I have written many posts about social reading but this one is focused on the the decline in Amazon’s (previously excellent) customer service. It is really difficult to understand how the loop I am currently in with Amazon is not dealt with more positively by the people employed to maintain the standard the company has set since the 90s.
Since March, my long-time enjoyment of tweeting or posting quotes to Facebook has not been possible. This may seem like a pitiably small matter and is, I acknowledge, merely a First World problem.
However, the reality is that I very badly miss this social feature, that Amazon describes as making ‘public notes’, which always worked so seamlessly when reading using the Kindle iPad app. This feature is more than just social fun, the notes are really useful for all kinds of purposes and have become part of my reading routine. Quite simply, no-one seems to care about the issue at Amazon and the platitudes are just absolutely irritating when no action results:
In short, for the uninitiated, as I read, I can choose to highlight a passage using one of 5 colours, make a note or post to Twitter or Facebook. This has just stopped working since mid-March and after repeated contacts via twitter, chat and email there is no solution or explanation about what is going on.
I will not post the saved chat transcripts but quite simply it ends with a representative, who made me go through a range of suggestions including deleting my library and the app, saying she would email when tech support resolves. This has just never happened. Twice more I followed the instructions from the @kindlehelp twitter account that resulted in me sending the original chat to customer service representatives. No resolution.
I am not sure how widespread this issue has become and Amazon’s Kindle support account are less than forthcoming:
What else?
It is no longer possible to review a book from the Kindle iPad app either. Once again, this may seem like small fry and is a just First World problem but nevertheless it always used to work and it would be nice to have the issue resolved.
Resolution?
What do I want? To have the functions I have used since 2010 on my iPad with books purchased from Amazon. Failing that, some kind of explanation about why it no longer works. Failing that, some common decency in the follow-up by customer service representatives who seem a little too like automatons compared with my previous experiences of Amazon.
It is certainly a truism to say we have a ‘communication error’!
Does anyone else have this issue or is finding Amazon’s customer service lacking?