Quality Service

I received a delivery from Amazon yesterday but it wasn’t the one I was expecting. The package that arrived yesterday with two books – By Schism Rent Asunder and Zoe’s Tale – was shipped from New York on August 24. Although Amazon gave a delivery date estimate of October 1 for the particular delivery, their shipments usually take only 2-3 weeks to arrive.

I was really expecting an earlier delivery that was shipped on July 25 containing two DVDs. Yes, I pay good money to buy original DVDs. They are Stargate: The Ark of Truth and Stargate: Continuum, two made-for-DVD movie sequels to the Stargate: SG-1 television series. They were supposed to arrive last week by September 2.

So, on Monday I wrote an email to Amazon to ask about the overdue delivery. I also wrote an email to Pos Malaysia. Amazon’s reply came within the day; apologizing for the delay and asking me to wait till September 26 before they’ll send a replacement. Though frustrated, I’m fairly confident that Amazon will come through. They sent me a replacement for a delivery lost in the mail before. My email to Pos Malaysia came back with a “Delivery Status Notification” message from Pos Malaysia’s server, the electronic equivalent of “Return to Sender”. I suppose the customer service email address on Pos Malaysia’s website is only for show.

Popeye’s trip to the bank reminds me of the several times I went to the Bank of America branch at either BU’s George Sherman Union (GSU) building or Kenmore Square. Even at the ever busy GSU branch, a bank officer with a clipboard will always approach you every time you step into the bank to offer assistance. They’ll even fill up your forms for you. I never spent more than five minutes at the bank. We don’t have that level of service yet at the small Bank Islam branch on campus but the officer on duty at the customer service desk by the door is always helpful and the few service counters are always manned.