Michael Occasionally we have to exchange items that we have purchased online, whether it be a piece of clothing that doesn't fit or an electronic device that doesn't work as expected. No problem! At Amazon, the customer is still king, exchanging items is relatively uncomplicated, just repack it, put it in a box, print out the free shipping label, but then you have to take the package to the post office or to a branch of the FedEx or UPS delivery services.
The process is not only inconvenient for the customer, but also costly for Amazon, as shipment companies charge for their services, which Amazon has to shoulder. Therefore, it is no wonder that the online giant is looking for new ways to handle the inevitable returns as simply and cost-effectively as possible.
A while ago, Amazon started processing returns of unwanted items at Kohl's department stores in California. When you clicked the return button on the Amazon website, a QR code appeared, which you could take (either on paper or just on your smartphone's display) to the nearest Kohl's store. Following the signs, you were guided to a back corner of the store, where an employee accepted the item (even without packaging) and scanned the code, and that was it.
Kohl's is one of these department store chains that you wonder why it still exists, because its giant parking lots are usually empty, its sales floors deserted, and the only grumpy employee at the only open cash register takes 10 minutes to serve 3 customers. Such a business model is actually only imaginable under the socialist systme of the former GDR, but apparently Kohl shareholders do not value dividends or stock price increases, and so the dilapidated company continues to drift along. On my visit, I even received a promotional coupon for $10 for purchases at Kohl's from the Amazon guy at the exchange counter. Not generally averse to freebies, I looked around a bit, but given a dismal register situation, with 10 people in line, I let the coupon expire.
Amazon recently bought the upscale supermarket chain Whole Foods in a billion dollar deal, which is running smoothly and the employees there are so surprisingly cheerful that I often suspect they take regular hits from a joint in their breaks. Anyway, you can now return Amazon items at stores of the food chain, which is huge since there is a Whole Foods about 5 minutes away from our home in our neighborhood. It's open from 8 am to 9 pm and there is a cheerful salesperson at the customer service counter who just takes the item to be exchanged without packaging. QR code scanned, done. And yes, we still need milk and sausage, let's buy those while we're here!
And, only yesterday, something even more bizarre happened to me: I had ordered a hard drive adapter from Amazon for 6 dollars, but the part only worked sporadically, so I started to initiate the return. As soon as I typed that the device was faulty, Amazon offered me a "Returnless Refund": I got my money back and didn't even have to send the part back!