[NiInJa]

Originally Posted by Buzzard_storme

Bad incidents cause an opinion and you're right in having one but discrediting or stopping the whole service may be just an frustrated reaction (because of one delivery guy or a supervisor screwing things up).

I tend to disagree on this. For me, it is simply a breach of trust, I would not have any sympathies for Amazon. They are doing a business, it is their duty to make it seamless for the customer. These issues are just excuses. The frustration that Vigsom sir had to endure explains their reason for moving away from Amazon.

I have given a peace of mind to such delivery guys in my area in Pune. I would get an email that the 'package has been delivered' at around 9 AM in the morning, the actual delivery guy would show up at any time during the day. Got to know that these guys mark items as delivered while loading them
in the delivery van at the start of the day and then do the actual deliveries as per their convenience. But it is fine for me as I purchase only cheap stuff like mobile covers and travel adapters and stuff which I don't mind taking losses if they fail or Amazon/sellers don't honor guarantees.

Stopped doing big ticket purchases from Amazon/Flipkart long back when I got a TV for my new house. The TV was fine, but getting someone to mount it was a big pain (the deal mentioned free mounting). I got the details of the mounting 'experts' a week later while the customer service just kept saying I should get a call from them and that there was no way they could follow up with the supplier's team. By that time, I had brought a drill from a local shop and mounted it myself, though it mounted a bit crooked, I fixed it later.

Another episode which was final nail on the coffin.
My wife once got a Samsung Smartwatch (without consulting me) from Amazon. Something looked suspicious as the watch box had details in Arabic. Turns out, the watch was an Arabic (possibly UAE) model. Our mistake, we should have returned it right there without opening it. But my wife went ahead and opened and started using it anyway as she was excited, hoping nothing would go wrong with a quality product from Samsung.
In 5 months, the watch conked off, Amazon seller would not take it back, but somehow, they had mentioned it has 1 year warranty, the Amazon customer service asked me to take it to Samsung support center where they could honor the warranty.
As expected, they rejected warranty stating that this is an out-of-country model, and it cannot be repaired in India as well as the chip had specific EU standard that was not available in Asia region.
Amazon customer service asked us to get that in writing from Samsung support center so that they would do something about the issue. Samsung support center gave a system generated report which Amazon rejected outright stating that it is not in the 'format' they wanted. My wife tried to convince the customer service that Samsung would not give any report in the format they wanted and that the system generated report had everything that was needed. To which the customer support lady said that it was our mistake to not read the package carefully when accepting the box. I realized there was no point in taking this conversation further as we had already wasted a lot of time waiting in queue to connect with them and explaining the same problem to a new person every single time. Swallowed a loss of 16,000 INR and told my wife never to buy any electronic item without asking me

In my experience, Amazon and Flipkart are highly overrated and their customer support is useless for the most part. They are running a business without any faces and that is a risk to the customer.

I have got excellent service from Croma, Vijay Sales and Reliance Digital. I can at least get hold on some guy from a brick and mortar shop if something fails. Moreover, one can easily negotiate and get a good deal on white goods these days from bigger retail shops. My dad was tempted to get a washing machine from Amazon, I coaxed him out of it and we negotiated a good deal from Croma. The washing machine's solenoid valve failed in just 3 months, my dad called them up and told them what the problem is. The machine was fixed on the same day. Croma coordinated with LG team to get it fixed under warranty, they even gave him their contact details in case we need to service the AC as they noticed it was an LG one. We availed their services later for my home's AC. Happy with this, my Dad later got a big TV from Croma again, and they gave him a sweet deal on that too.

[vigsom]

Thank You all for your inputs, and recommendations. As expected, this did turn out to be a healthy For vs Against debate. Thank You again.

Originally Posted by condor

With a lack of easily-reachable human customer-support on Amazon, I have reduced high-value purchases there. Maybe you can try a CoD next time.

I wanted this to be a COD, @condor, but the system had disabled the option "Unavailable for this payment".

Originally Posted by ani_meher

you could have ordered the same laptop again. At least amazon immediately cancelled the order, freeing you to explore other options including reordering.

I was tempted to do so, and guess what, on Day 0, a few minutes after it was marked "Rejected by You", the same machine was available for 500 bucks less. But then, once bitten twice shy. Also, in post#4 of this thread, you will note that I've actually mentioned 4 points on what went well, even through this process. Fully appreciate Amazon for their returns process, although robotic.

Originally Posted by ike

My preferred outlet for electronics/home appliances is usually Croma. They are quite courteous and more importantly price match with Amazon

Absolutely, @ike. I've got a lot of stuff from them at Usman Road Chennai, after seeing some sales natak (drama) at two other regional players just a stone's throw away.

Originally Posted by freelancer6202

amazon has always refunded or replaced or allowed me to keep the item and deliver a new one or refund. It is and will be my preffered shopping channel online

Agree, and we will continue to patronize them for low ticket items via my family's Prime accounts. As I've already mentioned in my opening post, save one experience, we've never had delivery issues with them. But for a big ticket order via Amazon Business, they ought not to have been irresponsible.

Originally Posted by Mr.Ogre

I shop most of the items offline now. I did have mixed experience with Amazon. It is the part where you want to talk to a person on the other side is what frustrates the most.

Agree

Originally Posted by blackwasp

Imagine as a seller, we face this issue day in and out. So much so that I have now paused selling on amazon till the time I'm able to reach a human.The only way forward is if you have friend who works in amazon in the same department.

The friend formula works almost everywhere, but I doubt if that will work in Amazon, which seems more process driven.

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

Out of curiosity, what is stopping you from taking the laptop and getting it inspected at a Asus service center? Are they incompetent?

Just close the lid and let it go into Sleep mode. Atleast you won't have this uncertainty of whether it will power on.

Good tip, Sandeep. I've started doing it. Now, I'm trying to eliminate all possible options before I visit a service center. Coz I know the issue is something minor which I might get to. If you remember my threads on the parasitic draw and the fuel gauge issue on my Grand Vitara, I found the issue after several months. In this case too, as long as the issue in the laptop doesn't threaten my work, I'm willing to wait and solve it myself. The laptop return was probably a signal to me to wait.

Originally Posted by aashishnb

1. On the old laptop, in all likelihood the contacts of the switch/button are worn off.
Most likely the power key is integrated with the keyboard. Just replace the keyboard. Would not cost more than a few thousand.

Or the power key is a button soldered onto the motherboard. You can try replacing it (needs soldering expertise, etc. - better to get it done by some computer expert).

2. On Amazon, sometimes it is the last mile delivery agent / agency's shenanigans (like door closed, etc. - heard this happening when security guys do not allow them inside the society or ask them to park far away outside, etc.)

Thank you for point#1. On point#2, our place had the MyGate system and I've seen deliveries happen even at 11pm.

Originally Posted by Flyingdutchman

I can answer your queries regarding this

Very kind of you to have spent all the time to create such a detailed post. Thank You @Flyingdutchman (although I know you aren't Dutch )

Originally Posted by dust-n-bones

search google for amazon call center number or something like that, the first link lands you on the 'Contact Us' page. Click 'Call me', it will ask some basic details about the problem, and offer a call back within 5 minutes.I guess this opaque layering is amazon's defence mechanism against frivolous callers, indeed like so many other public facing organizations do these days

Good tip, @dust-n-bones. Thank You.

Originally Posted by svsantosh

Sorry for your experience, but I guess you cannot write off Amazon for one, two or ever three experiences. Their redressal mechanism is robust.

Thank You for your experiences, Santosh. I don't write an org off based on a solitary experience; do take a look at my views towards the end of this post.

Originally Posted by Buzzard_storme

discrediting or stopping the whole service may be just an frustrated reaction

Not really, @Buzzard_storme. Read on.

Originally Posted by lsjey

I got a call to check if I rejected the package, on both times I marked as not rejected. Yet no attempt at delivery again happened

So, this is news. Even re-delivery was not attempted.

Originally Posted by NiInJa

For me, it is simply a breach of trust, I would not have any sympathies for Amazon. They are doing a business, it is their duty to make it seamless for the customer. These issues are just excuses

Spot on, @NilnJa. Despite me fuming, I've still mentioned the good points in post#4 of this thread. I take the good with the bad and always highlight what's good.

This case is very simple - when someone's ordered a laptop under a Business account, Amazon must understand that the item is critical for the customer's business, their commitment to delivery (I'll call it Quality in Delivery or QinD®) has to be several notches up, and delivery HAS TO HAPPEN. No excuses here. It is like delivery that me as a consultant or for that matter, any service delivery org. does for any client org.

Amazon didn't give me a COD option, took my money, kept me waiting for the product till their committed time, did not deliver, cited a false reason, did not reach out to me or even give me an avenue to speak. So a business account customer, someone that's fuelling their revenue, is a nobody for Amazon, but a delivery associate can derail an Amazon Business customer's business continuity; Excellent model by Amazon Business. What trust will I have if I were to order any Critical to Business item from them again? Zero. When fundamentals are not in place, I see no place for such an org. at least for me.

[Turbanator]

I think it's pretty much the same for everyone. I got a cracked/ repackaged monitor for over 1 lac and had great difficulty in getting a refund.

A simple 1000 Rs or so Ethernet - USB stopped working twice and no replacement was offered the second time. They continued to ask for pictures/ videos and so forth (Appario Support). Spent a good time explaining and sharing but realised they were not keen.

My orders with Amazon won't be even 5 % of what those used to be say a year back and I don't intend to order anything expensive in the foreseeable future irrespective of the prices.

[Draunzer21]

I have faced this issue multiple times with Amazon in last 2-3 years, ordered an item which was comparatively large in size and every time that item was marked as rejected returning to seller. In my case I also did lot of escalations but all in vain. They simply do not care. I actually complained about the delivery guys or service in my area specifically which is Baner pune and they said there are complaints by other customers as well and some step would be taken but no steps were taken.

Just 4 months ago they didn't deliver a Prestige cooker which I got cheaper on Amazon than Flipkart.
Flipkart price 2499
Amazon price 2399

For mere 100 rs I took a risk and Amazon didn't deliver it, by the time I could order via Flipkart again, the price on Flipkart was 2899 and on Amazon was 2799. I felt I should have spent 100 rs extra and got it from Flipkart instead as I have never faced an issue with Flipkart delivery until now.

I still order smaller items using Amazon and last month a parcel was delivered by postman. I was glad to see Amazon is using Indian postal service for delivery but I m avoiding ordering any large item from Amazon. May be delivery agents don't want to carry larger items like home appliances or electronic appliances - not sure though.

[poloman]

Originally Posted by poloman

More details here.
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shift...ml#post5838110 (Amazon vs Flipkart - Which do you prefer & why?)

Finally got the refund for this damaged junk item after persistent follow up. It turns out you have to make a return request 3 times, each time to be rejected by the return courier agent marking the return item not matching the original description, for you to be eligible for a refund. Fourth time they have option only for refund not return. Most people after getting frustrated will chose not to pursue this further benefiting amazon. So they are not going to tell you this upfront.

[AYP]

This reminded me of my laptop saga with Flipkart back in 2021. Everything was going fine until the laptop reached Pune. However, it continued to stay there for the next 3 days. I tried calling them multiple times during these 3 days but was always asked to wait until the indicated delivery date. Heck, even on the date of delivery, I was given the same response while the laptop was still in Pune.

Finally, cancelled the order the next day and got the refund. Your point about perseverance/delayed gratification really hit the nail. Now, I own a laptop with the RTX 4090 and i9-14900HX which costed me only slightly more than double the cost of the laptop which I had ordered, which had the GTX 1650 and an i5.

[pedrolourenco]

Originally Posted by vigsom

4. I tried reaching out to Customer care - there was no number or email either on their website or on the app
5. The menu on the app did have a Customer Service option, and right down below had two options - "Chat with us" OR "Talk to us".
6. Talk to us took me to an option titled " What do you need help with" with my only order published just below that. I selected the order, and it gave several options like order tracking and delivery, Cancel or return an item, Refunds, Feedback on seller, etc. Each of these had sub menus; no option to talk.
7. I then explored "Chat with us", and that put me on to a messaging assistant with the usual robotic questions. I selected the appropriate options, did not get a satisfactory answer, and finally asked me if I needed help with anything else, I said Yes, and this went into a loop. After multiple attempts and such loops, I finally got an option to ask an Amazon call agent to call, which happened. By now it was well past 12 midnight.
8. Day 3 wee hours - The call happened, the agent was courteous, but the end result was a big zero - I was told that since I had a Biz Account, those folks would be available only from 8am to 12 midnight, to which all I told the lady was feedback about how difficult it was to reach customer care in Amazon. She, poor thing, could do nothing and I sympathize with her.

This is done intentionally to prevent people from calling. When you persist the will ask a loot a questions and provide zero help. They will then cut the call or transfer you to someone else. If you get another call back or get transferred, the next person will make you repeat everything you told them. They will then assure you that the problem will be solved in 3-4 hrs. Something which never happens. When you call the next day, it's just a repeat of the previous days story.

I had gotten visibly agitated by this time - this wasn't the first time I was purchasing anything on line or off line, but to get to a human being to explain the issue was just not possible on Amazon. All I needed was to tell them that the item wasn't rejected by me and I was okay with a delivery the next day, but No, that was not to happen.

Happens with everyone. Again they do it intentionally. Pretend not to understand your problem. Don't feel sorry for the "Helpless" agents. They are all involved in this.

Still at square one after six days; so much time of mine wasted and so many manhours wasted at Amazon

Read my post's on the helmet thread. Exactly the same experience.

What was wrong all through this episode

1. Delivery agents falsely marking the item as rejected by the customer when there was no attempt at delivery at all; Amazon does not have the mechanism to set this in order
2. Poor customer complaint redressal mechanism : No easy way to reach out to customer care; options are poorly designed and just to put the customer though a loop
3. Am sure the company has violated certain Govt guidelines on Customer complaint redressal w.r.t E-Commerce Rules
4. This is not a knee jerk reaction based on one episode, but I am convinced that Amazon's fundamentals are not customer delight oriented
a. don't have it in them to make a sale happen
b. don't have a mechanism to understand the customer's PoV
c. don't have good after sales support except maybe a good returns policy

Spot on observations.

Am I alone in this experience?

If it's any consolation; NO.

[Adam]

Since I moved to different part of Bangalore recently ,most of my medium or large sized orders doesn’t get delivered on time or even got marked as rejected by customer. Sometimes it’s marked as delivered but the actual order gets delivered hours later.

Tried multiple escalation methods to resolve the matter but it still happens time to time.

[cooldude1988765]

The same thing has happened to me multiple times.

What was common among all the non deliveries was that it was a guaranteed delivery by 10pm. It could be 10pm same day or 10pm next day.

Once I figured this out I make sure to change the delivery to the next day.

[greenhorn]

I had a similar experience. After a couple of escalations, some through unofficial channels, i was told that there may have been some theft or damage at some stage in the chain - visible damage, significant change in weight. Once it gets caught, downstream will reject it and give some random reason to cover up (nobody wants to admit to the customer they have a leaky supply chain) is created and you will be stonewalled.

[asingh1977]

Have any of you faced these delivery issues with "Delhivery", as the courier company. Their agents lie a lot, and always put in "customer declined" specially for pick up. And never turn up. At times I need to call Amazon 10 times, refund pickup is initiated, agent never turns up. Writes "customer declined".

[pedrolourenco]

Originally Posted by asingh1977

Have any of you faced these delivery issues with "Delhivery", as the courier company. Their agents lie a lot, and always put in "customer declined" specially for pick up. And never turn up. At times I need to call Amazon 10 times, refund pickup is initiated, agent never turns up. Writes "customer declined".

One of the worst couriers. Your question should have been "Have any of you not faced issues with Delhivery".

My order from Custom Elements was shipped to Tamil Nadu instead of Goa. The delivery boy did reach the correct landmark "Behind Don Bosco College" but not the college in front of my house.

My order from PowerSports was also not collected from the seller for 3 days. Finally they changed to Blue Dart.

I've had some other issues with them in the past too.

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted by asingh1977

Have any of you faced these delivery issues with "Delhivery", as the courier company. Their agents lie a lot...

I have had very bad experiences with these guys; have documented them here previously. But there were hopes of improvement after the company went public: seems old habits die hard!