{"id":371,"date":"2008-03-03T01:01:07","date_gmt":"2008-03-03T01:01:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2008\/03\/okay-now-im-getting-bugged.html"},"modified":"2008-03-03T01:01:07","modified_gmt":"2008-03-03T01:01:07","slug":"okay-now-im-getting-bugged","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2008\/03\/okay-now-im-getting-bugged.html","title":{"rendered":"Okay, Now I\u2019m Getting Bugged . . . [Strange Book Bedfellows, Part 3]"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last Thursday I blogged on a email promotion from Amazon.com to folks who had bought my books. Amazon was urging my readers to buy a book by Don Williams on sexual threesomes. No joke! I wasn’t scandalized by this, but was a bit bugged and a bit amused. It was a bit ironic. I wrote to Amazon.com to let them know about their mistake, and received an email response in which they admitted their error and promised to fix it. At a minimum, this would mean no more perverse promotions sent to my readers. At a maximum, if Amazon.com were a smart company, they’d also send out the apology I had asked be sent to my readers.
\nAmazon.com’s response was sent to me on Thursday, 2\/28\/2008. Since that time they have continued to send out the same email promotion. I can only conclude that their initial response to me was just smoke and mirrors. So now I’m betting bugged, because the issue is no longer an imprecise algorithm that confuses authors named “Don Williams,” but Amazon.com’s failure to tell me the truth or to do as they promised.
\nSo, on Saturday (3\/1\/2008) I sent another note of complain. This one includes some shouting (caps) to get their attention. I must say that as someone who has spent thousands of dollars at Amazon.com, and as an author who has six books for sale through this site, I’m disappointed in Amazon’s response. I expected better from them. Sure, their huge and I’m not even a tiny drop in their bucket, but, in these days, customer service is everything.
\nHere is my latest note of complaint, in case you’re interested:
\nFrom Mark D. Roberts to Amazon.com, 3\/1\/2008
\n——————————————————————–<\/strong>
\nYour email dated 2\/28\/2008 from Gobi N. HAS NOT RESOLVED MY QUESTION. Let me explain.
\nLast Wednesday (2\/27\/2008) I sent you the following message:<\/p>\n

Mark D. Roberts here. Several of my books sell through Amazon. I’m getting many emails today from readers of my books. They’re responding to an email sent from you. It reads:
\nDear Amazon.com Customer,
\nWe’ve noticed that customers who have purchased or rated books by Mark D. Roberts have also purchased The Guys Guide to Having a Threesome by Don Williams. For this reason, you might like to know that The Guys Guide to Having a Threesome will be released on March 12, 2008. You can pre-order yours by following the link below.
\nThe Guys Guide to Having a Threesome
\nDon Williams
\nPrice: $24.95
\nRelease Date: March 12, 2008
\nProduct Description
\nIs your fantasy having two girls at once? If so this is the book you need to read. In this book the author discusses many of the issues involved including: Who is having threesomes and why Talking to your partner The pros and cons of having one Positions and techniques (including Photographs). Where to Find a Third This is the best book on the market on the subject of threesomes<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is a major mistake. I write evangelical Christian books. So does a Christian pastor named Don Williams. His books sell on Amazon. But he is not the Don Williams who wrote the book on on “having a threesome.” I expect your computer algorithm generated this promotion, but it needs to be corrected PDQ. Moreover, I would ask you to send a letter of apology to my readers. Your email suggests that many of them would be interested in a book they consider to be immoral and inappropriate.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The next day (Thursday, 2\/28\/2008) I received the following reply:<\/p>\n

Thanks for writing to Amazon.com to bring this to our attention.
\nWe build our web site information from many sources, and we really appreciate knowing about any errors which find their way into it.
\nI’ll see that this error is corrected as soon as possible.
\nFor future reference, at the bottom of the product detail page of every item on our web site, you should see a blue Feedback or Suggestion Box where you can report any inaccuracies in that item’s listing on our site.
\nThanks again for shopping at Amazon.com.
\nPlease let us know if this e-mail resolved your question . . . .
\nBest regards,
\nGopi N.
\nAmazon.com Customer Service<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"mark-pirate\"The error has not been corrected. I continue to receive emails from readers of my books informing me that they are getting the offensive email promotion. I just received an email from a man who sent me a copy of your email promotion dated March 1, 2008. So you are still sending the offending promtion to buyers of my books, three days after you promised to fix the error. [Photo: Maybe I’d get more respect from Amazon.com if they realized that I’m a pirate in my spare time.]
\nTHE ERROR HAS NOT BEEN CORRECTED. YOU ARE IMPUGNING THE INTEGRITY OF MY READERS, NOT TO MENTION A FINE MAN WHO HAPPENS TO BE NAMED DON WILLIAMS, AND, IMPLICITLY, ME. THIS NEEDS TO STOP, AND AN APPROPRIATE APOLOGY NEEDS TO BE SENT.
\nBy the way, I am chronicling this whole scenario on my website. Amazon.com is looking pretty bad right now. Just one more giant corporation that doesn’t give a rip about its customers. My 4,000 daily readers won’t make a big dent in your income, but your integrity — in making this mistake, then in promising to fix it, then in not fixing it — looks pretty bad right now.
\nBut you still have chance to redeem yourself. PLEASE STOP SENDING THE OFFENSIVE PROMOTION. AND PLEASE SEND AN APOLOGY TO MY READERS WHO RECEIVED THE PROMOTION.
\nSincerely,
\nMark D. Roberts
\n——————————————————————–<\/strong>
\nConcluding Comments<\/strong>
\nAs I’ve noted before, I’m not losing any sleep over this. But an ironic mistake is one thing. Misrepresentation by a company I trust in another thing. I hate being lied to. Oh well, it will be interesting to see if Amazon.com does anything else with this problem.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last Thursday I blogged on a email promotion from Amazon.com to folks who had bought my books. Amazon was urging my readers to buy a book by Don Williams on sexual threesomes. No joke! I wasn’t scandalized by this, but was a bit bugged and a bit amused. It was a bit ironic. I wrote…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-strange-book-bedfellows"],"yoast_head":"\nOkay, Now I\u2019m Getting Bugged . . . [Strange Book Bedfellows, Part 3] - Mark D. 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[Strange Book Bedfellows, Part 3]"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/","name":"Mark D. Roberts","description":"Mark D. Roberts: Thoughtfully Christian Reflections on Jesus, the Church, and the World","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/1ff094a57b7e41f534434b1723df3d73","name":"Mark D. Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=371"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}