Procrastinator’s Purgatory – Last Minute Online Shopping

Dec 23, 2008 by Suzy Ogé    2 Comments    Posted under: Customer Delight, Just for fun

Somewhere between heaven and hell, I love Amazon, I hate Amazon.  It’s nearly  midnight on Dec. 22rd and I’m toggling between several screens with several online shopping carts in various stages of being fully loaded.  Out of stock items, unexpected hidden charges and late estimated delivery times keep me hopping around and drive me crazy!

I have been known to do last minute shopping and love the buzz of shopping on Christmas Eve, so I need hard and fast consequences to save me from myself and my procrastinating ways.  In past years, the Atlantic Ocean standing between me and the intended recipients of my holiday gifts was enough to force me to plan ahead.  This year has been different.  While the daily news has been filled with perpetual economic gloom, my inbox has been filled with extraordinary offers from desperate retailers.  Sensing that the deadlines for fast free shipping would be  pushed to the absolute limit, I waited to see how far they would go.

Barnes and Noble was the absolute winner with free overnight shipping available through midnight on the 22rd (a procrastinator’s dream!).  Unfortunately, they were no exception to the frustrating fine print of their offer with minimum purchase requirements and random exclusions.

Now that the major online retailers offer one stop shopping with items from books to electronics, toys and jewelry, online shopping has an irresistible appeal.  Most of the annoyances I encounter have much to do with ordering items from one country for delivery in another, paid with a credit card based in a third.  As I write this, I can see why my transactions set off global fraud alerts!

Next year, it could be fun to do my remote Christmas shopping the old-fashioned way.  I’m thinking of  hiring a virtual assistant to rush around from store to store searching for items with a webcam.  Making real time desicions via video link, would be the ultimate Personal Shopper experience!   I better rethink this plan, it could require advance planning and therefore never happen.  Maybe Amazon and the others will offer this service to generate more revenue in final 24 hours of the holiday shopping season?

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