For me.
I am sorry, this is not a free gift announcement. Instead,
it's a post about me boasting about my free thermos. Or the opposite.
It’s February, and I hope the new year has been kind to you
so far.
It has been fantastic for me, maybe not to others'
standards, but I don't need to live up to those, and I have just got a free
thermos!
You know the threat of AI replacing us is real; it has been
for a long time. They 'write,' they do backflips, they make stuff, they are
great in accuracy and precision engineering, and they are out there in medical
fields and space. However, I always wonder how stupid they are sometimes,
especially when dealing with frustrated humans, or maybe that is intentional.
Whenever my mom stays with me, we always go for morning
walks before breakfast. I ordered a tiny thermos, half the size of my palm
because she needs to take her medications before meals. It's troublesome to
carry mine because it's too big and I carry way too many other things. My dog
needs his drink, too, and our stray friends identify my face with kibbles and
treats.
Anyway, the thermos was sent from China (where most of the
goods come from in our online marketplace here, we have local sellers from
other countries, but it only makes up for a small percentage with much less
variety. Amazon is not common, and shipping cost is a killer), from a 'shop'
that seems like a consolidation of many sellers because it has everything and
dominates the market. If I ordered five things from them, they would come in
five packets at different times. I had never had any problem before, but this
time, I was looking at the flat, card-sized box delivered to my home after a
week plus (normal delivery time from there), trying to remember what I ordered.
It was weirder when I opened it; I didn't even recognize
what it was supposed to be! Inside a tin box with a glass window was a mixture
of gold and silver geometric shapes, assembled into a round disc and another
piece of a golden curved triangle. When I checked my order, it was my
'thermos.' Anyway, I didn't order anything else. So, I took the picture,
feeling a bit furious because those two were not even comparable in terms of
functions and looks. I told them they sent the wrong thing and asked for a return/refund
while grumbling to myself about the hassle of repacking and going to the post
office, having to wait longer for refund approval, and the hassle of looking
for another one.
To their credit, they refunded me straightaway at that very
moment, so I looked for the return instructions and where I should send it
back. I got a message in my inbox (automated) saying that I didn't have to send
back the wrong item. (Although I didn't want it, it was nice that I didn't need
to go through all the hassles). I opened the tin box, and now it's clear the
thing was some luxurious-looking fidget spinner, with the triangle as the
holder, like a tiny super-fast Ferris wheel. I don't know what to do with it,
so it still rests inside my cabinet.
Then, two days later, another package arrived, and I was
also dumbfounded. I didn't order anything, but it was my name and written there
outside the packaging: thermos. The thermos that I ordered. There must have
been some mishap between the seller and the shop system. I couldn't help but
think about someone with a small business losing their income because of this
mistake since the order was, in fact, correct, but the system just sent me
something else under the same order, which I then mistook for the wrong
delivery. So, I chatted with the seller (but it, unfortunately, went to the
shop, there was no other contact), explaining the situation and asked for a
solution to refund them the money, or maybe I would purchase another one, but
they didn't need to send me the stuff. But the reply was automated, and they
only responded to keywords (probably refund) and kept giving me instructions on
how to get a refund. I changed the wording and asked to speak to an actual
person, but they replied with standard 'how may I help you' blabla and asked me
to explain the situation. It went into an unbreakable circle like this, and
until now, I can't get any answer other than the refund process, finding
another contact, or talking to an actual person.
Well, I am a mediocre person. I am not out there doing good
works or charity, but I was raised from a small business's earnings; I tried to
do a small business and failed, and I know how hard it is and how little income
means. The shop might be a disgustingly rich corporation, but I somehow believe
it has small businesses under its wing, which, unfortunately, have no way to
control the situation. Most likely, the loss of this is passed to the sellers.
Somewhere out there, maybe, a customer would complain about not receiving their
Ferris Wheel, a seller would get nothing from the thermos, and maybe they would
even get some 'rating punishment' because of complaints. In contrast, the
corporation got away with its errors. I am the winner here; I got my money back,
a free thermos, and a free Ferris Wheel, but it doesn't feel that good.
So, why does AI get so advanced, but the level of customer
service remains idiotic? I 'stay' in two places, and I must admit in this case
it's much better to live in a third-world country because anytime I call
customer service, I get a human with a waiting time of less than a few minutes.
Although the frustration could remain the same because they usually don't
provide real solutions and it always feels like talking to the wall. Maybe it's
all intentional; customer service is a service that frustrates us so much that
we give up trying to get a solution. Bingo.
Anyway, others keep their newsletters short, but I always
blabber too much. You are the strong ones.
Thank you for being here.
