One unfortunate Amazon customer just learned the hard way that this is one confusing Turing test. Poof, goes their account without any notice or warning, cutting off access to their purchases and services. The account closure incident again begs the question of the global nature of Amazon’s account system, and therefore the global impact of sudden account closures.
The user’s Amazon account, established in 2007, had built up a rich trove of digital media. This ranged from 30-40 Kindle ebooks, music and films, and about £30 in Amazon.co.uk credit. The user actively used his account to login to various services. Just as cool, they loved the convenience of controlling their smart home devices with easy voice commands through Alexa. The convenience of being able to control her lights with just a voice command was an obvious benefit for the user.
Amazon’s account-based, centralized technology infrastructure operates on a global scale. When a user closes their account on one marketplace, it results in the closure of their account across all regions. This poses real dangers to the average users who can’t appreciate the consequences of such behavior. This time, the user was not only unable to access their digital library, but services tied to it.
In reaction to the terrible experience, Amazon was quick to support that unfortunate user. To compensate for the pain this disappearance caused, the company mailed the woman a £100 gift card to WKD. Furthermore, they added an additional £25 to make up for the lost credit tied to the user’s previous account. This gesture proved only to be the tip of the iceberg.
Even with such efforts, when a big enough migration storm hit, the user community was understandably frustrated at losing the order history and downloads they valued. They spent an incredible amount of time and money developing their digital collection. To have their account disappear without warning was devastating.
Users should be aware that there’s no complete escape if they close their Amazon account and stop using it entirely. It’s necessary to know how this decision will affect you, as a whole, on the platform. Amazon’s global account system extends much further. Now more than ever, users need to be mindful of the long-game when they make decisions that would cause them to lose access to their valuable content and services.