Amazon is renown for its ultra-fast deliveries, but even the biggest online retailer in the world can drop the ball from time to time. So how can you avoid an Amazon Prime late delivery? After all, Amazon Prime members pay $119/year for expedited deliveries and the last thing you want as a paying member is an Amazon Prime late delivery.Â
Also, with Walmart Plus now available, Prime members have more options than ever for expedited delivery. Here are some pointers on what to do if you receive an Amazon Prime late delivery.Â
Amazon Prime late delivery and Memorial Day
May 31 is Memorial Day and that means Memorial Day sales will be here before you know it. Memorial Day is the year's first major retail holiday and we expect to see plenty of Amazon deals in the lead up to the holiday. That also means the potential for Amazon Prime late deliveries. To avoid any late shipments, make sure to make your purchases early and remember you can contact Amazon customer support should any of your deliveries arrive late.Â
Amazon deliveries and Prime Day
Prime Day is one of the busiest retail holidays for Amazon. At its last earnings call, Amazon confirmed that Prime Day would occur in Q2 of 2021. Prime Day's surge in purchases means the e-tailer may miss a few shipping deadlines. The best way to remedy the situation is to reach out to Amazon's customer service and inquire about your package. Be courteous, mention that you needed your package on a specific date, and Amazon may send a kickback your way. It's not guaranteed they'll try to remedy things with a freebie, but you have nothing to lose.Â
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Understanding the perks
Although Amazon doesn't do much to promote its Amazon Prime late delivery refund policy, it's actually a good one. In years past, any Amazon Prime customer who didn’t get a delivery within two days on a two-day shipment, or within the hours Amazon specified, would qualify for one free month of Amazon Prime. (Keep in mind that mileage varied.)
The free month was typically tacked on at the end of the period, so subscribers' end dates are extended one month.
"If you received free shipping through Amazon Prime, you may be eligible for a free one-month extension when the promised delivery date isn't met," Amazon once wrote on its customer service page. "Prime Extensions are limited to one per free trial and 12 for an annual membership."
However, since the publishing of this article, that page has been updated to provide more general information about late shipments. It now suggests that Amazon will offer you a refund on your shipping fees. It makes no mention of Amazon Prime specifically. You will instead need to contact Amazon customer service, which according to many Internet users, will give you the free month.
Keep in mind that some internet users have reported even better perks in return for a late Amazon Prime delivery. Several posters have reported that the e-tailer offered anywhere from a $5 to $20 gift certificate toward any product on the site, a 20 percent discount on an Amazon Prime membership, or other offers.
It's unclear exactly what triggers Amazon to offer one deal over another, and it might have something to do with the time of year and whether you've complained before or not. But a quick look online clearly shows that Amazon is willing to offer more than just an extra month of Amazon Prime.
So, the question becomes, how do customers actually take advantage of such deals when their packages are later than Amazon promised?
Contacting Amazon
To contact Amazon, it's best to use the company's Contact Us page. Here you'll have the option to either chat with a messaging assistant that can answer basic questions or direct users to the proper place to have their issue addressed.
The page also gives users the option of having Amazon call them, as well as a wait time, so they have a sense of how long it’ll take to hear back from the company.
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If neither option is suitable, Amazon also provides quick access to a slew of help pages on everything from checking an order and managing content on devices to getting help with Amazon Prime and updating payment information.
Generally, Amazon recommends selecting the phone option to get support more quickly; customers can specify which phone number the rep should call. Still, online-chat waiting times aren't bad and we've been able to speak with Amazon reps after waiting just a few minutes.Â
Talking to customer service
Once it's time to talk to a customer service rep, the process is somewhat simple. Customers simply confirm that they purchased a product and that it hasn't arrived. Amazon customer service will look into the claim, quickly determine that the package hasn't arrived and, in most cases, automatically offer a free month of Amazon Prime service.
But as mentioned, some people have been lucky enough to get more than a free month of Prime, so it's a good idea for customers to push back a bit and explain why the delay is such an inconvenience.
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Perhaps you ran out of critical household goods or you were counting on the product to land in time so it could be given as a gift. Whatever the case, the commenters suggest customers who come up with a good reason Amazon's delay is upsetting them are in a good position to get a bit more. As long as it's all done in a polite manner. In other words, writing in all caps or too much complaining will probably get you nowhere.
Given that Amazon’s official policy only allows for customer service representatives to offer a freebie on the first late Amazon Prime delivery, the company might be less willing to offer a deal if delays start to pile up. As such, it's a good idea to go for it all the first time around or face the possibility of more pushback on subsequent attempts.
Bonus tip: Avoid Twitter
One more thing: While it's fine to complain to Amazon on Twitter, the company discourages sharing order information on the social network and typically directs users to its customer service page. So, although Twitter might be more convenient, it won't expedite a resolution.