Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Amazon.com

I use Amazon a lot for recommendations. Most books that I read I end up getting from the library, but I try to use Amazon for purchases because I use their services so much. There's a whole bunch of blogs about Google that detail news, updates, changes, etc. but so far I haven't found any at all for Amazon and I'm too lazy to make one myself.

Anyway... recently I noticed a change at Amazon Books. It used to be that when I did a search for a title there would be icons next to some of the search results indicating that that book was recommended for me. I LOVED that feature. I keep this ridiculously anal list of books that I want to read and would add books to it based on that icon ALL THE TIME. Now, it's gone. It still shows up on the main Amazon books page, but not in the search results pages.

So, I thought I'd email Amazon and see if that feature had been done away with or if it was just temporarily gone. I've emailed Amazon in the past with questions about both their website and about my orders and I've always been amazed at how quickly and thoroughly they'd answer. So, this time I was surprised. Below is most of the back and forth emails sent. (Not all because one of my emails includes an earlier email.)

> Date: Tue Feb 14 03:57:01 UTC 2006
> Subject; Recommendations
> To: int-primary__4r4t4y@amazon.com
> From: ME
>
> ---------------
> 02/13/06 19:56:39
> NAME: ME
> ORDER ID:
> ITEMS:
>
> COMMENTS: I think this is something I should be emailing customer
service
> about instead of posting on the discussion boards...
>
> It appears that the "recommended for you" icon is no longer
showing up in
> my search results. Is that feature coming back? Is it possible
that it's
> not showing up because I've switched from Internet Explorer to
Mozilla
> Firefox?
>
> Thanks,
> ME

From: "Amazon.com Customer Service"
[Add to Address Book]
To: ME
Subject: Your Amazon.com Inquiry
Date: Tuesday, February 14, 2006 03:21:47 PM [View Source]

Thank you for contacting Amazon.com.

I apologize if you are having difficulty with our website. I have
looked into this matter and found that Amazon.com's web site should
appear the same regardless which browser you use. It appears that
maybe you need to clear your cookies files.

If this solution does not work please contact us back.

Thank you for shopping Amazon.com.

Please let us know if this e-mail resolved your question:

If yes, click here:
http://www.amazon.com/rsvp-y?c=ryxyuvtt3233614577
If not, click here:
http://www.amazon.com/rsvp-n?c=ryxyuvtt3233614577

Please note: this e-mail was sent from an address that cannot accept
incoming e-mail.

To contact us about an unrelated issue, please visit the Help
section of our web site.

Best regards,

Becky
Amazon.com Customer Service
http://www.amazon.com
==============================
Check your order and more: http://www.amazon.com/your-account

ref_id:=ceyquvtt1086141488

This didn't work, so I emailed them again:

> Date: Mon Feb 20 17:57:13 UTC 2006
> Subject; HMD Feedback to Amazon.com
> To: int-form-feedback__34erdf@amazon.com
> From: ME
>
> ---------------
> 02/20/06 09:57:12
> NAME: ME
> COMM ID: ryxyuvtt3233614577
> COMMENTS: I did try clearing the cache and the cookies as well as
using an entirely different computer. The icons are still gone. The
Amazon Books page still shows the little lightbulbs with the text
Why? next to books that are recommended. However, say I do a search
of "The Baby Book". In the past, the search results page would show
the book The Baby Book: Everything You Need to Know About Your Baby
from Birth to Age Two (Revised and Updated Edition) -- by James
Sears, et al, as well as other similar books. Next to that book and
many of the others would be the lightbulb icon, indicating that book
was recommended to me personally. That no longer happens. For any
books at all.
>
> It's not as though this is a serious problem or anything like
that. It was just a feature I *really* liked on Amazon and was
curious as to whether it was gone forever.
>
> Thanks,
> ME

Their response:

From: "Amazon.com Customer Service"
[Add to Address Book]
To: ME
Subject: Your Amazon.com Inquiry
Date: Monday, February 20, 2006 03:44:58 PM [View Source]

Thanks for writing us at Amazon.com.

I am sorry to hear that the "recommended for you" icon is not
appearing in your account.

Many common problems can be solved by adjusting your browser
settings:

1) Try reloading. If the site is taking a long time, or if a page
loads for a long, long time, click the "Stop" button at the top of
your browser and then click "Reload" or "Refresh" at the top of your
browser window.

2) Clear your cache. Most browsers temporarily store a local copy of
every page you visit on the web. Clearing your cache deletes all of
those files and makes room for new ones. You can find information on
clearing your cache by consulting the Help link on your browser menu.

3) Clear your cookies. Cookies are short pieces of data that are
stored by your web browser that help to recognize you automatically
whenever you return to our site and let you take advantage of the
many personalization and recommendation features we offer. They also
are necessary for our 1-Click Shopping and Shopping Cart to work
efficiently. If a cookie becomes corrupted on your computer, it may
cause you to have difficulty using Amazon.com. Please consult your
browser's Help menu for instructions on removing cookies. Removing
old or damaged cookies will allow new cookies to be created when you
visit us next time.

4) Try our standard server. If you have trouble accessing the order
form, or if the order form gives you an error on the final step,
using the standard server should allow the order to go through. You
can select the standard server when you enter your e-mail address and
password after clicking "Proceed to Checkout." When submitting an
order on the standard server, if we don't already have your credit
card number on file, it's best to enter just the last five digits of
the card number and then call us with the complete number after
placing the order.

If these suggestions fail to solve the problem and you believe there
may be a technical error on Amazon.com, please click the link below
to send us a detailed description of how to duplicate the the error
and where it is occurring. We can then notify the correct team to
ensure the problem is corrected.

Thanks for shopping with Amazon.com.

Please visit the following link to provide the information we
requested:

http://www.amazon.com/rsvp-mi?c=fatyucxt3231976477&q=o2r

Please note: this e-mail was sent from an address that cannot accept
incoming e-mail. Please use the link above to send us your reply.

Best regards,

Narendra Prasad
Amazon.com Customer Service
http://www.amazon.com
==============================
Check your order and more: http://www.amazon.com/your-account

ref_id:=yuyeucxt1084504895

My response to that details how absolutely ridiculous this advice is, in case it's not obvious.

> Date: Tue Feb 21 14:54:29 UTC 2006
> Subject; Additional Information
> To: int-orders2__poiqwe@amazon.com
> From: ME
>
> ---------------
> 02/21/06 06:54:28
> NAME: ME
> COMM ID: fatyucxt3231976477
> COMMENTS: I've copied below the email I received from Amazon so
that I can refer to it.
>
> Hopefully, it will be possible for someone to respond that has
actually read the email I sent.
>
> Re 1, 2, and 3. I clearly mentioned already that I did try to
clear the cache, clear the cookies, and used different computers.
>
> Re 4. My question had absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with
ordering.
>
> Re "please click the link below
> to send us a detailed description of how to duplicate the the
error
> and where it is occurring." I DID send a detailed description,
even giving an exact title for an example.
>
> As I ALSO mentioned, it's not as though this problem is a big
deal. It's not stopping me from ordering through Amazon. This
ridiculous reply I received, though, might. However, in the past, I
have only had absolutely wonderful encounters with customer service -
- above and beyond what most companies provide or that I would ever
expect. I've realized by now, after a week, that the recommended
for you icon is probably not going to return to my search results
since I've noticed in the past that when there's a change in
features, it only lasts a day or two if it's temporary. I'm just
kind of ticked off that instead of a response that made sense --
even if it was just "I don't know" -- I got one that showed that
there was no way the customer service representative either read or
understood my question.
>
> Thank you,
> ME

From: "Amazon.com Customer Service"
[Add to Address Book]
To: ME
Subject: Your Amazon.com Inquiry
Date: Tuesday, February 21, 2006 10:26:42 AM [View Source]

Hello from Amazon.com.

I have reviewed our previous correspondence with you, and I offer my
sincere apologies for any misunderstanding thus far.

I went through the process that you described and there was not
signal that you had made a recommendation for the book "The Baby
Book: Everything You Need to Know About Your Baby
from Birth to Age Two (Revised and Updated Edition)."

It is always important for us to hear how customers react to all
aspects of shopping at Amazon.com. Strong customer feedback like
yours helps us continue to improve the selection and service we
provide, and we appreciate the time you took to write to us.

I have already passed your message on to the appropriate department
in our company for consideration. Customer feedback like yours is
very important in helping us continue to improve the selection and
service we provide.

Thank you for shopping at Amazon.com. We hope to see you again soon.

Best regards,

Susie B.
Amazon.com Customer Service
http://www.amazon.com
==============================
Check your order and more: http://www.amazon.com/your-account

ref_id:=hecedtct1085422599


I give up.

And I know this is a very un-PC thing of me to wonder, but I do wonder if Amazon has, since I've last communicated with them, outsourced their customer service operations abroad. Do these people not understand English? Or they're not really familiar with the website itself?

ARRRGH.


books