My Amazon Kindle Experience
I love ebook readers, the concept is brilliant for reading on my commute since there are no bulky books to carry around. Sadly I never found one that really hits the spot in terms of size, weight, price and above all readability.
Until now.
I’d seen many people reading their new Kindles on the tube, the size was right, the screen looked amazing and nobody seemed to be straining to hold the thing. On top of that, the price is right.
So I took the plunge and the moment it arrived, I knew I had made the right decision. It feels great, the screen is amazing, with excellent contrast and unlike most of the current crop of LCD screens, I can read the Kindle’s eInk display for days. Amazon have got it right, concentrating on producing a device that is brilliant for reading and not adding too many unnecessary frills.
Unfortunately, within hours of receiving it, my Kindle had developed a rattle. A quick scan of the intertubes revealed that this was a common problem, caused by a tiny screw coming loose and rattling around in the case.
I dreaded having to return the Kindle, not just because I loved it the second I unpacked it, but mainly because I was anticipating endless calls, trips to the post office and having to fork out for return postage. However, I was very pleasantly surprised with Amazon’s customer service.
The only slightly tricky thing about the entire experience was finding a number to call, but even that is now a lot simpler than it used to be. Once on the phone to customer service, they immediately acknowledged the problem and ordered a replacement for me. The phone call lasted less than five minutes.
Amazon then made me even happier with their actual returns procedure, which couldn’t have been any easier. They sent me an email with a link to print a returns label and a further link to the DHL website to book a date for the collection of the rattling Kindle. A date and time would have been even more amazing, but I guess that’s a limitation of DHL, not Amazon.
My new, non-rattling Kindle arrived two days later, as did the courier to collect the old one. All at no additional cost to me and with a minimum of inconvenience. All in all, I can’t fault Amazon’s customer service and the whole returns experience. Now if they would only sort out their somewhat antique website, but that’s another post for another time.
Oh and if you hadn’t guessed, I LOVE my Kindle.