Amazon: we're not here to help

[scarlettina]

So . . . I went over to Amazon to order up my brother's Chanukah gifts. I checked his Wishlist and selected a few things for him. I go to complete the order and I get the following error message on one of the items: "We're sorry. This item can't be shipped to a Wish List or gift registry address." There's no other explanation. The only option the user has is to delete the item from the shopping cart. I doublecheck the item to be sure it's in stock: yep, there it is, all free and clear of any apparent blockages. And yet, there it continues to sit on my brother's Wishlist, an item that can't be shipped.

So first I scour Amazon's Help files to see if there's an explanation. Nope. No explanation.

So then I try to find a customer service number. Well, this is like searching for the Holy Grail.

Then I remember that I actually have the Super-Sekrit (tm) Amazon Customer Service Number in my PDA: (1-800-201-7575). Write it down and share it with your friends. Really.

So then I call customer service: ta-da! A free call to India. He takes all my information and asks me to wait. I wait for ten minutes. And what am I told? "Were sorry. This item can't be shipped to a Wish List or gift registry address." The guy's got no other answer for me. And when I tell him that this is a poor user experience, his only response is, "I'm sorry, ma'am. Some items can't be shipped to a Wish List or gift registry address."

Note: When I went to the item's page without going through my brother's Wishlist, I was able to order it and mark it for shipment to him directly without a single problem. To suggest that I'm baffled by this behavior is to put it mildly.

Comments

[scarlettina.livejournal.com]

I'll mention it to him with regard to the other items I couldn't order (this was actually much more protracted experience than what I recorded here). I won't mention it with regard to this one because, as I said, I did manage to order it.

[kyrelle.livejournal.com]

Maybe it could be given as an early Channukah present. Otherwise, its still sitting on his Wishlist, and he could potentially get duplicate gifts...