Amazon.Com_Customer_Relations

Founded in 1994 by Jeffrey Bezos, Amazon is the largest online electronic retailer in the United States. Amazon is a Fortune 500 company providing service worldwide and boasting revenues three times that of its closest competitor. Originally an online bookstore, Amazon launched its original website in 1995 and now sells an extensive assortment of different products including clothing, jewelry, baby products and apparel, gourmet food items, beauty products, sporting goods, music CDs, DVDs, video tapes and games, appliances, electronics and many other products (History, 2010). The Amazon website is extremely user friendly. If a customer has never placed an order there is a “Placing Your First Order” help page, in addition to help pages on “Using the Shopping Cart” and “One-Click Ordering”. Customers will find that all products are displayed with in-depth product details, which usually include numerous detailed customer reviews and ratings. On the rare occasion that a customer is unable to find needed information on the website they may want to perform their own web search regarding the product; however it has been my experience that 99% of the products are displayed with all necessary details and numerous in-depth customer reviews. I especially enjoy shopping the Amazon Music department because customers are able to preview all songs on a CD before placing their order (“Help,” 2011). Another excellent feature of the website is that all sellers are rated by their previous customers and these ratings are prominently displayed on the website along with the number of customers with which they have completed sales. This allows the customer to decide whether they want to place an order with a newer seller or one that has already established their rating with a significant number of sales. Once the order has been placed, the customer has access to it and is able to go back at any point and pull it up for review. Once the order has shipped the customer is also able to track the package with a simple click of the mouse (“Help”, 2011). Amazon also has an extremely user-friendly procedure for returns. Customers simply visit the Online Return Center, request a return mailing authorization and a return mailing label. Once these are received, the customer is able to return the product for a prompt refund (“Help,” 2011). Amazon’s A-to-Z Guarantee provides customers with security and confidence when they make purchases through Amazon Marketplace and Merchant sellers. Amazon guarantees all items will be delivered in a timely manner and will arrive in the promised condition. If not, the customer has 30 days from the order date to file a claim. If a customer does not receive an order that they have paid for, they have 60 days to file a claim. All of this can be done through the website; however, there is also a Customer Service number for consumers who wish to speak with a live customer service representative (“Help,” 2011). In 2005 Amazon launched Amazon Prime, a membership program which provides members and their families access to unlimited free 2-day shipping and one-day shipping for only $3.99 per item on all eligible purchases. The annual membership fee is only $79 which is a bargain if you frequently order from the website. To make it an even greater deal, members are able to access unlimited commercial-free instant streaming of 5000+ movies and TV shows through Amazon Instant Video at no additional cost. Eligible Amazon customers are able to sign up for a one month free trial and college students are able to receive a free one year Amazon Prime membership (“Help,” 2011). Amazon is also dedicated to becoming the “Earth’s most customer-centric company” and they have consistently proven this by providing community support. Some of their most notable accomplishments include (“Amazon,” 2011): 2001: $6.9 million contributed for 9/11 relief in the U.S. 2004: $15.7 million contributed for tsunami relief in South and Southeast Asia 2005: $12.4 million contributed for Hurricane Katrina relief in the U.S. 2008: $180,000 contributed for Cyclone Nargis relief in Myanmar and earthquake relief in China 2010: More than $750,000 contributed for earthquake relief in Haiti As a company they have also made great strides in implementing the use of the Certified Frustration-Free Package, which is recyclable and comes without excess packaging materials such as hard plastic clamshell casings, plastic bindings, and wire ties. It's designed to be opened without the use of a box cutter or knife and will protect your product just as well as traditional packaging. By using Frustration-Free Packaging products can frequently be shipped in their own boxes, without an additional shipping box (“Amazon,” 2011). This is just one of the many ways that Amazon has shown their dedication to a Green environment. In my opinion Amazon has proven itself as a company driven to provide customer satisfaction and I do not think that they have left any room for improvement. I think that they will continue to provide the excellent customer service that they have always been known for.   References Amazon and our planet. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/b/ref=gw_m_b_corpres'ie=UTF8&node=13786321 Help topics: Popular topics. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=gw_m_b_he'ie=UTF8&nodeId=508510 The history of amazon. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.webhostingreport.com/learn/amazon.html