Amazon is a huge, global organisation. For one person to try and take them on and get anything back would seem futile. But it’s not. It really does pay to challenge Amazon and complain when you think you have been wronged by this internet giant.
There have a been a few occasions where taking the time to challenge Amazon has been worth the effort. Here are a couple of examples:
1) 6 Kindle Fires for the price of 5
A couple of years ago Amazon was running this offer. If you bought 5 Kindle Fire tables you got a 6th for free. It was November and Christmas was on my mind, and also that of a colleague. With 6 children between us, we decided to club together. I bought the 6 Kindles (paying for 5), my colleague paid me a third of the total price and took two of them for his kids. The deal was then bettered by Amazon just a week later on Black Friday.
I challenged Amazon. It took quite some time on the phone, escalating up the chain of command within their telephone support. I eventually got to a manager and our heels were dug in. My argument was that Amazon knew when I bought the Kindles that the price would be dropped within days. I argued that this was unfair and that they should honour the Black Friday price in my purchase and thus issue a refund.
I argued that I had paid £49.99 per unit, so when paying for 5 Kindles it was a total of £249.95, but obviously, I received 6 Kindles as part of that deal. Therefore, the effective unit price of each Kindle was £41.66. But the Black Friday unit price was £34.99 for a Kindle. So, if I’d bought 6 on Black Friday, rather than the 6-for-5 offer, I would have paid a total of £209.94 – that’s £40.01 less than I had paid. It took some persuading but the Amazon manager relented and agreed to refund me. He actually refunded me £75. I realised that he had effectively given me the Black Friday deal price and 6-for-5 offer but he insisted he was right.
On that occasion, it was worthwhile to argue.
2) Failed Prime next day delivery
Amazon Prime is fantastic. We pay the annual fee of £79.99 for the Prime video service, music and of course free next day delivery on many items. I’d ordered some things for a birthday on a Thursday. All were Prime items and all stated delivery would be on the next day. However, as Friday progressed it became clear that the items wouldn’t be coming. The order tracker still showed them as yet to be despatched – despite the online chat assistant assuring me they would be arriving. I called them later and ask for a refund. They agreed as they had failed on their promise and also added a £10 credit to my account as an apology.
Fast forward to Monday and the items arrived in the post. This then means another online chat and explaining the situation. They asked what I wanted to happen. I said I happily keep the items if they refunded me. The agreed! Plus I got the £10 apology payment too.
Again, it was worthwhile to challenge them.
Try for yourself
So, the next time Amazon let you down why not take them on. Challenge them and you may well find yourself better off because of it.
But before you do, here are some tips for tackling them:
- Write down all the facts you need before calling them. This will mean you are well prepared and not stalling while you find a piece of information.
- Know what you want to achieve. From the outset it good to know what you want out of you call to Amazon, whether it be a refund, replacement or compensation.
- Be polite. Always be polite and gratuitous to the Amazon representatives and don’t get angry or raise your voice. The power of staying calm cannot be overrated.
- Stand your ground. Believe in why you are arguing and stick to your guns. Be careful to listen to them and not agree to something they say unless you’re certain you are getting what you set out to achieve.
- Be thankful. When it’s all over make sure to thank the person that was assisting you. None of what’s happened is their personal fault so make sure you know you understand that.
I hope this advice will come in handy for you one day.
Thanks for reading.
Dave
