By Antony
January 22, 2006 - 11:08 PMHello World! Email tech support. Eugh. I don't know if this is a global phenomenon, but more and more companies seem to be outsourcing their email tech support to (I suspect) foreign centres. Much like many call centres are outsourced to India, I am getting useless email responses which I suspect are also abroad.
And isn't it so frustrating?
Here's an example, of an exchange I had with Amazon.co.uk:
My email:
Why don't you provide more samples of songs?
On your front page you recommended the Bjork album Medulla, but then provide no samples. So how will that encourage me to buy it?
But what makes it worse is that amazon.com has loads of samples. And this happens for many of your CDs.
You're the same company aren't you? Why must I go to a different website address to hear an album?
My first response was from someone called Varunipriyadharshni. Is that even a name? He/she suggested I check newsgroups... very useful for audio samples I must say! So I emailed the EXACT same question again, anticipating a totally different template reply. And I wasn't disappointed:
Thank you for contacting Amazon.co.uk with your enquiry.
You will notice that there is some crossover between the Amazon catalogues, some items being available for order at more than one of the websites.
At Amazon it is our goal to offer you the best selection at the best prices, regardless of where you live. However, copyright law prohibits the selling of foreign editions when a local publisher has acquired the rights to that item. This is why you may find that some titles are listed on one Amazon site at a different price than at another.
When it is possible, it is our policy to offer you the least expensive of available editions, but the cost of importing an item can increase its price slightly.
You should also take into consideration the cost and time of delivery when you compare item prices. If you live in Europe or the U.K., you will probably want to check Amazon.co.uk first, as the cost of the order including delivery will generally be the most convenient and least expensive for you.
There may be some cases, due to fluctuations in availability or exchange rates, where it will be better to make your order at one of the other Amazon sites. For this reason, we would encourage you to continue to shop and compare between the two sites and choose the combination of speed, price and availability that best suits your needs.
Please remember that orders placed on one Amazon site will be processed independently of any orders you may have placed on another Amazon site. We cannot combine orders across the different sites.
Thank you for your interest in Amazon.co.uk.
Warmest regards
Sumit Sahu
What the hell? Nothing frustrates me more is when I take time to write an email, yet the person just doesn't spend the time to read it—or just doesn't understand it.
My latest experience with this maddening trend was lastminute.com. To cut a very long story short, I asked them why they were claiming an air flight price had a special cheaper fare when it's the same price as from Virgin. Cue many useless responses, and in the end they just pass the buck and tell me to telephone. I replied saying that was a waste of my time telephoning, and I have no intention of shopping with them after their awful email responses. Their response? I should telephone to complain.
I won't reproduce my last email to them. Talk Desperate! threads Discuss the latest episode over at Talk Desperate! Poll Results Below are the results of the most recent Get Desperate! poll:
What did you think of 'We're Gonna Be All Right'?
|
|
9 |
 61.9% - (52
Votes) |
|
7-8 |
19% - (16
Votes) |
|
Wasn't able to see it |
17.8% - (15
Votes) |
|
5-6 |
5.9% - (5
Votes) |
|
3-4 |
3.5% - (3
Votes) |
|
1-2 |
2.3% - (2
Votes) |
|
Didn't want to see it |
1.1% - (1
Votes) |
Total Votes: 84
|
|
Let us know what you thought of the latest episode. [an error occurred while processing this directive]Today's Television Listings Today ABC airs "There's Something About a War":
Dr. Ron informs Susan that she needs surgery, but Susan is reluctant to have him operate, Bree and Betty learn that they have more in common than they thought, and Gabrielle and her arch-enemy Sister Mary Bernard face off.
This Week's Television Listings Discuss this news item at Talk Desperate!
 Add Get Desperate! RSS feed to your news reader or My Yahoo!
Also a CSI: Crime Scene Investigation fan? Then visit CSIFiles.com!
|
