Amazon

Deadman

Anyone feel it's outgrowing itself? I have always been a big advocator of it. Been using it from the comfort of my armchair for many years and (was) a Prime user. 

Locker has been a massive plus for me. Ordered a £400 game console and definitely not going to be in to receive delivery? Locker. Bloomin brilliant idea. Only now, the 2 lockers in my small town are always full. So delivery is the only option now. And with that, comes delivery drivers.

Yesterday I had a rare day off and was waiting for my latest delivery, only some pads for our floor steamer admittedly but as I was in I waited for the door to go and my dog to morph into his usual yapping state. So to be sat there quietly, 5 metres from my front door and get an email to say it'd been delivered to a neighbour really confused me. The delivery guy had only decided to kill 2 birds with 1 stone. I was at my neighbours within 5 minutes and she said he'd told her I wasn't in. He'd also ignored my preferred location.

So Amazon have lost me as a customer. And I have to say, I'm really disappointed. I know I'm a saddo but it's true. I used to love the convenience but not so now. I just think they've got too big for their boots. 

The point of this stupid post is to point out that I'm heading back to the high street. That's a big thing for me as I was one of those people who just don't go shopping, but I feel there's no other safe option. I have a list of Christmas presents to buy and for the first time in many years I'm going old school. And I've subscribed to Netflix after cancelling my Prime subscription. 

I just wonder how many other people out there feel the same and if this giant is indeed going into reverse gear.

DefaultM

Seems like an overreaction.

jellyroll

I use Amazon mainly for the thing it was originally designed to sell.....books (mainly KIndle). Plus, of course, the occasional piece of tat.

Sassafras

The phrase "throwing the baby out with the bath water" springs to mind.
Surely your gripe is with the delivery driver. Any of them can be dicks whoever they work for.

Deadman

No, it's been a long build up. I think it's because Locker became such a great option for someone like me (who's never in). Firstly it wasn't available once in a while. Now it's never available.  We need bigger lockers man!

Deadman

Sassafras said:

The phrase "throwing the baby out with the bath water" springs to mind.
Surely your gripe is with the delivery driver. Any of them can be dicks whoever they work for.

Agreed, only I don't want delivery drivers. I didn't before Locker came in either. 

dindude

I’m def getting a lot more service fails with amazon lately 

MattBanshee

Every time they ignore my preferred location and deliver somewhere stupid, I kick off and usually get a partial or full refund. Got a full refund on a £99 gaming headset because they "delivered" it (threw it through the open bathroom window of the maisonette behind mine, thinking it was my house) rather than use the preferred location. The headset turned up a few days later when the guy got back from holiday. Similarly, full refund (and told to keep/dispose) on aftershave that had been left behind a wheelie bin and a couple of slugs were on the cardboard box.

not_the_dj

If you're a Prime subscriber always complain, if there's an issue with their service with very little persuasion they'll add another month on.

thecolourbox

You do realise delivery drivers deliver to the lockers as well?

strtdv

I like the idea of having a smart lock on a porch or garage and giving the driver a single use code.

I think Amazon is partly responsible for the behaviour of these drivers as they pay them so little it encourages that sort of behaviour.
If they paid enough for people actually do the job properly it wouldn't be an issue.

Delivery companies generally need to modernise though, the days of people being able to stay at home to wait for a delivery are largely gone, and if I wasn't at home when you attempted delivery the first time then trying the next day at the same time is just pointless.

Grunfeld

Deadman said:

So Amazon have lost me as a customer...

Why not put in a complaint instead?

Okay, it's going to fall on the driver's head but it's not Amazon being too big, it's a crap delivery driver.

(Yonks ago I did that job; I don't miss it.  But it was the only thing I could do at the time.  And it's crap, and it's hard, and it's cold and wet but it's not complicated:  take something from A to B and get paid for it.)

darthed1981

not_the_dj said:

If you're a Prime subscriber always complain, if there's an issue with their service with very little persuasion they'll add another month on.

QFT.  I've had about 3 or 4 extra months this way.

LuttiS

Prime delivery seems to be 2 days rather than the 1 at the moment. Everything seems to take a little longer and get delivered a little later.. 
I've complained in the past and have had months added on.

JezWynd

I still use them occasionally but the big romance ended a year or two back mainly due to my local high street dying in front of my eyes. The way they went about selecting their new headquarters in the US was pretty shabby too.

randella

LuttiS said:

Prime delivery seems to be 2 days rather than the 1 at the moment. Everything seems to take a little longer and get delivered a little later.. 
I've complained in the past and have had months added on.

And this (apart from the usual distrust of megacorps in general) is my gripe with Amazon at the moment.  The pre-Christmas switch from one day to two seems to have happened earlier every year I've had Prime.  You'd think that extra orders=more profit=more drivers but I guess that falls back on my point about megacorps.

Deadman

I should maybe re-title this to 'Amazon locker'. It's been a build up over the last 6 months. Everybody is doing it now so it's got too big for its boots.

Cheers for the tips but I'm not interested in freebies, I'm not even particularly annoyed at the delivery driver. It's the locker thing not (ever) being available to me that's sealed the deal. And @Grunfeld they put the complaint into their logistics dept themselves, apparently.

I'm off shopping anyway, haha. Just hope Witney isn't too busy and I can actually get what's on my list.

Deadman

thecolourbox said:

You do realise delivery drivers deliver to the lockers as well?

Not when it's constantly full.

Adam_MD

My only issue with Amazon is they’re frequently no longer the best priced retailer out there.  I got so used to amazon being cheaper than everywhere else I got out of the habit of checking and these days I often find the same thing at a better price elsewhere.  

I’m building a pc for Mrs_MD for Christmas and every component has been £15 to £20 cheaper from scan.  I’m having to pay for delivery but I’m still better off.  

docbaker

I would imagine that the delivery drivers are paid only by successful deliveries, so they will do whatever they can to achieve that. and who can blame them for trying to earn a wage. it is the amazon system which is at fault, creatively harvesting money wherever they can.

personally, as soon as it came to light that amazon were not paying tax properly, i stopped using them. i have suffered no ill effects - I can get books from proper bookshops, ditto music, and CeX is a great shop for second hand music/dvds, also discogs ..

Shrews

I also agree that Amazon are getting too big for their own good. Go back a number of years and they were top notch but I hate the big push on Prime.

About a month ago I must've clicked the wrong button and low and behold I'd subscribed to the Prime free deal!  I didn't know this until I got an email last week saying 'Your free trial is about to run out' then they had the audacity to say, 'We'll automatically direct debit £7.99 from your account, if you choose to stay with us'

Err..no you fucking won't!

So I obviously cancelled the trial getting the typical 'make you think twice' option of:

 - Yes I want to stay with Prime

- No, I want to miss out on the best thing since sliced bread

(Or words similar to that)

If you click the Prime button by mistake there should always be an additional question of 

'Are you sure you want to join the Prime service?' or more likely 'You are about to join the greatest thing ever in the history of the world, click this button to confirm and welcome yourself to Paradise!'

I wonder how many people will be caught out by this and won't notice they're being deducted £7.99 until sometime in February when they check their bank accounts.