However, I would like to point out (although I’m not sure if it’s been pointed out already) that they’re probably not using native English speakers for customer service – their electronic customer service was probably outsourced to India just like a lot of telephone customer service has been. If that’s the case, the distinction between pre- and post- may not be clear to the customer service representatives, as there are a few languages which don’t make a triple distinction between past, present, and future – some only have past and non-past (or future and non-future). Sadly, I’m ignorant of where Hindi and other (non-Indo-European) Indian languages fall

On the subject of out-sourced tech support (a very closely related topic), I like what Dell has done. You can get free tech support from India as part of the basic package with a computer purchase, or you can opt-in for an American call center for like $50 or something. (I forgot the price as it’s been a little while since my last consumer workstation purchase (as an aside, their enterprise tech support is top-notch).)

Okay, you are probably saying, but why should I have to pay for what should be standard? Well, on the surface, I agree with that sentiment. But I also realize there’s a competitive market reality they have to deal with. They are competing with many other companies that do not offer that option and there’s no way for them to be profitable on the item if they offered an American call center for free compared to the competition’s dirt cheap sweatshop center. (In the USA, we can’t hire somebody for $5/day to answer phones.)

What I like is that I’m given a choice to choose better customer service. If enough people opt-in, the price should go down and may, someday, become standard again as other companies have to move call centers back to the USA to compete.

It’s not an ideal situation, but at least you have a choice!

You’re probably right about my email getting lumped with the others about the post-price guarantee. The first-level CSR monkeys have to be more competent than that, though. As consumers, we shouldn’t accept that as normal.

Since you were writing about a price adjustment, your request got inserted into a deluge of complaints from customers who wanted a post-purchase price adjustment and were being sent the form letter by the first-level CSR monkeys.

I love Amazon, and I think their customer support is just about the best out there, but once in a while you run into a problem. I had the best luck with phone support; if you go to the help page you can get someone to call you back right away.

BTW, all of the used booksellers that Amazon carries (plus many more) are also available at AbeBooks. The prices are often a tiny bit better at Abe, because the commission is lower. If I want used, I always check Abe first.

I never buy anything before it’s been released and the price is firm

If nothing else, that is the lesson here. I foolishly believed that they would actually do what they said.

It appears that prices are likely to change with prerelease products, presumably as the publisher reconsiders marketing plans and such. Since that seems to happen more than I realized, waiting for release is the wisest course of action.

The problem is the email support (and most call support) centers do NOT read emails complete and ARE employed by those who do not read/write English clearly. That’s because you are corresponding with a sweatshop worker in some poor country, who is getting paid 65 cents per day to support his wife, five kids, parents, grandparents, and in-laws. Viva Capitalism! Although since we, the American people, now own Fannie, Freddie, and AIG, I guess we’re socialists now… or something. Your Republican deregulation at work!

I let slide the fact that they didn’t automatically adjust the price. I figured that was a computer error. Here are my objections:
a. They should have adjusted the price when I first brought it up.
b. instead, I had to write to them a second time.
c. They act like they’re doing me a huge favor.
d. They didn’t even understand that I was talking about the pre-order price guarantee. They repeatedly referred to the post-order price guarantee, even after I corrected them.

I’m using this as a warning for what to expect in the future. If I ever have another problem with them, I can expect nothing but bad service, poor communication, incompetent service reps, and a high likelihood that they won’t fix the problem. I’d rather shop some place that understands that customer service is important.