Zune Preorder Failure for Amazon
November 15th, 2006
In order to facilitate the production of Zune tutorials, we purchased some of our authors the new media device from Microsoft. We placed the orders several weeks ago to insure that our authors got the devices in a timely fashion.
Total failure.
So now I can buy a Zune from any of a dozen stores around me, but Amazon has still not shipped it yet. Heck, they don’t even plan on our authors receiving their devices for another week or two.
I called the top secret amazon 1-800 number that is not posted anywhere on their web site: 1-800-201-7575. I spoke to a nice Indian lady who ran through all of her scripts. When she got to the end of her debug script, she told me that she needed to do some research. We made pleasant small-talk until she confirmed that Amazon had not mailed out Zune preorders yet.
So I can buy a Zune at Circuit City or Best Buy, but Amazon is not even mailing them out yet. Great.
Actually it appears that Amazon is placing preorders in the back of the queue. Looking on their Zune product page, you can get it sent out ASAP if you order it today. But they can’t mail mine and I preordered a month ago?
I asked to speak to her supervisor. First, she told me that her supervisor was on the phone. When I told her I would wait, she told me that her supervisor was not willing to talk to me.
What a pity. We frequently use Amazon to purchase gift certificates and gifts for our tech-recipes authors. No mas, Amazon, no mas.
Addendum:
Here is the Microsoft Press Release stating that “…the company announced that the Zune™ digital media player and online service will be available to consumers in the U.S. on Nov. 14, 2006″
Another painful screenshot I just snapped…
Addendum 2 (11/15/06 1620):
I just received this email from amazon tech-support:
First, please accept our apologies for the issues that you have encountered with your purchase.
I’ve checked your order and can confirm that we are currently preparing it for shipment.
It appears that we will be able to ship your package earlier than the date estimated on our web site…
We at least it has finally shipped, right? I just received the notice of shipping email as well. The bolding emphasis is mine…
The following items have been shipped to you by Amazon.com:
———————————————————————
Qty Item Price Shipped Subtotal
———————————————————————
Amazon.com items (Sold by Amazon.com, LLC):
1 Zune 30 GB Digital Media P… $249.99 1 $249.99(estimated arrival date: 29-November-2006).
So tech-support says that it will get shipped to me sooner than expected, and now the arrivial date has been delayed 5 more days!
What a joke. Avoid Amazon at all costs.
November 15th, 2006 at 7:31 am
Yeah! I used to preorder games from Amazon all the time and would expect them to arrive on my doorstep the day the game was released. (Sometimes I might even get it a day early!) No more. The last couple of games I have done this have arrived weeks after the release date. My last one I just canceled the darn thing and went and purchased it from the mall.
November 15th, 2006 at 7:44 am
I believe that this delay is a method to get people to purchase the prime Amazon program. I see many “hot” items that say delivery guaranteed with Amazon prime. What a racket.
November 15th, 2006 at 7:54 am
weak. very weak.
keep us updated on the your progress. i’ve been wondering what the scam around amazon prime was. now it makes sense.
November 15th, 2006 at 7:55 am
What a rip! Amazon can cross me off their list of customers, I can find plenty of e-tailers that will do a better job of delivering good customer service. I will definitely be sharing this experience with not only my friends but also my employer. Amazon probably could care less about losing one customer, but maybe it will hurt them just a little bit to lose an entire corporation’s business.
November 15th, 2006 at 8:00 am
word.
I have submitted this as a shoutwire.
Click here to Shout…
November 15th, 2006 at 8:06 am
Thanks qwertygirl. Very kind. I fixed your link as the javascript got crunched by wordpress.
I have dugg it as well…
Click here to digg it…
November 15th, 2006 at 8:20 am
man that sucks! kind of interested to get my hands on a Zune to see if it can make any dent into the ‘ipod’ marketshare; guess i’ll be heading to best buy to check one out (and to find out more about the wii release this sunday!!!! YAY!)
plus, i’m still an anti-pod fan myself. i bought the first ever mp3 player by Rio back in the day and have yet to purchase another since most of my other portable devices double as a mp3 player (i prefer to use my phone these days since it keeps my already gadget bulging pockets not as heavy..)
November 15th, 2006 at 10:27 am
I blame this entire episode on the use of the retarded buzzword “PreOrder”.
I honestly think amazon believes they have the power to send people back in time so that they can order before they actually order.
November 15th, 2006 at 11:21 am
It gets worse, I preordered some accessories for the Zune from Amazon: an AC Adapter, Car Charger and the Zune Dock. Delivery estimate: December 15, 2006 - December 29, 2006. I think it is official, Amazon blows.
November 15th, 2006 at 2:33 pm
Thanks for all the comments guys. I have updated the main post with the latest news. I will quickly summerize it here.
Tech-support emails me and says I’ll get it sooner than expected:
It appears that we will be able to ship your package earlier than the date estimated on our web site…
And then the shipping announcement actually pushes back the arrival date by another 5 days:
(estimated arrival date: 29-November-2006).
Amazon is evil.
November 15th, 2006 at 3:35 pm
Woah.. Amazon is evil because of *this*? It’s not like they are MSFT or anything.. I hear a lot about life with retail customers. I fault companies like Walmart who have created this atmosphere of “the customer is always right.. always” in which big business should bend over and smooch customers gluteal regions because they weren’t greeted happily enough at the door.
A great recent example. WalMart (who I hold in as high esteem as by beloved MSF.. I can’t finish typing that, sorry) has gone the low road of stabbing their competition in the back with a loss leader again, this time in their pharmacy division. They now charge $4 for a typical month’s supply on 300ish common generic drugs (many of these are just different strengths of the same drug, but that’s another story). A recent call to a local pharmacy ended with the customer saying “I’m unhappy with this plan.”
Unhappy? They are losing money giving you your drugs and you’re *unhappy* with that. It doesn’t cost the customer anything to participate. Walmart is losing money (on those things, but probably making a killing elsewhere because of it..). Another great comment is “why aren’t all of my prescriptions only $4 all together?”
This all seems off topic, but I’ve learned a lot listening to the venting of someone who deals with retail customers all the time. In general, the customer is wrong 99.9% of the time. However, if a company gives into customer complaints sometimes, even when it is not warranted, they reinforce the behavior that you can get whatever you want when you show your backside. It’s called variable reinforcement and, when we used it to train monkeys, it was like primate crack. When customers get up in arms about a big bad business wronging them, I’d just like to tell them not to flatter themselves. I’m sure most of them have been long-term MSFT OS users.. they should learn to extend their low expectations from their Windows experiences to shopping. “We’re sorry. Your shopping cart had to reboot. You’ll have to start shopping over.”
Still, I can’t believe I just defended Walmart. Who knows, maybe I’ll stick up for MSFT someday. (I just laughed out loud in public as I typed this.. strange looks and my face is flushing..) Don’t hold your breath..
November 15th, 2006 at 3:36 pm
Although, let me extend an “I’m sorry” to those of you who won’t get your Zune as early as expected. I was looking forward to hearing your thoughts. I still am. I suspect that you’ll get them Friday or Monday if they shipped today. Unless Airborne is taking a really long Thanksgiving vacation…
November 15th, 2006 at 9:18 pm
I now realize that your Amazon infatuation is only surpassed by your Apple worship.
I think these things are a bad way for a company to run things:
1. Mailing a preordered item AFTER the release date.
2. A support supervisor refusing to talk to me.
3. The change of a shipment date without informing me.
In my opinion that is not an honest way of doing business.
November 15th, 2006 at 9:24 pm
Amazon just sent me a “we are sorry” email.
Hello from Amazon.com.
I cannot express to you how sorry I am for the promises made regarding the delivery of your order which were not kept and for the frustration and disappointment this situation must have caused for
you.
Our goal is to provide the highest level of customer service possible and I sincerely apologize that our service did not meet that standard in this case.
We are sorry to report that there has been an unexpected delay in obtaining “Zune 30 GB.”
I have checked our records and see that, due to a delay on our end, the estimated shipping and delivery dates for your order were revised after you placed your order. It is our policy to notify customers whenever such delays occur, and I sincerely apologize that you were not notified in this case.
I have also checked that this item entered the shipping process on November 15, 2006 and the estimated delivery date is November 29, 2006.
Because your business is important to us, I’d like to give you a $10.00 promotional certificate for use toward your next Amazon.com order.
This amount has been automatically redeemed onto your account.
You will not receive a claim code.
I realize that no compensation can really make amends for the the late arrival of this order. Please accept it as a goodwill gesture and in apology for any inconvenience we have caused.
Please be assured that this is not a typical Amazon.com experience and in no way did we intend for this to happen. I hope that you will give us another opportunity to prove the quality of our service to you.
November 15th, 2006 at 9:32 pm
Maybe I’m just so jaded as to be incapable of imagining a company doing business honestly..
November 15th, 2006 at 11:19 pm
[…] Read More About It In The Blogosphere. […]
November 16th, 2006 at 9:45 am
Leave it to Q to come to the defense of a company whose name begins with the letter ‘A’. I see a pattern developing.
November 16th, 2006 at 12:38 pm
I’m glad Davak downgraded the threat of Amazon from a category 5 “evil” to a category (hmmm… ) 2 “dishonest.” I think evil should be reserved for the likes of Microsoft and people who talk at the theatre.
November 18th, 2006 at 9:54 pm
haha.. good readings..
i’m really hoping to get an x360 core system for $100 next thur from amazon (me and prob like 5 million other people..
) we’ll see how that goes.. hehe..
at least they did send a $10 gift certificate good w/amazon only (talk about a way to keep you coming back eh?)
November 19th, 2006 at 4:14 pm
Happened again with the Nintendo Wii.
http://critical-hits.net/ryan-david/amazon-wii-launch-estimated-arrival-wtf
November 19th, 2006 at 6:49 pm
Oh, Ryan, that is brutal. Best hope is that’s a very conservative estimate. I always wonder how they estimate how long it will take to get a table at a busy restaurant.. there are a lot of uncertainties there. Different diners eat at slower paces, there are different table sizes, and 3 smoking preferences. It does seem like knowing when they can ship something from Amazon would be an easier computation, though.