-answer-customers-questions/943858/80 "2021-06-11T02:34:14Z")
Or Penthousing… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-wanting-me-to-answer-customers-questions/943858.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-wanting-me-to-answer-customers-questions/943858.md?page=5)