The light came back on my Amazon Kindle

As I posted recently I have reconsidered my relationship with the Amazon’s Kindle. Having read the limited warranty that came with the device as well as what is posted on the website it seemed clear to me that after one year there was no guarantee. At the time I was aggravated, unhappy and perplexed. I was wrong too. Sometimes you have to make that phone call.

Of course I did not make it. My wife did since she had originally bought me the Kindle and had worked out the (now) 3 replacement Kindles. She spoke with them (although finding the right customer service number was a little bit tough) about the fact that my Kindle had simply died. They said no problem and sent a replacement Kindle to arrive THE NEXT DAY at Amazon’s expense. It was already loaded with my contact information such that as soon as I charged it up and turned it on it was easy to download the books that I had previously purchased into the replacement device from the content manager.

I am pleased, impressed and yes still a little perplexed. While I still hold that Amazon should send a replacement Kindle to any customer that complains their Kindle has stopped working (which they have done) as long as the customer sends back the old one (still at Amazon’s expense which is the case). But I have two questions.

1) Why don’t they publicize this feature? Possible answer – Amazon does not want to advertise that the device is somewhat fragile since that could undermine overall customer perception particularly in view of the new e-reader devices on the market. Anyone that calls will receive a replacement Kindle but one HAS to call.

2) Did anyone from Amazon actually read my blog post such that they decided to send me a replacement Kindle? I’m hardly one to be over-impressed with my own impact or self-importance so I highly doubt that.

Sales of e-books had reached just shy of $ 100 million as of August 2009 according to the Association of American Publishers. Additionally analysts are calling for sales to triple again over the next 13 months. And the Kindle is Amazon’s best selling item across ALL of its markets.

The Kindle aims to be the I-pod of e-readers. I think Amazon has a good shot there. However I do think they missed an opportunity with me to ‘buy’ up to the newer device the Kindle 2 or large screen tablet. I would have paid 50% (or less) of the purchase price of one of those newer devices. Instead I have a refurbished original Kindle – which I am grateful for but it was an opportunity lost as far as I am concerned.

Of course I could just be being greedy. Amazon continues to prove to be one of the leaders in customer service and satisfaction. And that’s high ground to hold.

The fire went out on my Amazon Kindle – and I’m NOT happy!

As an early adopter (November 2007) of the Kindle I have been a rather ardent fan of what could now be considered the forerunner of e-readers. I recently downloaded several titles that I wanted to read. I opened my Kindle the other night to see some odd horizontal lines across the entire screen yet the device was in the off position. After charging and recharging with no change in the display it was obvious that the flame had gone out on my Kindle.

Out of warranty (this one was more than a year old) apparently I am out of luck. So now I have several titles in my account that I cannot view unless I purchase a new Kindle or I guess return my Kindle to Amazon (at my cost) and hope that they can somehow repair it for less than the cost of the now reduced price of $ 259. I paid $ 399 for mine and it does thrill me that not once did Amazon offer me some sort of discount on purchasing the latest version which apparently is superior to the one that I have. Of course mine now does not work at all so a book with no printing is on a par.

A little history – the first one I received did not work and I had to send it back. Amazon had me check a bunch of things prior to agreeing to replace it which they did with no questions asked. Then I had another one which after several months also went dead. Again through the checklist that Amazon has you do on the phone (a half hour or so) with their tech person before they assented to my sending it back for yet a third which I received and has been working fine for more than a year.

I have been (and remain) a fan of Amazon in general. Jeff Bezos is a smart guy and has defied his critics in managing a company that has a stellar reputation for customer service and intuitive product offerings. But I really don’t understand the idea of not offering a replacement for a broken Kindle ANY TIME a customer asks. After all aren’t I going to use that platform to purchase e-books for the foreseeable future? And I buy a fair amount of books. I can ‘return’ those titles that I downloaded but have not read for some sort of rebate but that really does not solve my problem. I love e-readers (as well as traditional books) and think they will only get better (how about color folks and a back-lighted screen option?).

So now I have to reconsider my entire relationship with Amazon’s Kindle. Maybe the Sony Reader, or the new device from Plastic Logic, or maybe even the new Barnes & Noble device. What a shame, the Kindle had me at hello.