What the heck is wrong with Amazon? A trillion dollar company that can't get their story straight.
Amazon ran a promotion that gave new Amazon music subscribers an Echo Dot device for free (or for $0.99 if you take into account the amount paid for the initial subscription).
I signed up on November 20 as did multiple people. Many people have reported that they managed to sign up and redeem the offer as detailed. Others, myself included, were not able to redeem the offer for some reason.
I contacted Amazon costumer service to figure out what was going on and this is the absurdity that ensued: (Brackets are my own remarks).
Email from November 20:
"Thanks for starting a free trial of Amazon Music Unlimited. As part of our limited time offer, we have applied a $48.99 Amazon.com promotional credit to your account that will be applied to your Amazon Echo Dot order at checkout."
This credit will expire on November 30, 2018. For more information, please read our Terms and Conditions."
Terms & Conditions (https://www.amazon.com/gp/promotions/details/A1QGFWIFVSM7H1?ref_=pe_2629530_370965440).
"Promotional credit expires at 11:59 p.m. (PT) November 30, 2018. To be eligible, you must have created an Amazon.com account prior to November 8, 2018."
(My Amazon account was created in 2012).
Email from November 21
"I would like to inform you that regarding our Echo Dot (Amazon Music Unlimited) Promotion issue, our technical team are working on it.
We have already fixed the issue for those customers who have placed the order on 10/11/2018.
As you have placed the order on 19/11/2018, your issue will be also fixed very soon."
Chat session from November 27:
"Sumanth R: Under one time exception, you can place the order and help me with the order number. I can refund you the amount to make sure you get it for $0.99 once it delivered."
(Would an agent make such a promise without confirmation of eligibility for the offer?)Email from November 27:
"Recently, you received an email offering a discounted Echo Dot if you signed up for Amazon Music Unlimited. Due to limited supply, we're unable to accept more orders.
To help make up for the inconvenience, we've added a $5 promotional certificate to your account."
(How can the be out of supplies when there are 10,000,000 of them selling on Amazon.com?)
Chat session from November 28:
"Kritika: I would like to inform you that the offer is valid for customers who subcribed the subscription before Nov 08, 2108 for the first time.
Me: Where does it say that in the T&C's?"
Kritika: It is written in terms and conditions
(Wrong! That refers to signing up for Amazon.com)Kritika: Please check it is written in terms and condition
Me: And if that is the case, why was I able to sign up for the promo?
Why did not one but multiple agents confirm I was eligible?
Me: Can you please direct me by link to the T&C's on the promotion where it supposedly says I'm not eligible?"
Kritika from Amazon.com has left the conversation.
(I think this is the most important line. Shut up and believe what I am reading off my computer screen or I will refuse to even discuss thing with you).
Resolution:
To be fair I must add that after a 25 minute phone call where I had to fight like hell to get Amazon to fulfill their multiple promises, they did agree to let me order the Echo dot and promised to apply the refund once shipped. The agent who approved it (after conferring with a manager three or four times insisted that I was not in fact eligible in any way for the promotion but that they would give it to me as a complete courtesy.
You may say that all's well that ends well but I was left feeling very disappointed by the way a Trillion dollar company can't seem to honor their multiple promises and tries to wrangle out of giving away something that probably cost them $5 to make to someone who is eligible for the offer.
