Improve AWFUL Merch seller support

The Merch support team (merch-sellers-contactus@amazon.com) are extremely unhelpful.

- Response times are too long

- Responses are almost always unhelpful copy / pastes or links to FAQs / community - passing the buck

- They fail to answer simple questions. For example, I have asked 11 times what part of my design caused a rejection, and each time received the same 'stock' copy / paste reply from the FAQ section with general guidance, not specific to my issue. It's like talking to a robot...all they need to do is read them email and answer the question directly. If the answer was in the FAQs I would not have contacted support!

- If they don't know the answer to something they just shut down your request with a 'no further information will be provided' reply

- They don't keep email chains; instead they reply separately to each email making it a nightmare to follow

Generally speaking the team seems small, poorly trained and at times quite rude and snarky. I am sure others share this grievance. Considering how much of Amazon's revenue comes from third-party creators such as Merch designers it would be nice if we were shown some respect and offered proper support.

10 |5000

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FocusedOnResults commented · Aug 26, 2018 at 07:46 PM

Hello

I don't think they are what I would consider rude.

The magnitude of queries they handle daily has to be beyond daunting. A detailed FAQ page may help Merch eliminate many of the queries. A FAQ page that contains a solid answer to their top 50 queries would be a great beginning.

I do think they may be off shore and either way, perhaps are instructed to follow the cut and paste plan that we have all experienced. Unfortunately, many times the cut and paste response does not answer the original question hence my thought on the top 50 above.

I also was baffled when I found out they do not continue the email "tail" - this may be the way the system was set up (for whatever reason).

Ideally in 2019, Merch will revamp that area of the company.

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Kimberly Unger FocusedOnResults commented · Aug 28, 2018 at 12:26 AM

A good FAQ would help, but only so much. A very substantial number (perhaps even a majority) of the people who need to read it will either be too stupid to find it, or too lazy to bother. They'll post to the forum or email support anyway and wait, unaware that they'd find their answer a lot more quickly if they'd just shown a little initiative and looked through the FAQ.

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FocusedOnResults Kimberly Unger commented · Aug 28, 2018 at 02:02 PM

Hello Kimberly- I think you have a valid point. I deem it more toward lack of an initiative to find an answer vs asking people for help which.....may be the determining point of a true entrepreneur/marketer vs a hobbyist. (and we can probably label that as a form of lazy :) )

I see a valid logic in making Merch pay to play - in other words a monthly fee to be on Merch. However, until inventory control is flawless, I don't think it is feasible (nor fair). But I do think a pay to play would enormously weed out the players from the wannabes.

Appreciated reading your comment!

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RW FocusedOnResults commented · Aug 30, 2018 at 12:00 PM

Glad you haven't found them to be rude, but I have. As for the magnitude of queries being daunting...it's up to Amazon to provide sufficient staff and training to handle those requests.

To be clear, this ticket is asking Amazon to improve its support - there is not much staff can do if they are overworked or undertrained, although it can't be too much to ask to get simple, direct answers to simple, direct questions.

Amazon is infamous for treating its staff poorly, and that reflects in its service to sellers. It boasts of being "earth's most customer-centric company" - if only they treated staff and sellers with the same care they treated customers. There is a horrible disparity.

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FocusedOnResults RW commented · Aug 30, 2018 at 01:49 PM

Hello RW -

I appreciated the extra info.

I'd love to be able to have an inside, fly on the wall, glimpse of the daily Amazon work flow.

If I may ask, what was the nature of your correspondence with CS (I don't expect full detail, I'm just wondering if different topics are handled differently).

Mine has been - my bank acct hacked (nothing related to Amazon) and knew they wouldn't be able to pay me as bank had frozen my account for 3 weeks. My other was my replying to copycat claims against me (done, I believe by the actual copycat). The former was quite smooth and re-assuring, the latter..... they were cordial by all means but it was a drawn out matter. I think due in part to no email tail.

I also, due to my own just pure stupidity - I have no excuse, had a rejection about 2 years ago and when they replied, I dug into the matter and found my own error. I still kick myself on that one... :)

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