Why I won't buy from Awesome Books USA on Amazon again.

Here is an e-mail exchange that occurred between the Amazon seller Awesome Books USA and me. I am putting them in chronological order. I am also including my original feedback for the seller (since it is important to the story). I have removed all names of people involved.

July 14th, 2010, 6:28pm PST (message sent to seller via Amazon):

I ordered 'The Politics of Field Research: Sociology Beyond Enlightenment' from you a few days ago. The book that was shipped and received was '100 Great Ways to Use Rubber Stamps.' I am writing to find out what we need to do to get this book back to you, and if it is still possible to get the book I ordered.

Thanks.

July 14th, 2010, 11:49pm PST:

Dear D-,

Thanks for your email.

prior to look the matter further we would be grateful if you could send us the ISBN, publisher name including title of the item you have received in error so we can look in to the matter straight away.

PLEASE keep this reply in any email you send to us.


Warmest Regards,
A-

Customer Satisfaction
AwesomeBooks

the same books at cheaper prices, with cheaper shipping.
We pass on the savings to you

July 15th, 2010, 8:23am PST:

As I said in my first e-mail, the title of the book you sent me was 100 Great Ways to Use Rubber Stamps. It is published by David & Charles, and the ISBN is 978-0715324585.

The book I ordered was The Politics of Field Research: Sociology Beyond Enlightenment, published by Sage Publications, Ltd; ISBN 978-0803982260.

-D

July 16th, 2010, 12:51am PST:

Dear D-,

Thanks for your recent order from AwesomeBooks.

Please accept our apologies for the recent mix up with your order. We have looked into the matter and are sorry to report that we do not have your original order in stock. We apologise for the obvious inconvenience this has caused and are keen to make amends in the best way we can.

You have been fully refunded for the cost of the book (inc. P& P) and we would like to give you a $1 voucher off any future purchase from Awesome Books. Simply present this email after any future order you may make.

As a small gesture of goodwill from our side, please keep the book rather than returning it to us.

Please do not hesitate to contact us in case of any further questions.

Our apologies once again.

Warmest Regards,

R-

AwesomeBooks Cus tomer Service

[e-mail address removed]

the same books at cheaper prices, with cheaper shipping.

We pass on the savings to you

(Note: Sometime on the morning of July 16th, 2010, I rated the transaction and left feedback. It is included in the e-mail below, which I received from Awesome Books USA.)

July 16th, 2010 11:13pm PST:

Dear D-,

Thanks for your recent purchase from AwesomeBooks.

Periodi cally we go through our feedback to ensure our cus tomers are satisfied and to contact any cus tomers who have been disappointed with our service. On your feedback below, you have given us positive comments but a negative rating which discourages others from purchasing from us.

2 Seller shipped the wrong book (not even close to my order). While they were quick to financially rectify the situation (full refund, $1 off voucher, and keep the shipped book), they no longer have the book I ordered. I'm frustrated that I have to go shopping again for an out-of-print book. I will not buy from them again. The $1 coupon is insulting. And I have no use for the book that was shipped.
103-7430120-8186616 D-

We are sorry to hear that you received the wrong book. You have been fully refunded for the cost of the book (inc. P& P) since we did not have a replacement copy. This is our standard policy regarding item mix-ups and we usually act on this whenever cus tomers tell us the wrong item arrived.

If we have left you dissatisfied in any way we would encourage you to let us know so we can rectify the situation. Otherwise, would you be kind enough to revise your feedback so that it does not have the negative effect it currently does? This is of course your decision, we realise the feedback system can sometimes cause confusion.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Warmest Regards,

R-

AwesomeBooks Cus tomer Service

[e-mail address removed]

the same books at cheaper prices, with cheaper shipping.

We pass on the savings to you

July 17, 2010, 9:35am PST:

R-,

I will not be revising my feedback, but I am happy to explain why.

First, I am very dissatisfied with my shopping experience with Awesome Books USA. Receiving the wrong book is understandable - mistakes can happen. But I was incredibly disappointed to learn that you no longer had the book I ordered. I was also confused as to why it would not be in stock still. There seems, to me, to be 3 possible explanations: 1. You did not have the book to begin with; 2. You had the book, but sold it to someone else either before or after you shipped me the wrong book; or 3. You shipped my book to someone who had ordered the (wrong) book you sent me. The first two explanations represent rather duplicitous behavior; the third is an example of corner-cutting. You have allowed me to keep a book I did not order or want, framing this as a gift and partial apology when it is really a thinly veiled effort on the part of Awesome Books to save some money on shipping and handling. If you did have the book I wanted at some point, and did not sell it to someone else, then you mistakenly shipped it - perhaps to the person who wanted the book I received. It is safe to assume that your practice of "keep the book we wrongly shipped" was not exceptional to me, which means the book I want is sitting with someone else.

If you were really concerned about the situation and offering me a good shopping experience, you would have made an effort to figure out where my book was, retrieve it, and taken the wrong book off my hands. Instead you saved a few dollars in shipping charges.

You say that you "periodically" go through your feedback - I find it an odd (and unbelievable) coincidence that such a periodic check occurred less than a day after I left my review. Perhaps you should put as much attention into serving your buyers as you do in scrutinizing their comments. I suspect you would need to spend less time "periodically" reading feedback - your ratings and buyer feedback would be high.

Also, I resent your efforts to prompt me to give you a better rating. Any positive comments in my review are the reasons I did not give you 1 star. If Amazon made it ease to revise my rating and feedback, I would give you 1 star for trying to hustle me for more stars. The fact that you are more concerned about your rating than taking my order seriously is more insulting that offering me a $1 voucher and a book I don't want as compensation for my inconvenience.

-D

Research Related Quotes and Stories

1. From a Target commercial, seen on 1/17/2010. The commercial is a dramatization of finding $20 (possibly called the "Found Twenty Dollars in the Laundry Collection?). Near the end, there is a line in voice over that says, "Twenty green backs to spend on a little piece of joy."

[Ex. of material culture and emotions/emotion management]

2. David Sedaris, Holidays on Ice, "SantaLand Diaries": Sedaris gives a remarkable description of working in a themed environment with characters. In many ways he captures the essence of theme park entertainment work better than I could ever hope, with rich, humorous descriptions that seem to read better than my fieldnotes. After I read it the first time, I remember thinking, "Well, someone has already written my dissertation. But in a much more concise, engaging way than I could ever hope. And much, much funnier."

[A source to corroborate my observations from fieldwork on theme park entertainment work; could draw on his examples as well as my own when I write the dissertation; also good for methods appendix - what are the differences (similarities) in our goals, and how does this distinguish (my end product from his?]

3. Louise Fitzhugh, Harriet the Spy: The connections between this and being an unknown researcher are pretty obvious.

[Read it for methods]

Research Projects

1. Career Plans/Advice:

Career plans and advice may potentially represent a way in which to study how people anticipate when and how to employ cultural repertoires in the future. Career plans are narrative maps of the future filled with expected problems and solutions. There are better and worse plans. Those rooted in concrete goals and actions that also accommodate for potential obstacles represent greater knowledge of the occupation/occupational field and/or greater thought about the future, whereas a general plan like "to be famous" is a desired goal without anticipation for how to plan to become famous and possible issues that might arise in the process. Career advice on the other hand, at least some career advice, represents the transmission of knowledge from one person to another about potential obstacles and how they can be overcome. There is also a process of transmutation that occurs as experiences from one person's past become resources for problem-solving in another's future. Advice adds a dimension of history to the cultural repertoires people develop, a history that only becomes clear in the stories people tell.

How could I approach this project? One way would be to focus in on a single occupation and do in depth interviews, on-the-job fieldwork, and content analysis of any industry related material. The advantage here would be multiple sources of plans and advice, particularly the advice that gets transmitted in the process of socializing into a career. Alternatively two or three occupations could be studied, with an eye toward the role of social context in developing plans and transmitting advice from one person to another. Use only in depth interviews; fieldwork and content analysis would be too much for a single research project.

Acting seems like a particularly good locus of study. There are lots and lots of autobiographies that record professionals' experiences and expound the advice that results. Plus it might be a way to approach the Actors in Hollywood project I have always had simmering in the back of my head.

Wish list

Here's a wish list i'm starting for gift ideas. I seem to need to keep a running list, because when people (epsecially family) ask, i usually end up with few thoughts in the moment.

I will edit this list through out the year (last update: 11/25/09).


Suggestions
Wine carafe
Kabuki Graphic Novels
A New Wallet
Metal Cigarette Holder (No, I have not started smoking. It is just a slim, compact way to carry money and an ID on the rare occasions I go out.)
Travel Money (I am hoping to go to Eastern Europe this spring.)
The Good Temp By Vicki Smith and Estee Neuwirth



DVD's
Run Lola Run
Monsters, Inc.
Cars
WALL-E
Up
Postville: When Cultures Collide (Available through PBS website: Shop PBS for Teachers)
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (Hepburn and Tracy)
March of the Wooden Soldiers (Laurel and Hardy)
Deadwood (Season 1, 2, or 3)
Batman Begins
Batman: The Dark Knight
Casino Royale (James Bond)
Old Westerns (Especially in black and white. I have a collection of 20 John Wayne Westerns and The Alamo, and would love to expand that collection.)