Sunday, September 11, 2011

Kindle Customer Support Questions Answered

FORMER AMAZON CUSTOMER REP ANSWERS QUESTIONS -- or at least those that can be answered without violating his NDA (non-disclosure agreement) with Amazon.

Len Edgerly, at The Kindle Chronicles podcast for this week (Link: bit.ly/tkc162 ), mentions that Nick Todd pointed him to an interesting reddit message thread led by a former Amazon Kindle customer support agent, whose screen name there is Grim_Wreeper. :-)

  Kindle-Edition subscribers can click on the links to read the message thread, as this is the mobile-device version link.  HOWEVER, once you arrive at the site, press the bottom row "Aa" text-key to change from "actual size" to Zoom 150%.

  If you'd rather type in the URL, it's
        bit.ly/mgrimwreeper

  (No "http://" portion required or wanted, and the opening or first 'm' stands for the 'mobile' version of the page -- computer users can leave the opening 'm' off to get the regular web version.)

  The reading should be pretty smooth on the Kindle (UK: K3), except that there are now hundreds of comments and the page takes awhile to load, so wait until the spinning activity-wheel at the top-left corner of the Kindle stops.

CAUTION - Don't click on the up/down arrows at the left of each Question/Answer unless you want to cast a vote, as those are VOTE UP or DOWN buttons that go with each question and answer -- similar to what's done with YouTube and other web-forum comment areas.  However, you can correct your vote in either direction.

It's definitely an interesting message thread.

My favorite so far (I have a lot more to go) is when a commenter asks why there is a separate Kindle Support number, and Grim Wreeper replies that those reps are more technically aware and receive separate training that lasts about 3 weeks -- and that it's 24/7/365 support and that right after Christmas:

"I got asked "why is the colour not working?" soooo many times."

(So now we know, Grim Wreeper has a British background!)

Go check it out while it's still there, because now that Len and I are calling attention to it, it might not last, but I hope it does.



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2 comments:

  1. Had one of the original Kindles that I lost on a trip. It never seemed to have a problem. Bought a new one that is a real pain. Everytime I need to download via the wireless connection I have to go through the entire reconnect to the internet drill. My wife switched all her reading to her IPad which seems to work flawlessly-no surprise there, Apple. Will be following her lead with a new MiniAir if this nonsense continues. Is it me or has Amazon created a lemon?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sometimes it's the router. I'd shut down the computers and tablets/phones that connect to WiFi and the router.
      Turn back on the router, then your Kindle and then the rest of the devices.

      Or, sometimes it's a matter of doing a Reset on your Kindle device: Press the power button and hold it down for about 21 seconds. Then let go. You don't say which Kindle you're having a problem with, but after a couple of minutes if it hasn't come back on, press the power button again to turn it on. It should slowly reset memory, clean things up and your problem might be solved.

      But sometiomes the router may be a problem. I had to buy a new one for mine to work a couple of years ago as it was fairly old.

      If none of that works, call Kindle Customer Service at 866-321-8851 and they should be able to help you with it.

      I've read reports on iPads currently and it is a fable that they all work flawlessly but all of these tablets tend to work well. Sometimes you get a bad one and then get it replaced...Same with the MiniAir. Google it. But buy the device that makes you happiest.

      Delete

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