We’ve all had the experience of lousy customer service, the one where the customer is NEVER right and nobody cares what you need or even whether you return. And we talk about it. Today I want to share an experience I had this week with awesome customer service.
I have an Amazon Kindle. Because I love to read, this was a great find for me. For a year, I hauled books back to Barbados from the States every time I went home. Books are heavy and added a lot of weight to my already overstuffed suitcases. Last February, I decided it was time to buy a Kindle. What a godsend! It is light and easy to travel with, I can put a ton of books on it, and it doesn’t add any weight to my suitcases.
About a week ago, the screen on my Kindle started acting strange. It has a sort of thumb print at the top of it and a white line started running down the screen. It also seemed to be “fading” and was becoming harder to read. Great, I figured. Amazon wouldn’t send this thing outside of the US when I bought it so I am probably stuck until I return home in December. Still, I contacted customer service via email. The reply was prompt, giving me a number to call to see what could be done. I called and spoke with the customer service rep. As soon as I explained the problem and he verified my account, he told me the E-Ink was going out on the device, it was covered under the warranty, and they would ship another one. Wow, really? Okay, but I am in Barbados and I can send it back in three weeks with a friend. Not a problem. As long as I return it within 30 days, they won’t charge me for the new one, which is being shipped out to me that day! Amazing.
I happen to have friends coming in three weeks, who will bring the new one with them. In the meantime, it is shipped to my US address, my niece has already downloaded all of my books onto the new device, and problem is solved!
It would be great if all customer service was this easy. Empowered employees, ready and able to make fast decisions that lead to customers being delighted and likely to return. Thanks, Amazon, for a great example!
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