Call centre for customers is something everyone has. Trust Amazon to come up with something different. According to a report on TOI, Amazon India has set up a call centre exclusively for merchants. Reportedly, Amazon has around 100 agents on board to handle issues and hassles faced by sellers, a number that is expected to increase as the number of sellers on board increases.
“The idea is to create an interface that merchants may be more comfortable using. So far, the interactions with merchants have been through online portals and emails. This call centre will give them a person to talk to, to discuss issues related to refunds to customers, rebates and logistic issues,” a person privy to the development said.
A lot of launches and introductions that the global ecommerce giant makes in India is based on success of those in its other areas of operations. But this call centre for sellers is the first of its kind in Amazon’s history of operations. It’s probably because of the heated ecommerce war in India and the absence of one particular marketplace as the dominant player.
Amazon operates on the marketplace model in India and the success of any marketplace depends on the number and variety of products it can offer. This will come through multiple and varied sellers on the platform.
In our article yesterday, we talked about some problems faced by sellers on the platform. From stringent policies on product returns to product storage and shipping, to withholding information on payment for weeks, and more, a sense of unrest and dissatisfaction was getting evident about the merchants selling on the global ecommerce giant’s platform.
Being a marketplace where third-party sellers sell, having a diverse range of products is key to widen customer base. As such, it is important to strike a balance between sellers and customers.
So at a point when it might be time for Amazon to pay more attention to merchants on its platform, could the call centre prove to be a blessing for them? It will be interesting to see how much of the seller woes are taken into consideration and sorted.
After dwindling with her family business, into travel and hospitality, for more than 3 years, Pooja Vishant found her true love in writing. Happy-go-lucky and cheerful, she loves pink; so pink is the way to go if you want to get into her good books. The Associate Editor keeps track of even a leaf that has moved in the ecommerce world!
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