Amazon Prime Release Date Fail

So Amazon Prime made me want to go to EBGames. How wrong is that?

So here is the thing. Yesterday I posted a story about my Call of Duty: WW2 being shipped from Amazon! It was a happy story. An upbeat story. One complete with a guaranteed delivery date of November 3rd, 2017.

Guess what an Amazon Prime guaranteed delivery date is worth?

Yes, exactly that. Nothing.

I spent the day alternating between a message from Amazon Prime saying my order had left the warehouse and was with the shipping provider AND a message from Canada Post saying that an electronic shipping label had been printed.

My query to Amazon was answered with an assurance that I would be receiving my package today, "I contacted our shipping team with high priority and confirm that your order #701-1730499-7304210 will be delivered today by the end of business day November 3, 2017."

This was not the truth.

Between 2:00 PM and 9:00 PM I exchanged four messages with Amazon Prime customer service. Early on, they told me to call Canada Post to confirm that I would be receiving the shipment. "I can also provide the contact number of Canada post, so that you can directly contact them to deliver item to your address as per your instructions." They also told me to refuse the package if it did not arrive by today. This may have been connected to me telling them that if I didn't receive today I would be buying another copy somewhere else.

Canada Post, when I finally connected with a human being, stated "what package?" There was no physical scan of a package from Amazon and there was no way I would be receiving this package today.

Finally, after passing this information back to Amazon they admitted there was a problem: "I've checked and see that your package is delayed because it might be lost or stolen."

This lost or stolen package is the one they guaranteed delivery for today and even better followed up my query with a written confirmation that my order would be delivered today.

Lost or stolen.

I do not care. All I care about is the missed release date. I told them this multiple times and also told them I would be buying else where if I did not receive their shipment today: "IF I don't receive it from you today I will need to go out to a store to buy a separate copy tonight."

Their response to my assertion to buy it elsewhere?

In this case, to make things right for you, I've created a replacement with same day shipping for you at no additional charge. Here are the details:

Order Number: XXX-XXXXXXX-XXXXXXX

Shipping Speed: Same-day-shipping

Guaranteed delivery by: Sunday, November 5, 2017

And not that I don't believe their guaranteed delivery date of Sunday November 5, but that is two days AFTER the release date.

Shipping a replacement version is good customer service but it does nothing for a missed release date.

I did follow up stating clearly that I had bought a copy from another vendor (as I stated I would), I would be refusing the replacement shipment as well as the original if it showed up, and attempted to explain the importance of a release date. I added that missing a release date does not really have a solution.

Additionally, keep in mind that Amazon Prime's usual restitution for this type of issue is more Amazon Prime. I have over the duration of my Amazon Prime membership earned an additional three month of bonus Prime membership.

Earlier Pwn Call and I were joking that the fix for Amazon Prime issues is more time for Amazon Prime to have even more issues.

I close with an excerpt from my third email to Amazon Prime customer service:

So far my experience with Amazon Prime has not been prime.

PS- I am wearing a Call of Duty: WW2 t-shirt and installing my alternately source copy as I am writing this.