not so "Amazon" customer service . . . and a Merry Christmas to you too!

Certainly I should have some knitting to write about, and I do, but I’m dedicating this space to a rant today (tomorrow we will return to our regularly-scheduled list of excuses about why I’m not done my Christmas knitting). A rant against a former friend: Amazon.com.

Last year I did nearly all of my Christmas shopping on Amazon. I got fantastic deals. Nearly everything shipped for free. Everything shipped quickly and well in advance of Christmas. I even managed to get my hands on a Wii. No complaints.

This year J’s big Christmas gift is a Blu Ray player. I ordered one last week from Amazon. It arrived yesterday. SANS PACKAGING. Amazon, in its infinite wisdom, saw fit—two weeks before CHRISTMAS—to ship this expensive piece of electronic equipment in its original packaging, with a label slapped on the front. As if no one is buying super secret Christmas gifts on Amazon this time of year. I must be the only one. Not to mention that while a would-be thief could certainly skulk up to my house and snap up any boring brown box the mailman has left lying on my doorstep, it seems all the more likely if “Samsung Blu Ray player” is emblazoned across the front of a box featuring a large photo of said player.

Needless to say I was irate. IRATE. And quickly wrote a complaint to Amazon. And now, for your reading enjoyment, Amazon’s response:


Hello from Amazon.com.

I'm sorry to hear about the condition in which your order arrived.

Please note that, we make every attempt to package items securely to protect them during shipping, but sometimes such situations may occur.

We always appreciate customer input on how we can improve our store, and I've forwarded your message to our shipping department.

Again, I apologize for the inconvenience caused to you with our packaging.

Also, thanks for letting us know your "Samsung BD-P1500 1080p Blu-ray Player" arrived.

I hope you enjoy your "Samsung BD-P1500 1080p Blu-ray Player".


Uh, does anyone else get the feeling they didn’t even READ the message I sent? I did not have a problem with the packaging—I had a problem with the absence of packaging. This isn’t an oversight—the packaging didn’t fall off because it was improperly secured. No, some (perhaps lazy) moron honestly thought it was ok to ship a naked potential Christmas gift to my home 2 weeks before Christmas. And apparently Amazon—continually touting itself as THE place to do your holiday shopping—doesn’t give a damn.

So, what’s my next step?

Incidentally, I told J I ordered the player for my mom to give to my dad. But I don’t think he believes me.