Ecommerce review : Amazon.in shopping experience

I use ecommerce extensively. All my stuff - from clothes to shoes to electronics to groceries are delivered to my doorstep. The good point about ecommerce is that it saves you from the headache of driving down to the store, parking, standing in a queue to pay for your purchase, and hauling the stuff back to your place. And I use multiple shopping sites for getting my stuff:
Flipkart for books & electronics
Firstcry for diapers & other stuff for kids
Zovi, jabong, myntra in order of preference for clothes and shoes
Peopleeasy for groceries.

I try to avoid shopping on amazon. Reason being that the delivery times are too long. Also there is no quality control from amazon. My last order from amazon was a pair of school shoes for my kid which were defective. Since it was not "fulfilled by amazon" the only option I had was to send it back by a courier and wait for 15-30 days for a refund or go to a nearby cobbler and get the defect fixed. I chose the later. It costed me an additional amount, but saved me from the hassles of refund and re-order.

After that experience, I decided that the only option why I would order from amazon was when the product will be "amazon fulfilled".

I was looking for a coffee maker and found one on flipkart. But flipkart will not deliver it to my pin code. I have never tried snapdeal or paytm but have heard first hand horror stories from people who have used it. The only option was amazon which had the exact model that I was looking for and that too with the "amazon fulfilled" label. The delivery time was 10 days, but still I went ahead and ordered. I still cannot figure out why it takes 10 days for amazon to deliver while flipkart delivers in 3-4 days. And zovi & jabong deliver in 1-2 days. Zovi delivers from bangalore and that too in 2 days max.

When I got a mail that my package has been dispatched by india post, I was a bit astonished. What role does india post play in amazon fulfilled orders. I believe it is the cheapest option. But has service and reliability issues. I kept a track of the package on india post web site as amazon did not update the tracking details on its website frequently.

Finally after 7 days the package arrived in the post office nearest to me. I was hoping that I will get the order the next day. But what happened the next day shook my perception of e-commerce.

I got a call from the post office asking me to pick up the package from there. I was like - what??? And the person on the other end said that it is too big for him to deliver and cut off the phone. I connected up with amazon customer support and was given the assurance that I will get the package on my doorstep next day. Here is the actual conversation:

10:00 AM IST Amazon(Amazon): Thanks for contacting Amazon.in customer service. 
My name is Vijay. 
10:00 AM IST Jayant kumar : hi Vijay, 
10:00 AM IST Amazon(Amazon): Hi! Jayant 
10:01 AM IST Jayant kumar : i got a call from india post telling me that my package is at their facility and i have to pick it up ...
If i have to go out pick up a package, then why order online, wait for 15 days and then pick it up
i can simply go out and buy it from a store
10:02 AM IST Jayant kumar : is this what you call e-shopping ?
10:02 AM IST Amazon(Amazon): I really do apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused you.
10:02 AM IST Jayant kumar : Also, please let me know why this order is being delivered by india post, instead of amazon ?
10:02 AM IST Amazon(Amazon): Let me check what best I can do for you.
10:03 AM IST Amazon(Amazon): I will surely let you know about the same.
10:03 AM IST Jayant kumar : i ordered it because it said that this will be fulfilled by amazon
10:04 AM IST Amazon(Amazon): Jayant, I really appreciate for doing business with us.
10:04 AM IST Jayant kumar : and not india post - the worst courier service in the country
10:05 AM IST Amazon(Amazon): I have contacted the courier partner and have instructed them to deliver to your door step.
10:05 AM IST Jayant kumar : I was told that since the package is "big" it may be broken if delivered to my door step
in case the package is broken, i hope amazon will take it back...
10:06 AM IST Amazon(Amazon): And regarding the courier partner, it is automatically selected by the system and we do not have the option to select the same. 
But we try to dispatch through Amazon service as much as we can.
10:07 AM IST Jayant kumar : Since this package is fulfilled by amazon, please explain how?
10:07 AM IST Amazon(Amazon): Related to broken item, we assure you it will be taken back in such scenarios and will issue a full refund.
10:08 AM IST Jayant kumar : so, fulfilled by amazon does not mean amazon delivery service ?
10:09 AM IST Amazon(Amazon): Amazon Fulfilled guarantees the product to be in a perfect condition and also assures if any defects found customer can return it back within the return window and we will issue a full refund.
10:10 AM IST Amazon(Amazon): But, as I have stated earlier the courier does get selected automatically by the system.
10:10 AM IST Jayant kumar : ok
so, will this be delivered today ?
10:11 AM IST Jayant kumar : since it is at the hub nearest to my place?
10:11 AM IST Amazon(Amazon): I have contacted the courier for the delivery as soon as possible.
10:12 AM IST Jayant kumar : thanks
10:12 AM IST Amazon(Amazon): You are most welcome Jayant.
Is there anything else I may assist you with?
10:13 AM IST Jayant kumar : no
10:13 AM IST Amazon(Amazon): It was a pleasure assisting a valued customer as you.
Hope to see you soon.
10:13 AM IST Jayant kumar : looking forward to ordering more with confidence from amazon
10:13 AM IST Amazon(Amazon): Thank you for contacting Amazon Customer Service.
Have a Wonderful time and day ahead.
10:14 AM IST Amazon(Amazon): I assure, you will not face any such issue in the future. 

Note the final line - I was hoping that this problem is now resolved and was looking forward to the package.

What happened the next day is that in the morning, I got a call from the postman. Again asking me to come and collect the package. It seems that amazon customer service did not take any action on the issue raised by me and has given me false assurance. The two options available to me were to either cancel the order and wait for refund and go out and purchase from the market or go ahead and pick the package from india post. I chose the later - being the easier option of the two. The reason given by the postman was genuine that he cannot deliver a big package on his cycle to which I could not come up with a counter argument.

I was told that the post office opens from 10 am to 5 pm and knowing how government officials work - allowing them their tea, lunch and other breaks, I planned to visit the post office around 3 pm. When they would be done with their lunch and after lunch chit chat. When I reached there, I had to enquire around 4-5 people but was not able to trace where my package was. Everyone was busy doing their own work. So, I called up the postman and told him to connect me to the person who can locate and hand over the package to me. Finally after asking everyone's name and making the person talk with the postman, I was able to take delivery of the package.

So, there is me now carrying 2 big boxes in front of me from the post office to the car and from the car to my flat. All the while people staring at the amazon.in label on the boxes I am carrying and trying to figure if I am the guy who delivers for amazon. They must be figuring the ad of amazon where the delivery guy delivers the package with a smile. I, on the other hand was only concerned if I would encounter anyone who has faced similar fate by amazon and try to engage my as an amazon employee.

By luck the products were ok. I have no idea what will happen if I had to opt for an exchange or refund. If delivery is suoh a hassle, refund / exchange can be non existent. Also I cannot figure out how amazon plans to compete with other sites. When even small sites like zovi outsmart amazon on delivery. I would not be ordering from amazon till I hear some positive reviews.

Ecommerce - an experience worth mentioning

I have just realized that I have started purchasing a lot of stuff online. Starting from electronics, clothes to even groceries and vegetables. The fact is that not only they are heavily discounted - but all i have to do is "a few clicks" and some one else does the effort of getting it home for me.

I remember the first purchase I made online - where-else but flipkart and what-else but books. The experience was ok. I have used www.flipkart.com many times since then, but my recent experience was terrible. I ordered something for myself and after 10 days, when I followed up, I came to know that the order will "not" be delivered because they do not have the stuff. I was like "hello, did you have to wait for 10 days to tell me - and that too after I give a reminder". Dont you have an escalation system for missed orders. Thanks god, the order was for myself - what if I had sent it as a gift to someone else? And I got no response back - except that my money will be credited back in another 7-8 days.

My experience with homeshop18 has been much better. Timely deliveries and heavily discounted products. It is important to remember that for an Indian customer - price matters. Remember the "kitna deti hai" ad ?

And my experience with jabong a lot better. Same day delivery - wow. And that too on prices which are way-way below. Though the site is terrible. They hardly have any content for any product. You have to look at the pic and figure out what it is. I had to purchase a watch and i had to do a lot of google to figure out the specs for the watch I liked. But eventually i went to jabong to get the "extra" discount. As long as they are burning money, I am happy.

I have used www.watchkart.com and www.bagskart.com to order stuff and the experience has been good. Watchkart guys played a trick where they gave me a huge discount coupon immediately after making my first order. It made me feel guilty. I was double minded on cancelling my first order and using the coupon to order the product again. Maybe I should have.

Recently, I have ordered number of stuff at www.firstcry.com and www.hushbabies.com. Firstcry has huge delivery times but a better range of products. Hushbabies is much better. Delivery times are less and discounts are easily available. Also purchased a lot of stuff through www.shersingh.com. The single page purchase is a very unique experience. And the packaging for www.shersingh.com is wonderful. It makes you feel a level higher.

Have been doing some shopping at www.shopclues.com. They have the "jaw dropping deals" option where you get extremely cheap stuff. Have tried it twice and both times have been extremely satisfactory. www.letsbuy.com is a site that i miss - after it was killed by flipkart. It had much better deals than flipkart.

My first attempt to shop for vegetables online at www.sabjiwala.com went unsuccessful, as they have next day delivery option and we needed vegetables - on an urgent basis.

But the best experience so far was with www.gopeppers.com - a site which sells groceries. The interface is very intuitive. I sat with a list given to me and opened up two sites offering groceries - www.mygrahak.com & www.gopeppers.com placing orders side by side. On mygrahak, firstly the site was terribly slow, and searching for stuff was so difficult. But gopeppers is much better. It took me less than 10 minutes to get the complete list of around 50+ items in my cart.

When I enquired on the chat option about payment and delivery - i came to know that the stuff can be delivered in 1 hour - flat. I was like "what!!! Are you sure??" And the response was "Yes". So, I placed the order and selected COD (Card on delivery) option - ever heard of that... Sat back and started watching a movie - thinking 1 hour is impossible - it will take atleast 2 hours. In 30 minutes, the guy was at my place with all the stuff. Unpacked it - made me tick the list he had brought with him. And then he told me that I was his "first" customer. I was both shocked and surprised. Shocked cause, I could have been duped - If i had paid online and surprised at the efficiency with which he made his first order. I will look forward to ordering my next month groceries through the same site.