I cancelled Amazon Prime in 2021, and even if I hit my $35 minimum, I still actively pay for shipping so the package arrives earlier. Every single time I go to check out, Amazon presents a splash screen asking me to join Prime, with the question “Why Pay for Shipping?”
I first purchased Amazon Prime 15 years ago, back when they had a fantastic reputation for customer-centric service. I retained my prime membership over the years even paying the increased rates, since guaranteed free two-day shipping was important to me, and if there was an issue, they would always make it right. Sometimes they would even give me a free week of Prime!
To Amazon’s credit, their track record was great. For almost a decade, I had no complaints and their customer service was stellar. While I couldn’t tell you why, I noticed drastic issues with them hitting their 2-day deliveries as we neared the 2020s.
I came across the perfect mug for Father’s Day; I ordered it as it would trump the current gift I had planned. The page very clearly said “guaranteed delivery date: Saturday by 9pm” – one day before Father’s Day that year.
Amazon Mug by Anthony Ianozi, on Flickr
Unfortunately, Amazon failed to deliver the package on time. A week later I ordered some Ethernet cables, and Amazon failed to deliver that package on time too. When opening a chat with Amazon on both occasions, they weren’t able to help me aside from a refund after the package eventually arrives.
By 2021 my goodwill had run out when a package with a “guaranteed delivery date” for 2 days arrived on day 3 and the Amazon representative simply said “Well it ended up arriving even if late, what do you want us to do about it?” Despite spending over $10,000 on Amazon that year, their customer service couldn’t make it right; they wouldn’t offer a refund, a discount, or anything. At this point, I cancelled prime.
For a while I was simply waiting until I had $35 of product to take advantage of the free shipping, but what happens when the package is delayed? It would happen often, and usually I had to wait several days to deal with the refunds. Since it was free shipping, they would have nothing to owe me if it arrives incredibly late, just like when I got free two-day shipping as a prime member! That’s when I decided to start paying for earlier arrivals, because now their “guaranteed arrival date” actually means something, and even when it’s one day late, they’ll refund my shipping.
I ordered a photo album yesterday, and despite qualifying for free shipping, I paid $12.84 for overnight shipping. This morning the order status page said “Arriving between 12-2pm”, but now it’s 3pm and the page simply says “Still arriving today”. I’m not worried though, why should I be? I’m not a prime member. I paid for shipping, and I know that if it doesn’t arrive by the end of the day, they’ll refund that $12.84.
So no, Amazon, I will not buy Prime. I will pay for shipping. I’ve come to realize that by not being a prime member, you can’t take advantage of me, you’re forced to make things right.
I was at work today and I came across a poster in one of the classrooms. It read “Monoplize Success!” (Read more)
My backyard got flooded again this morning. This is happening more and more often, so I decided to take some pictures.
There’s a terrible flooding situation in Rutherford, a small neighborhood in New Castle County, outside Newark, Delaware. Due to the Christiana Hospital (who insisted to the residents of this neighborhood that it wouldn’t affect us), the pipes for Rutherford are backed up and overloaded. (Read more)
Hi everyone, assuming there’s actually someone out there that reads this blog.
I thought I’d blog about something that’s been on my mind for awhile now, though it may not be on others: how does one create a desert? I’m not talking about a desert-themed terrarium or a panorama, I literally mean how would someone create a physical desert?
Let me explain. Back when I was growing up, my family lived in this nice little house that we rented. When we first moved there, the backyard had lush green grass, it was a really nice yard. By the time we moved, all of that grass was gone, nothing could grow, nothing would live. The dirt became more of a “dust” or “sand” texture; it didn’t hold water, it couldn’t hold life. What happened in this yard, on a small scale, is what’s called Desertification.
Desertification is primarily what has happened in the Midwest of the United States, and it is currently happening in Asia. It’s why the huge Sahara Desert used to be ocean, and why places in China that were lush green fields just 20 years ago are baron wastelands.
So my question is, how would I create a desert? It seems once the process of desertification starts, it “snowballs” into an unstoppable force, turning entire landscapes into a desert. On other words…..
How does this:
Become this:
Step 1: Overgraze
Probably the best way to kill fertile land, is to overgraze. With so many animals trampling the land and eating the vegetation, it isn’t hard to figure out why the land actually dies. I’m sure people that own large, outdoor dogs can probably agree with me, if their dog pen ended up becoming bare dirt.
Step 2: Dig
Back when we had that old yard growing up, I would dig things up there on a daily basis. I would try to dig my own “streams” try to excavate rocks. All of this constant digging seemed to make the land more “arid” and loose; eventually it became almost like a sand.
Step 3: Irrigate
It seems kinda odd that irrigating the land would actually contribute to killing it, but this seems to be the going consensus. I remember during the summer, I would tie a hose to the top of my sliding board set, and I’d dig streams going from the huge mud puddle in my yard, all the way through to the back in the woods.
Step 4: Overfarm.
Overfarming is also a major contribution to desertification. It’s true that the runoff from farming could hurt the dirt, but when plants grow, they are constantly sucking nutrients out of the earth. usually when the plant dies, the nutrients goes back into the dirt, but if the entire plant is harvested, those nutrients will never go back in.
Conclusion.
It’s simple, really. If you want to kill your land, simply trample the dirt, dig a lot, irrigate, and overfarm. It’s what happened in the Dust Bowl, it’s what’s happening in China. Now go out and create some deserts! :D