My letter to Amazon.com
I am writing to let you know that I am completely satisfied with the way my questions were handled today. It was an odd goof-up, and I'm sure that, with Harry Potter coming out today, you've all got your hands full and have dealt with more than your share of customer service calls, so thank you for taking the time to deal with mine.
I did want to say, though, that I think it's funny: I'm being refunded the cost of the book only, and not the cost of shipping. I don't mind, I'm probably going to get my copy of the book tomorrow and have borrowed one for the interim, but in light of the story, it does seem an ironic ending: I ordered the seventh Harry Potter, and somehow the shipping information as it went into the UPS system was sent with the wrong house number. I'm sure it's not my record on Amazon, because I've checked the number, and placed several orders using the address before. Still, somehow, my book arrived at 9:53 this morning at 2415 University Blvd, not 2419, and because I was at work all day, my neighbors were no longer home when I came to realize what had happened. I don't know them too well, either, and doubt that they would recognize my name on a package sent to their house. It's all a bit like something out of the Twilight Zone, and I suppose the moral is that I should have been talking to my neighbors all this time, but it's all been resolved for the time being, and hopefully I'll get the "Hallowed" book sometime tomorrow. That's more than enough for my peace of mind.
I think it's funny, though certainly not worth complaining about, that it's the price of the book, which I'll eventually receive, and not any of the shipping, which has gone completely awry, that's being refunded. I suppose it's my previous experiences with UPS talking, holding the delivery service primarily responsible assumes certain details not really worth considering too closely. But the real question, really, is why should the delay of one book--one story--trouble anyone so deeply as to arouse questions of blame and duty? I do sympathize with everyone involved, - having worked in customer service myself, I imagine all of this hype is more than a bit ridiculous when you're the one having to talk hundreds of customers back from the edge if their books didn't arrive precisely on time.
I wanted to write and to congratulate and thank you all for being so understanding when I called to report my mysteriously missing book. I've heard that Amazon is not making any money off the sale of Harry Potter, and intend to purchase some other book from your website with the refunded funds (if not a purely altruistic act, at least a vaguely noble one). I'm sure we all think this, but I'm not usually one to get worked up over a delay of something like a book, and even the desire to call customer service on a weekend surprised me. I should have waited, honestly, but have had a difficult two weeks, and this was to be my reserve of continuity through a period of transition. I'm ashamed to say that I wouldn't even consider myself a devout Harry Potter fan, to tell you the truth, but can remember reading the fourth novel on a cross-country train to Flagstaff, AZ, and waiting with cautious attention then--as, in a way, now-- to see if my life was able to change. Now, years later, I look to another book, coincidentally of the same series, to shelter my question of whether my life will remain the same. And therein, I imagine, is the value of these little stories-- the ones that fill our ears as leaves fill in the branches of trees, reaching for the sun and stars. In addition to being a response to our lives, they hold our lives: the echoes of thought and emotion that ring through our minds as we read them, and, if the stories are good, are woven back into discernible harmony through the journey. The person I spoke with from Amazon reminded me of how dear this particular story is to so many people who awaited its arrival today, my silly story one of countless others.
Thank you for the reminders, and keep at the good fight. If Harry Potter is any indication, you've got a good handle on your trade.
Needs an edit, or three, but not terribly awful, all things considered. I hope it gives someone in customer service a bit of a smile.