Amazon.com

I always loved books. It has been a source of inspiration, knowledge and also escape. I belong to a generation which treated books as symbol of Goddess of Knowledge. So, my affinity to books continues to stay on as a part of my ethos. A library, a booshop or a personal-bookshelf always usurps my attention!

It is very late in my life that I am exposed to the fantastic concept, Amazon.com. I have been hunting for couple of books. Did not get them in India Egypt, Dubai or some other parts of Gulf. Just to name one of them- Amitav Ghosh's book on Egypt, In an Antique Land...So, finally I placed order for three books. Lateron added three for my son, Percy Jacksons. The process of enrolment, placing order and response to queries has been just fantastic. Finally, I tried to combine the different shipments to get the benefit of lower shipment-cost. Was unable to, due to their genuine difficulty. I sent a mail to them. I get a quick response, they give me a solution- to treat the packages as one in terms of cost, and give me the refund ( though I would get more than one package!)

The sheer speed of response, the keenness to resolve and refund - I am delighted. It is not the quantum of amount ( refund), but their genuine focus on customer service that impresses me. I showed the mail to my son, so that the young teenager gets his lesson on customer-service very early in his life. It is doubtful if I would ever walk into a bookstore hereafter. Would try to divert as much purchase to Amazon.com. ( I may prove to be a worthy acquisition & retention for them)

I have heard so many people/trainers talk about different brand experiences. I am personally passionate about customer service. Have heard of Ritz Carlton as one of the shining examples from some international trainers. Robin Sharma's couple of recents posts mentioned too: one about the coffee experience at an airport and room service at a hotel. I have faced such situations in hotel too - also, their reluctance to serve vegetarian food to my satisfaction. Though all hotels across world should conspire to push vegetarian habits to their customers as part of their go green strategy...