to be considering only ordering online from Amazon ongoing?

[Americasfavouritefightingfrenchman]

I’ve been trying to avoid Amazon and order direct from smaller companies if ordering online for I can’t find things easily in the shops. Over the past week ordering Christmas gifts though:

1. My husbands beer advent calendar has been delivered to completely the wrong place (there is a delivered photo of a door that looks nothing like anything on our street). I can’t get a response from the company that it was delivered by (DHL) or the shipper

2. A set of beauty products sent with Evri show as having been delivered (at 2am?!) but are not here three days later and no delivery photo. I emailed the seller and they responded the courier tracking shows them being in the area and it’s marked as delivered and the photo shows it was. I’ve responded saying that may be true but if it is I can’t see any of that info in the Evri tracking app so can they please share it.

3. A 3rd parcel with some personalised items for the kids (again delivered via Evri) was just dumped on front steps while it was raining and some are now ruined. Seller is blaming me as says I shouldn’t have allowed delivery to a safe place (the front door step isn’t my safe place, the shed is)

I don’t love Amazon but round here their delivery drivers at least actually show up with things and on the odd occasion there is an issue you just fill in a form and they refund you without any fuss. I’m currently down £200 in things I may or may not be able to get the money back and with loads of additional hassle/admin. Am I just horrendously unlucky here or are deliveries generally a total disaster area?

I use Amazon for nearly everything now. A lot of the shops in our town have closed down (no doubt due in part to people shopping online). Amazon gives you an amazing choice of products and always has the clothes size you want. Delivery is usually the next day. What's not to like?

I’d love to get more stuff at physical shops but it’s got harder and harder to do now.

Evri have supposed to have delivered my DH a ladder. It never arrived. They showed a photo of a smallish package that is obviously not a ladder. It was a coat I ordered for a child. Company he ordered it from have gone silent despite him sending several emails asking when it will be redeliverd and asking for signed for delivery. Like you our Amazon delivery person is reliable and if we are not in leaves parcels with our neighbour. You wouldn't think it would be too hard to deliver a parcel to the correct address but our nextdoor website is full of parcels being delivered to wrong houses. Done clearly have wrong large number on door.

Thanks. This is something I will try next time. I didn’t notice it as an option when checking out but it may well have been there

There's also the "quality" of retail staff which has gone massively downhill. Even if you find a shop that's still open, it's usually surly/unhelpful staff who either havn't a clue or don't care. Even in specialist shops, the staff often havn't a clue about the products they sell so are useless if you want some "advice" about which item to buy etc. These days, if you get an enthusiastic/helpful shop assistant you feel like you've hit the jackpot.

A couple of years ago, we needed a ring size altering and phoned around a few local jewellers to ask if it was something they did. We went to the shop where the assistant on the phone had sounded the most helpful. It wasn't where we'd bought the ring from. She was honestly amazing with us. Took lots of time to help us get the right sizing, took a photo of the ring and phoned where they send them to get us an accurate pricing, then gave us an estimate of a week to send it off, altered and returned. All good. In the event, she phoned us a couple of days later to say it was ready! Went back and it was perfect. All for £20!! Hardly worth her time really as the adjustment firm probably charged most of that! Needless to say, that shop is now our "go to" when we want anything else done, ie watch repairs, ear-rings, necklesses, a new watch etc. We must have spent a few hundred pounds with them since. Not always the same assistant, but she's still there, but the other assistants are just as good - very attentive and helpful and know their stuff. It's not a "high end" jewellers either, just a small independent! That follows many previous purchases from other jewellers where the staff were mediocre, not particularly helpful, etc.

I really don't think shop owners/managers understand/realise how crap some of their staff really are and how it's detrimental to their sales when customers get crap service and simply don't buy or don't return to buy more stuff.

Our local village post office has utterly crap owners and a couple of surly staff. The owner is always on local Facebook bemoaning the lack of support, etc., but she just can't see that random closing when they feel like it, staff who don't make eye contact or have any manners, etc just drives customers elsewhere to someone more helpful and reliable!

I’m usually in so it’s more faff to collect from somewhere else.
It’s the way the majority of the Amazon drivers hammer on the door, chuck the package on the floor are speeding off in the van before I’ve even answered which I find annoying. I have a safe place listed for when I am out which they never use they just dump it on the door step. I hardly ever use them now tbh.

I only use Amazon if I absolutely can't find what I need anywhere else because of their tax avoidance practices.

Yes, returns from other companies are currently often dysfunctional and if you don't pay attention you don't get a refund for your return. Newlook never sent a courier to collect, Seasalt and Landsend, even Next on one occassion, needed calling to actually provide the refund. Moss don't offer any collection from home options, even if you are willing to pay. Once you have sent back your items, the tracking shows they are back with the retailer, but the retailer does not give you back your money without you calling, waiting on hold, doing an online chat etc., then i will not be buying from them again. Amazon returns are tracked from the moment the person collects it, the refund is given within hours as credit before they even get the return - that is why Amazon wins.

Indeed it’s called moving with the times.

Same.

As regards tax, yes Amazon should pay more tax, but that is the government's problem to fix, not mine.

Brick and mortar shops are overrated IMO. They're expensive, rarely ever have what you need and the service leaves a lot to be desired.

Love Amazon and use them all the time. Their customer service is second to none, there are rarely any issues and if some arise - they are solved with lightening speed.

Good choice of products, delivered the same or the next day.

It's not my job to prop up some incompetent 'independent retailers'. If they are unable to offer decent choice, competitive pricing, decent cust service and adequate problem solving, they can go under for all I care.

As for brick and mortar shops - couldn't care less what happens to them, I shop online 100% of the time and never buy anything in town, save for a bottle of water or similar.

Amazon have become a total monopoly and their convenience makes it just too easy. However as anyone who has studied economics will tell you, there are downsides to monopolies, they control the prices. All their benefits of scale go straight to their bottom line, they do not get passed to you. They also rinse the sellers who pay over about 25% of the retail price to Amazon. So they have to fatten their margins (and guess who picks up that bill).
But worst of all Amazon shifts all their profit out of the UK and so pays no corporation tax here.
So next time you are complaining that Rachel from Accounts is putting up your taxes, remember that this is self inflicted because you can't be arsed to shop at a UK tax paying retailer because it is a few more clicks.

Over 50% of Amazon is offered through `marketplace sellers, many small local businesses. My own little business would never have given me a decent living without Amazon sales

Apart from delivery problems I recently looked for a particular book on the site of a large bookstore, £ 25 on their website, £20 on Amazon, and as you say they tend to be very reliable

I love amazon but only after I’ve exhausted all local shops/ stores or even travelled a bit which is really satisfying!

I pretty much buy everything off Amazon, it’s delivered via evri (absolute rubbish) and Royal Mail as they don’t have Amazon drivers where I live, but it’s so much easier than any other retailer for customer service, the fact they actually deliver to my post code and just the free deliveries via prime.

My neighbour is a violent psychopath and the council (where he allegedly worked before 2 criminal convictions of battery against his ex) have been trying to hide it for 15 years. (Long story, I will probably talk about it some day on here to help others in this position).

Anyway, we got CCTV. A total of presently 7 cameras, as he was sneaking onto our property and leaving dogs mess on our bungalow's window sills at night and engaging in acts of violence and criminal damage against us. Still is 15 years later. Got tons of evidence but the cover-up continues.

Now the relevant bit. A delivery service falsely alleged they had delivered a parcel. We wrote back to them and said, we have checked our time stamped CCTV through the entire day and can confirm there was no deliver. The next day, the parcel was magically delivered.

Obviously, 7 cameras constantly on is a bit much, but how about a movement triggered doorbell camera?

99% of our delivery drivers are great, but there are a few bad eggs.

@Americasfavouritefightingfrenchman oh I tried this a few years ago and had pretty much your same experience and it was sooo stressful wondering if anything would show up. The worst was when an Evri driver confirmed he’d handed my parcel off to some young kids who opened the door at a wrong address but CS were useless to help me and I could never get in contact with them to directly discuss it. Also, a problem is a lot of the smaller independent companies didn’t alway advise of when something was on the way and it got confusing as to what was actually missing at times. I reverted back to Amazon and never had a single problem again 🤷🏻‍♀️

Evri are shocking. I paid an extra £5 to have something next day as it was a last minute birthday present. Supposed to be delivered Saturday. Apparently they called and we weren’t in. Raised an enquiry as we have a ring doorbell and nobody called. Said they would deliver the next working day, today, and got an email saying the parcel has been delayed. Spoke to a woman at the depot who said it was out for delivery but the email hadn’t updated. Still not here and no email. Really fed up of Evri.

I have absolute nightmares getting anything delivered because the couriers just don’t know how to read. As an example I live at number 3 LTB House, Mumsnet Street, and everything gets dumped outside number 3 Mumsnet Street which is a completely different address.

My non-Amazon delivery totally messed up and I needed six things before going away. Was in a right panic as to reorder for delivery would have taken days.

went to our local shopping centre and bought all items in 45 mins tops. Perfect

OP I've had this problem with Evri too. Don't use safe place, just dump it in a random place in the rain. Supposedly delivered at midnight but no photo etc etc. I go out of my way not to use retailers who use Evri for delivery.

I trust Amazon and as a prime customer I am confident that they will do their best for me if any problems. Having said that I have never ever had any problems with amazon and find their service completely reliable and trustworthy. I refuse to buy anything from anyone who uses evri they are beyond useless and definitely not trustworthy.