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Fast, fast, fast
I ordered a book from Amazon yesterday morning. A few hours later I'm sitting at my computer and there is a knock at the door. I open the door and this girl is standing there and she says "Are you Alex Tabarrok?" I say yes and she hands me the book. My jaw just about hits the floor. I'm totally confused. The girl runs away laughing. Only later do I figure it out. I ordered from Amazon Marketplace. The seller just happened to live nearby and she brought the book over. Pretty cool.
Posted by Alex Tabarrok on September 9, 2007 at 07:12 AM in Web/Tech | Permalink
Comments
She handed you the book and ran away laughing?
Posted by: Erik at Sep 9, 2007 7:57:16 AM
a Lady, please.
Posted by: Lowrie Glasgow at Sep 9, 2007 7:58:06 AM
That's AMAZING!
Posted by: Nirmala at Sep 9, 2007 8:29:09 AM
This reminds me of one of my favorite customer service stories.
I dropped out of college many years ago to take the position of Store Manager of the local Domino's Pizza store. We ran a "Monday Madness" special of a large pepperoni pizza for $4 (many years ago).
Prior to the rush we would stock up the oven with half a dozen large pepperoni pizzas since we knew they would get ordered by someone during the seven minutes it took them to cook.
There was an apartment complex directly across the street. When the phone girls would get a large pepperoni order from one of those apartments they would hold up the partially completed ticket so we could put it directly on a hot out of the oven pizza and send someone running across the street with it. Meanwhile the phone girl would keep the customer on the phone by being flirtatious until the customer had to excuse himself to answer the door for the pizza he was still on the phone ordering.
As obsessed as Domino's culture was at the time with very fast delivery, we took great pride in the fact that, on some occasions for some customers, we delivered before they hung up the phone to place the order.
Posted by: Tom at Sep 9, 2007 8:34:01 AM
The outrage is that it isn't always like this.
Posted by: Tyler Cowen at Sep 9, 2007 8:48:30 AM
I'm glad nobody is complaining that Alex got ripped off the postage charge, since there was no postage.
Those enraged iPhone owners Tyler blogged about recently -- they'd be apoplectic, thinking they got ripped off four bucks and demanding Amazon compensate them.
Posted by: Phil at Sep 9, 2007 9:42:03 AM
I'm still trying to figure out whether the "girl" is an eight-year-old girl or an adult woman.
Posted by: Hei Lun Chan at Sep 9, 2007 9:54:21 AM
wow..that's unbelievable
Posted by: astraea at Sep 9, 2007 10:07:08 AM
"Are you Alex Tabarrok?"
So the good news is that you don't look old enough to get the "Mr. Tabarrok" treatment.
Posted by: Gabriel M. at Sep 9, 2007 10:34:08 AM
While running away laughing did she forget to collect money?
Posted by: GVV at Sep 9, 2007 10:49:51 AM
While running away laughing did she forget to collect money?
Posted by: GVV at Sep 9, 2007 10:50:11 AM
One time this happened to me. But instead of a book the delivery was a cat. That I didn't even order!!!
Posted by: Kent at Sep 9, 2007 11:00:56 AM
It took three months untill I am finally forced to cancel my order of a Book from Amazon. On the other hand, it took the published one week to deliver it to me. Good that they are quick at least in the US!
Posted by: Alex at Sep 9, 2007 11:35:14 AM
Maybe the lady didn't expect an economist professor to buy such a book. What was the title? :)
Posted by: kurt at Sep 9, 2007 11:49:01 AM
True story along a similar vein:
I was sixteen years old and cleaning out a closet full of "Reader's Digests" in my home when I paused to read a "Drama in True Life" story in one of them. It was about two girls who were in a subway wreck, one of whom was injured so that her feet were twisted around pointing backwards.
THE VERY NEXT DAY in English class the teacher announced, "we're going to have a speed and comprehension reading test." Since my last name starts with "A" I was sitting right in front when she handed me a handout... with a photocopy of THE EXACT SAME ARTICLE.
The comprehension test was ten questions on a page stapled on the end of the handout. I had it filled out correctly and back on her desk before she finished distributing the papers.
Fifteen years later I ran into her in a shopping mall and told her how I had been able to read and comprehend with such blinding speed!
Posted by: Albatross at Sep 9, 2007 12:02:34 PM
AWESOME
I am so envious
Posted by: Jacqueline at Sep 9, 2007 1:46:10 PM
"She handed you the book and ran away laughing? "
The book was cursed, obviously. In a few weeks, we'll see Alex asking us the total surplus of demon summoning.
Posted by: Robert Olson at Sep 9, 2007 1:56:58 PM
WOW! Which book did you order? I want one too.
Posted by: Yan Li at Sep 9, 2007 5:06:32 PM
That happened to me once when I ordered on Half.com. Left for lunch, came back and there was the book. Pretty amazing that you scour then net for something and it pops up around the corner. I must confess that after a bit I felt cheated on the postage price but then again the fact I got the book fast was compensation enough
Posted by: theCardinal at Sep 9, 2007 11:02:25 PM
That happened to me once when I ordered on Half.com. Left for lunch, came back and there was the book. Pretty amazing that you scour then net for something and it pops up around the corner. I must confess that after a bit I felt cheated on the postage price but then again the fact I got the book fast was compensation enough
Posted by: theCardinal at Sep 9, 2007 11:03:01 PM
I've done that before. Sold a book on Amazon Marketplace, saw the address was only a couple miles away, and dropped it off for the person same day. Easier on both of us!
Posted by: Taylor at Sep 10, 2007 11:01:02 AM
My husband did the same thing with an old text book he sold on half.com just a few weeks ago. He handed the book to the guy who bought it (a few blocks away), and then just a few days later got a complaint that the book hadn't been received.
The husband was a little upset, since he hand-delivered it, but once he replied back reminding the guy that, he suddenly remembered getting it.
Posted by: Dee at Sep 10, 2007 11:38:18 AM
Warning - If you're an Internet bookseller, this is a bad idea if it's an expensive book. If you get a dishonest buyer who claims he didn't receive it, you will not have proof of mailing or delivery. Therefore, Amazon or Half.com, or wherever you sell will have to refund them & it will come out of your pocket.
Posted by: YT at Sep 10, 2007 2:43:41 PM
"girl" can be a compliment. I prefer to meet girls rather than ladies -- more fun (even when there's no sex involved!)
Posted by: David Zetland at Sep 10, 2007 5:59:22 PM
In the basic concept of supply and demand and online book shopping, usually the supply can be limited depending on where you order from and what you are ordering, and in this case the supply was not only better than the demand, but the supply was found locally, allowing it to be delievered before the purchaser could apparently think too fast.
Posted by: Boo Boo at Sep 10, 2007 6:43:49 PM
