Thanksgiving, 2009

We have a lot to be thankful for on Thanksgiving...starting off with wonderful friends and family.

Click photo for a larger view of the collage.

 

The Dark Side of my Amazon Kindle – What happens when it dies?

I am what is often referred to as an “early adoptee” of technical things in that I do like my electronic toys. Here we are at the end of 2009 and I look around my cluttered “office” and see digital cameras, notebook and desktop PC’s that were unimaginable 15 years ago, and chargers and plugs for multiple Kindle’s, I-phone’s, still and video camera’s…it goes on and on. It’s all a LONG way from my very first Apple IIE with the duel 140k floppies that we used to notch so you could use both sides. But I digress…
Both Alice and I are avid readers and we’ve found the Kindle to be a wonderful way to read. Luckily our reading “tastes” are more similar than dissimilar, so we can share e-books under the same account with Amazon. We’ve found it’s a great gadget to bring with us on our camping jaunts (motor home) as we can carry a substantial library with us, and add to it through the wireless connection through the “wisperjet” cell-like built in connection. The value of it (the Kindle) has grown tremendously with Amazon’s release of the i-phone application where we can read our selections on the i-phone, and have the books synch back and forth as we switch platforms.
There has always been that worry, in the back of my mind, of “What happens if it breaks?”. Like all Kindle users we’ve had the occasional freeze up, but with the reset button on the back of the Kindle 1 we’ve always been able to bring her back to functionality. A few weeks ago Alice’s Kindle started acting a bit weird in that the page advance key wasn’t working, but we attributed that to an “aftermarket” cover she’d purchased with light that somehow caught up the advance lever. It was fixable just be taking the cover off and than putting her back on. But, it did give me pause and start to think “What if something serious does go wrong with them..what are our options?”. So, I’d gone to the Help pages at Amazon and looked up the options and was dismayed to find there really are none. Once the unit is out of warrantee not only do they not service it, but they do not direct you to any place that will help. It appears you’re literally on your own with a brick for an electronic device. So now I knew that if a bad event happened, I was pretty much on my own….but they were both operating OK and I put it aside as information that’s nice to know but not of immediate concern.
You guessed it…yesterday my Kindle apparently died. She wouldn’t “wake up”, and after doing a reset she froze at the main page. I wasn’t clever enough to suspect the battery because the “gauge” showed it at about 80% of a full charge. We went onto the Amazon troubleshooter pages and tried it all….could not wake her up. Now I was motivated to see what Amazon’s policy is with bricks that used to be Kindle’s as we not only have the investment in the hardware (the Kindle reader) but a LOT of books we own the digital rights to in our library. Again I was faced with the fact that there really is no policy for broken Kindle’s after the warrantee period. So, I fired off a nasty gram to Amazon Customer Service, and they sent me back a form e-mail telling me about the wonderful NEW Kindle’s I could purchase….but no, there is no “trade in” policy on the old bricks. I was, and am, less than happy although it was not unexpected since I’d looked at their Help files earlier and could not see any sections on what to do with a dead unit.
Going on line I Googled the issue, and found there are a lot of people out there with dead Kindle’s. There were also some other suggestions that I hadn’t tried, one being to plug the unit in (disregarding the battery charge indicator) but prior to that physically remove the battery from the unit, wait a bit than re-install it. I did that and like Lazarus she awoke from the dead. I kept her plugged in and started reading Wally Lamb’s newest (Wishing and Hoping) which I’m really enjoying. Prior to that I went back to the Amazon site and ordered a new battery (about $23.00 including shipping) which is VERY reasonable considering my Sony camera batteries are $50.00 a pop. It seems to be working now, plugged in, so I’m making the assumption that the battery had gone South and the new one will bring me back.
The issue though, has NOT gone away. I read on-line of people who have dropped their unit and shattered the reading pane or cracked the case etc and they have no place to go. In this modern age electronics are more “throw away when broken” than fix due to their initial low costs, but with the Kindle tied to a digital library you’d think Amazon would formulate a policy that would soften the blow a bit to allow people to access their purchased library after the reader dies. Yes, you can read your purchased books on the i-phone (if you have one) and on your PC through the new Kindle PC Application, BUT…..we’re really talking about some kind of sensible Kindle hardware continuity policy for those people who’ve invested into this proprietary medium. Come on Amazon, lets see some REAL customer service and NOT a form e-mail saying in so many words “Sorry for your troubles”.

Robert R. Payette ,
Preston CT 11/16/2009

Updated: Amazon CS has contacted me and in the interim my Kindle has come back to life...see posts below. The problem, IMHO (what to do about dead Kindle's) has not changed.

Hello,

I'm very sorry to hear your Kindle isn't working. Please give us a call so we can try some real-time troubleshooting and see if you need a replacement. If it is necessary to replace your Kindle we do have several options for you since your Kindle is outside warranty.

You can reach us by phone by using the Contact Us option in the right-hand column of our Kindle Support pages (www.amazon.com/kindlesupport). Contacting us through the website allows you to verify security before a call is placed and ensures we have your account information ready when we call you.

If you're not able to use the Kindle Support page option, you can still call us:

U.S.: 1-866-321-8851
International: 1-206-266-0927

We hope you can call us soon so we can help solve this problem quickly.

Please let us know if this e-mail resolved your question:

If yes, click here:
http://www.amazon.com/rsvp-y?c=ydvdafth3238273203
If not, click here:
http://www.amazon.com/rsvp-n?c=ydvdafth3238273203

Please note: this e-mail was sent from an address that cannot accept incoming e-mail.

To contact us about an unrelated issue, please visit the Help section of our web site.

Best regards,

Sarah
Amazon.com
We're Building Earth's Most Customer-Centric Company http://www.amazon.com/your-account

---- Original message: ----

CUSTOMER: Robert R. Payette
COMM ID:yrddrveh3251970098
EMAIL: r.payette@snet.net
COMMENTS: I understand that in todays world it is often impractical to repair low cost electronics. That having been said, the Amazon Kindle is directly linked to a proprietary Amazon library that has been purchased from you, so we're not JUST talking about a low cost electronic gadget. When the gadget dies, the library's main access dies with it much like a house burning down and taking the owners books with it. If you want to consider yourselves an excellent customer service customer you have to find a way to help protect the investment your customers have made in your technology. Saying "Buy another one..isn't this exciting" doesn't do it. I don't know WHAT the solution is, but I know the once you've chosen (avoidance of the issue) is NOT my idea of good customer service. If you look at posts on line on this very issue you'll see you are getting HAMMERED on this. Please come up with a solution before you lose your potential new customers who will NOT come on board with this adverse publicity. Bob Payette