Dropbox is a cloud-computing service that I can no longer picture not having at our disposal. I’ve always worried, in the back of my mind: what if the 100-year old Glebe mansion (at one time) burns to-the-ground? No matter how many back-ups you have (external drives, DVD’s, USB sticks)—in a fire, they all go up-in-smoke.
The reason we chose Dropbox was for several reasons: 2GB free account to start, simplistic UI and UX, and seamless iPhone/iPod Touch integration.
Sharing specific folders is a breeze, and the peace of mind it brings is priceless…
Thanks, Dropbox.
Posted by December 5, 2009 permalink
Now, let me begin my tale of purchasing a new Mac Mini from Amazon.ca (the Canadian wing of Amazon.com). Last Friday, my business partner called me after I had left the studio to inform me that Amazon.ca was getting rid of it’s stock of 2006, Intel Core Duo, Mac Mini units, for $66. $66, you might ask?? Well, let’s get a few things out of the way first: they are 3-year old machines, they had measly 80GB HD’s and only 512MB of memory. Too be honest, I wouldn’t have paid much more than $150-$200 for one of these—it simply would not have been worth it in my eyes. Let’s be honest, they are not the workhorse machine I would need.
So, I ordered one, and paid an extra $40 for the fastest express next-day shipping. My partner bought 4 units, thinking they would make excellent Xmas presents for his still-PC-using family. So, orders placed, confirmation emails received from Amazon—nothing left to do but wait.
Until this morning—I get an email from a much respected design colleague (who also purchased several units) informing me that Amazon.ca has cancelled all Mac Mini orders, and he only found out by logging-in to his account to check on the order status and estimated delivery date. I did the same. Order cancelled. No explanation. Nothing. Bullshit.
Do you think Amazon.ca prominently displays the support phone # anywhere the human eye could find? Yah, exactly. So, after sifting through page-after-page of bullshit FAQ’s and “help” sections, I found it—the call-back function. The support representative was pleasant enough—but just as I though, she had no real answers, other than it was a mistake. A mistake? Your goddamn right it was a mistake, and you should honour it—if I walk into Chapters, see a book priced at $12.99, bring a book to the cash, and when it gets rung-in, the cash register reads $29.99—Chapters will honour the mistake, and you get the book at the sticker price. That is my experience, at least, and it’s happened more than once to me.
Amazon—you failed us. You listed product at a price (some believe a price “to-good-to-be-true”, but for a 3-year old low-end Mac Mini, I view more as a “good deal”), we made our purchases, and you pulled the plug—and sent ZERO notification. The support rep claimed that notification emails were going to be sent, but she had no idea when—awesome. Top-notch.
Here’s where we are going to get even, and then some. I feel that Analogue has a great network of influential bloggers, social media professionals, and writers—all with significant reach and influence. We are sending this story to as many of these internet professionals as we can—and believe me, Amazon.ca, there are plenty.
Amazon.ca, I just want you to be very, very, very clear on something here: these words will be read by many, many, many people—at a time of year that can make-or-break a company: the holiday sales period.
My business partner has just informed me that he has read a forum post, where Amazon.ca is apologizing for the Mac Mini error, and offering a $10 coupon to affected customers. $10 coupon? Take it deep, Amazon. You are nothing more than a swarthy rogue trying to cover your ass in any way you can—and then you have the balls to offer a measly $10 credit.
Let’s recap: order was placed at 6PM, Friday November 27th, 2009. Today is Wednesday December 2nd, 2009, and NONE of us have received any official communication from Amazon.ca on the matter—nothing.
In this day-and-age, brands live and die in the public realm, and Amazon.ca—I hope you die a slow, public death as a company. I will never purchase anything from any Amazon-related entity, ever. Nor will my family, my wife’s family, work colleagues, and hopefully… hopefully—several thousand others that read these words, and heed my warning about your complete lack of ethics.
Wake-up, Amazon.ca, we have the power now—and yer’ gonna’ feel it. Deep.
PS: I had an experience with Griffin Technology recently. I purchased a pair of TuneBuds Mobile iPod headphones. They sucked, hard. I sent them back, thinking they were defective. Griffin sent a new pair, same poor-quality sound. What did Griffin Technology do? They offered me ANYTHING on the Griffin website, of equal or lesser value. Amazon: wake-up, and learn…
Amazon might very well blow us off, but that would be a big mistake…
Posted by permalink
Listen close, and don’t be stunned, I’ll be here in the morning—’cause I’m just floating. Your cigarette still burns, your messed-up world will thrill me—Alison, I’m lost…
~ Slowdive, “Alison” (1993)
This song brings me right back to the year mentioned above—to a room, a person, a place. Regardless of when or where I hear it, it will always make me think of November, and being 21.
PS: James, I know this song brings you to your knees as well. I can picture you with your head down on your oak desk—lost in the sadness of sound that you love so much…
Posted by December 1, 2009 permalink
