Amazon.com shipped over 31 million items between Nov 2nd and December 23rd. A special arrangement with the USPS enabled the company to complete deliveries even on Christmas Day. Despite getting 99% of items out on time, the company showed signs of reduced customer service, at least on one order we placed over the holiday period. The order was placed on December 7th and the confirmation showed shipping within 24 hours. The order was still showing as waiting to process on Dec 23rd. Email requests to customer service went unanswered as we waited to see if the items would be shipped in time to arrive for Christmas. Because nobody at Amazon could be reached to verify the items would be delivered in time for Christmas, the recipient had to go out and purchase additional gifts on the assumption the items would not arrive. This clearly shows that delivering the goods is not enough; the customer must have confidence their order will arrive in time. If the customer service that supports the online buying process is weak, as was the case with this particular order, the loyalty of the customer is easily lost. How many of those customers with orders being delivered on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day had gone out to a local store and bought something else for the intended recipient because they thought their order would not be delivered. We will never know the answer, but it would seem likely that the number would be a high percentage. If customers are to have confidence in using the Internet for holiday shopping, they need to know their gifts will arrive in time for whatever gift-giving event they are intended. One thing eRetailers cannot do enough of, it seems, is to communicate with their customers about late deliveries. Feedback!Make your opinion count! Click here for our online feedback form or email us using this link: mailto:feedback@eretailnews.com Market Trends 2001 FREE NEWSLETTER, click here | 