Still better than the alternatives.
As Amazon continues to conquer the world, look for them to pull back the red carpet and have a more "FU" treatment. Why, you ask?.....B/c, like Comcast, they CAN......they're the main game in town.
That's what seems to be happening. Shipping times have gotten much better since they opened a distrib center a few towns over - as long as you're buying directly from Amazon which isn't always the case. For non-Amazon, I'd say the shipping times have gotten worse.
They are No. 1 now by killing off their competition, don't have to cater to get customers anymore and who else are you going to shop with?
I've ordered from Walmart online and they're actually pretty good. They don't have the online part down yet but they're plowing billions of dollars into it. If anyone can compete with Amazon, it should be Wally world. There's also Jet.com but I haven't tried them and my guess is that since they're just a facilitator, service is going to be spotty.
They started delaying my orders in the past few years. I used to get "free" next day shipping because I live near a fulfillment center and mail sorting center. Now I don't get a shipping notice email until ~5 days later.
It could have something to do with orders from Amazon vendors rather than Amazon itself. Just a thought. Probably doesn't explain all of the delays though.
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My issue today was with customer service. It's been at least a year since I had to call them for anything and even the last time there was a noticeable change in attitude.
First of all, I clearly got an off-shore call center rep since I could barely understand her. Although I also had a similar problem recently with someone allegedly in Kentucky so make of that what you will.
Then the woman puts me hold multiple times and comes back with a different story each time. Now mind you, the ONLY reason I was calling was because a vendor was trying to nickel and dime me on a return. I had to pay shipping back and they didn't give me a full refund. The difference was about $3 but it pissed me off.
This is one of those calls that a couple of years ago would have gone like this.
Me - vendor short changed me on order number blah-blah
Amazon - how much was the difference
Me - $3 dollars
Amazon - no problem, your account has been credited.