Customer Obsession at Amazon

I work at Amazon, the earth’s most customer-centric company. When I started last July, I knew the stories about customer obsession and our steadfast dedication to delivering on promises. As a customer myself, I have always appreciated prompt assistance, response, and ACTION. Last Thursday, I experienced my first involvement in an urgent Customer Escalation for an order placed on our website. Our site at RIC2 in Chester, VA received a request to fulfill a customer order that did not arrive by the promised delivery date. The item in question was a car part, specifically a wiring harness for an older model of Jeep Wrangler that connects the electronics for a trailer hookup. The item was nearly impossible to find and was not currently in our inventory at RIC2 or at any of our warehouses within striking distance of our customer. Our directives were simple: locate the part and deliver it.

As a car repair/retrofit enthusiast myself, I have experienced firsthand the frustration of needing a particular wiring harness under a tight timeline. Our team contacted local merchants, large and small retailers. No luck. This particular item/manufacturer was simply not in stock anywhere on the east coast. One large rental company told me the nearest item in their inventory was located in Canada. Nearing the end of the road, I got in touch with Charles at SouthSide Hitch in Midlothian, VA. He searched his inventory but unfortunately did not have it in stock. But Charles went the extra mile. He thought about it for a while. He said that he had a similar part from a different manufacturer that he had used on Jeep Wranglers in the past. He said it would absolutely accomplish the same purpose and function. I contacted our customer service team with this information and we decided to pull the trigger. Charles set the part aside and stayed 30 minutes past his scheduled close time to wait for me to arrive. On my arrival, I explained what was going on, and he enthusiastically agreed to take this picture of us packaging the part for transportation. I personally delivered the package to our customer located near Charlottesville, VA approximately two hours later. 

At Amazon, we care deeply about customer experience. I am tremendously proud to be an Amazonian, empowered by our culture, policy, and procedures to ensure that our customers are satisfied. I am also grateful for all of those people out there, like Charles, who demonstrate such dedication to customer service and professionalism on a daily basis. His expertise and knowledge truly made the difference in allowing us to meet our customer's needs in this particular case. Thank you, Charles!