The Blindness of Amazon -- "We Don't Make Big Mistakes. Bug Off!" But Their Site Has a Big Bug (Design Flaw). "It's not a Bug; It's a Feature!"
November 27, 2007
Today, I planned to place an order on Amazon. But I had to change my credit card information because the old card had been canceled because of a breach in security.
I went to Amazon's option for Your Account. I found this option: Change payment method. I clicked it. I got this: Your Account > Where's My Stuff? > Open and recently shipped orders
I thought I would warn Amazon about this glitch. But how? I could find no active email link in Contact Us. It looks as though they do not want anyone to contact them.
There is no way I could find to warn Amazon of problems with their site. The company is too big. Management doesn't offer any easily visible way to sound a warning -- always suicidal. The firm has too many low-profit-per-sale customers to allow a way for them to contact the company. Amazon is too big for its glitches.
So, I cannot order anything on Amazon until I change my credit card number.
This is why there are lots of opportunities for niche businesses. The price-competitive ones have dead ends. Service is sacrificed to price.
So, I tried an experiment. I ordered something. Not long after, I received an automated e-mail, as I expected. Let us go through it, line by line.
We're writing to let you know that we are having difficulty processing your Visa (exp. 2010/04).We will try charging your credit card again shortly. It is not necessary to place a new order, but you may want to review the payment information for your order and make sure it is correct and current.
To do this:
1. Go to our home page (www.amazon.com) then click "Your Account" on the top right menu.
I did.
2. Choose the option "Change payment method" (found under "View by Order" in the "Where's My Stuff" box).I did. Already, they reveal sheer, unadulterated idiocy. Why should a page devoted to Change payment method be buried somewhere in a page devoted to "View by Order" in the "Where's My Stuff" box? Why doesn't it simply feature instructions for changing payment method? Here is my opinion: Because the page was designed by a programmer who knows zilch about consumer behavior. His supervisors don't notice. Why should they? Nobody complains, right? The webmaster has seen to that: Nobody is allowed to complain.
3. After you sign in, you will see all your current open orders. You can click the "View or change order" button beside any order and make changes.No such button. I used the word/phrase search option in Firefox to look for it. Nothing found.
4. Click "Change" button in the "Payment Information" box beside "Payment Method." At this point, you may review your current payment method, choose a different payment method, or enter a new one.
Now we enter the realm of the Red Queen in Alice in Wonderland. We are required to click the non-existent "View or change order" button in order to gain access the "Change" button. So, I clicked the "Revise order now" button instead. I mean, why not? When you live in the Red Queen's realm, you try anything. This led me to a new page, which had a box: Important Message. At the bottom of the box was a button: "Click Retry or edit credit card to continue." I clicked it. Lo and behold, there was the page for changing my credit card information. I updated it.
Thank you for shopping at DigitalEtc.
What is DigitalEtc? I have never heard of DigitalEtc. I guess it's the company from which I ordered the product. But why wouldn't this "how-to" letter explain this?
Sincerely,
Amazon.com Customer Service
http://www.amazon.comPlease note: This e-mail was sent from a notification-only address that cannot accept incoming e-mail. Please do not reply to this message.
There it is: "Don't try to contact us. Trying to contact us is futile. You will as soon contact someone at Microsoft."
Their "Change payment method" is incoherent -- anti-intuitive to a fault. Their "how to" email letter gives false instructions. They have apparently not beta-rested these instructions. Managers allowed low-paid employees in the technology department write instructions. Suicidal!
Here is a company that made a single quarter profit of 18 cents in the third quarter of 2007. This was a profit of $80 million on revenues of $3.3 billion. The word "paltry" comes to mind. So does "pathetic."
The share price is about $83. It was $112 in 2000.
As Bill Bonner used to say, Amazon is the river of no returns -- or at least very low returns. I can see why.