• News
    • Tech News
    • AI
  • Gadgets
    • Apple
    • iPhone
  • Gaming
    • Playstation
    • Xbox
  • Science
    • News
    • Space
  • Streaming
    • Netflix
  • Vehicles
    • Car News
  • Social Media
    • WhatsApp
    • YouTube
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
TikTok
Snapchat
WhatsApp
Submit Your Content
Jeff Bezos called Amazon customer service in the middle of a meeting and it was 'uncomfortable'

Home> News

Updated 15:56 5 Dec 2024 GMTPublished 15:30 5 Dec 2024 GMT

Jeff Bezos called Amazon customer service in the middle of a meeting and it was 'uncomfortable'

He was trying to prove a point

Rebekah Jordan

Rebekah Jordan

Jeff Bezos once put Amazon's customer service to the test to make sure things were running as they should.

In the early days of Amazon, way before it became the e-commerce giant we know today, there was a hitch on the customer service front.

On the Lex Fridman Podcast, Bezos shared the story of how he personally called Amazon’s support line during a weekly business review.

The issue was that the data didn't match the customer feedback.

Advert

"I have a saying which is: when the data and the anecdotes disagree, the anecdotes are usually right," the 60-year-old explained.

Eugene Gologursky/Stringer / Getty
Eugene Gologursky/Stringer / Getty

At the time, metrics showed customers were waiting less than 60 seconds to reach support, but complaints about long wait times suggested otherwise.

Bezos assured that it wasn't a matter of 'miscollected data' but that the company wasn't 'measuring the right thing.'

Advert

The tech mogul previously coined the phrase: “Start with the customer and work backwards" so his way of doing things certainly isn't out of character.

Taking matters into his own hands, the billionaire approached the head of Amazon's customer service and said, "Let’s call."

He recalled: "I picked up the phone and I dialled the 1800 number and called customer service.

"And we just waited in silence."

Advert

The boss of the company soon found out that he was right. The wait time for customer service turned out to be 'way longer' than expected: "More than 10 minutes I think."

That painfully long wait made it clear something wasn’t adding up with the data collection.

Nathan Stirk/Contributor / Getty
Nathan Stirk/Contributor / Getty

Bezos called this a lesson in 'truth-telling.' And while this approach is uncomfortable for many, Bezos regards it as a powerful way to prove a point and get people on board.

Advert

Responses to the YouTube clip agreed with Bezos, saying that Amazon isn't the same now.

"Amazon’s service has gone WAYYYYYYY down since Bezos stepped aside. I used to buy nearly 95% from Amazon and that has gone down to probably less than 50%. They are not who they used to be," one viewer commented.

"Imagine sitting in the boardroom waiting in silence for 10min for customer service to pick up after you just told Jeff the data shows it is only 60 seconds and everything is fine lol," another user described.

Noticing how times have changed for the worse, one other viewer added: "Kind of ironic that, these days, they make it very difficult to interact with a real person."

Advert

Another user joked: "Imagine working in the call centre and Jeff rings you himself hahaha".

Featured Image Credit: Eugene Gologursky/Stringer / Nathan Stirk/Contributor / Getty
Amazon
Jeff Bezos
E-commerce

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

7 hours ago
8 hours ago
  • 7 hours ago

    Disturbing simulation shows how much microplastic we consume every week and the result is terrifying

    Paper straws suddenly don't seem so bad

    Science
  • 7 hours ago

    'Coldplaygate' CEO Andy Byron targeted by namesake in viral LinkedIn post as he deletes account

    A man with the same name weighed in on the drama that unfolded at a Coldplay concert

    News
  • 7 hours ago

    How Andy Byron's $1,300,000,000 company could be affected after Coldplay 'catch him with another woman'

    The ultimate being caught in 4K

    News
  • 8 hours ago

    Astronomer CEO Andy Byron's company share truth behind viral statement after Coldplay 'catch him with another woman'

    The firm has now hit back after a clip of its CEO and CFO looking cozy during a Coldplay concert went viral

    News
  • Amazon CEO reveals 'embarrassing' moment Jeff Bezos called him out in a huge meeting
  • Jeff Bezos' ex-wife MacKenzie Scott explains why she keeps giving her money away
  • Jeff Bezos' neighbors all have the same complaint about the billionaire
  • Jeff Bezos' ex-wife sells off $8,000,000,000 in Amazon shares to fund something very important