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Amazon free shipping provided poor experience

 

I ordered a cable modem from Amazon, using the free shipping option. I’m not a Prime member, as I only order a few items from Amazon per year. The free shipping option provided a whopping six-day delivery window. I took this risk, assuming that the large window allows for shipping delays by the carrier (UPS, FedEx, etc.) I live in NYC, so chances were good that I’d receive the modem sooner. Boy, was I wrong about how Amazon free shipping works.

The item that I ordered on August 6th still hasn’t shipped as of August 11th at 4:00 pm. While it’s perfectly reasonable to prioritize Prime and other paid shipping options, the free shipping option gives a truly second (or third) class experience.

I need a tracking number because I need to know the delivery date. I have an appointment with the cable company on August 16th that might need to be changed. With any other retailer, this wouldn’t be a big deal. The item would have shipped by now and I’d have my tracking number. Amazon, the master of logistics, won’t provide a delivery or a shipping date. I’ve only been given estimates and windows.

To add insult to injury, I checked the status of my order on August 10th at approximately 10:00 pm. The status changed to shipping today. Well, it didn’t ship on the 10th. That was an outright lie.

Amazon, I’m not asking for much here. It’s a basic customer service request: When is my item going to ship, so that I can get a tracking number? Your stock answer isn’t satisfactory, so it’s looking like I’m going to be taking my future business elsewhere. This is from a formerly satisfied customer who has been with you since 1999.

Shipping today…It’s Groundhog Day!

Update 8/11/17: I filled out a feedback questionnaire for the first Amazon representative I spoke with today. After submitting it, I was given the option for a callback to give Amazon another chance to help me. On the call, I learned that my item will be shipped on 8/13 and it will arrive on 8/15 or 8/16. This is despite the web site telling me it would be shipped today. I gave the second representative every chance to make this situation right, to no avail.

Due to the lack of useful delivery information, I had to change my cable appointment.

I’m not an advertising executive, but I’ll take a stab at a great new slogan: Amazon – where shipping today means shipping three days from now (hopefully)!

Update 8/13/17: The modem still hasn’t shipped as of 11:00 am today. The price of the modem dropped $6.07. I called Amazon to see if they would price match, since the item hasn’t shipped yet. The representative refused to price match, citing Amazon’s policy. (Amazon has historically price matched for me when the item hasn’t shipped.) Yet another case of Amazon’s customer service going downhill. Also, she couldn’t tell me when the item would ship.

Update 8/13/17 (2): Amazon sent me an email at 11:44 AM that the modem has been shipped. It is scheduled to arrive on 8/14. It appears that the item was shipped from a New Jersey warehouse.

To summarize, Amazon provided the following misinformation:
– Item shipping today (on website): on 10th, 11th, and 12th. Lie, lie, and lie.
– Item will arrive on 15th or 16th (as per representative): Wrong. Scheduled to arrive on 14th.

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