Amazon Customer Service: The Worst is Yet to Come

Some of you may know I am a stroke victim who is paralyzed on the right and have selective short term memory. Several days ago I did not order on Amazon two bottles of Phillips Milk of Magnesia. Despite no order, Amazon shipped the products. In short, I was very frustrated with the Amazon NO REPLY emails and subsequent customer service webpages requiring resetting passwords.

Again, today, a product, now a mouthwash, is not ordered, but shipped by Amazon. Amazon does not offer explanations. I am so convinced customer service will claim that the order was shipped by me when I did not order. And if I were to contest it, I would be forced to reset my password to question it. If a reseller fails a product, Amazon requires the reseller to respond personally to the customer via email. Yet Amazon customer service is inhuman, with no names of the representatives.

If you are a behemoth company like Amazon, shipment issues are just pennies. But to customers, especially those like me with, now, no income, the cost for shipment, no matter how small, is excruciating painful.

LESSONS TO BE LEARNED: If you are a large corporation, still recognize that the customer is, in fact, a human. Even if the other company is huge, the customer of that company is still an individual. Whenever the customer is emotionally involved, your representative should be, too. Let your representative FEEL with, not for the customer. Be sure to let the representative empathize with the customer and respond appropriately.

If you are a customer service representative, know that to the customer, you are the company. Do not say, “They”. Instead say, “We”. Even better, say, “I”. Do not interrupt when the customer rants (expletives not acceptable, of course). Empathize with the customer after the rant. Then work to solve the problem. In the end, ask if everything is satisfactory or helpful.

When you listen, empathize, resolve the issue and ask if the customer is satisfied, then not only will the customer be satisfied, he/she will be sure to rave about your company to others.