Towards the end of last year, a couple of members here (you know who you are!) tipped me off to Amazon's Prime service. For something like $79 per year, you get unlimited two-day shipping and $3.99 per item overnight shipping on all items shipped directly from Amazon. For those of us who are impatient and desire instant gratification but also desire to buy things at the least expensive (or near least expensive price), Amazon Prime is great. As a result, I have found myself buying more and more stuff from Amazon rather than local retailers such as Best Buy. My main concern, though, has been whether Amazon's customer service would be as good as what I have gotten through BB (e.g., ease of returning items). Well, here's a story of some great service from Amazon.

The week before last, I bought an Slingbox Solo from Amazon. As a result, the next day, Amazon offered me a Slinglink Turbo 1Port for $64.99 (a slight discount from Amazon's regular price for that item). Not knowing a lot about the item, I carefully read the description. The description (on Amazon's website) stated that the Slinglink had 4 ethernet ports (yes, 4--even though the name of the item was "1Port"). I went ahead and ordered the Slinglink hoping it would have 4 ports as described on Amazon's website. When I received it, I discovered it only had 1 ethernet port on it.

I called Amazon's customer service to inform Amazon that the description was in error. I didn't want to return the item and didn't demand any concessions. However, I did want them to know their description was misleading. The person with whom I spoke took down the information but didn't bother to apologize or offer me a genuine thank you for reporting the error. As a result, I subsequently e-mailed Amazon's customer support. This time, I was offered a refund of 50% of the purchase price (and an apology)!

Now that's what I call great customer service. As a result of the way that was handled, I'll be sure to order more from Amazon.

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-Jay
The Fine Print:Nothing in this post (or any of my other posts) is intended to constitute legal advice or the establishment of an attorney-client relationship. For purposes of this forum, I'm just another nerd like you. :-)