 Re: Amazon Marking Cases as Answered
Hey munkron,
I file a tremendous amount of cases daily, and I certainly know what you are talking about. It is complete nonsense, though, and I am going to tell you how to ensure that Amazon closing a case on you does not mean defeat at all. First off, please allow me to share with you how their queue system works and level of "severity" Amazon places on the cases you create. In your case log, you can download all of the cases that are displayed on the current page that you are on. I always prefer to have the maximum amount of cases, 50, because I simply don't like wasting time. When you have 50 cases up in your case log, scroll all the way to the bottom. On the bottom right, there is a button that says "Export report." Go ahead and export those cases. When you do so, a .xlsx file is generated which you can now view in Excel or Google Sheets. One hidden feature that this report contains that is not visible anywhere else, though, is a column named "Case Status Severity."
This column is very interesting. I would say the average case has a value of 4. If a case has a value of 5, it is getting answered as soon as possible, and you can essentially go tit for tat with Seller Support or whatever dysfunctional team is handling your case. Anything 6 and above gets transferred out immediately. These are fun facts and all, but why am I telling you this?
After you download your report, you will find the levels of severity will drop as low as a 2. For those cases, the SOP that Amazon has in place is pretty much "spin the wheel of fortune and whatever it lands on just do it." Nobody cares about these cases. An associate has the ability just to close it or do whatever they so choose the case. Of course with Amazon holding them accountable for every second that they are clocked in,
you are almost always going to have your case closed because that is the fastest way to remedy your issue "successfully."
The key here is to raise the level of severity of your cases so that no joker can get their hands on your case and just shut it. There are two ways to do this. Assuming you are utilizing live chat or email:
1. Use certain trigger words in your case that you submit and write more than just one sentence. The trigger words are self-explanatory -- emergency, manager, team lead, escalation, etc. Part of how Amazon judges how important a case is to them is by the character count. It is certainly not the only metric, but what a simple way to get your cases severity level up.
2. Amazon's algorithm for customer service is very complex on certain levels, and they utilize a tool called Paragon as an "air traffic control" system. However, regarding case logs and ensuring your case doesn't get closed, it is very simple. If you open a case and every 24 hours ask for an update or a person who is capable of sufficiently assisting you three times, your case will then be escalated to tier 2 customer support. These are the people who know what is going on and can assist you.
**Just real quick on a sidenote: If somebody from Seller Support does end up closing one of your cases, open up a new case and make the subject line: "In regards to Case I.D. #: xxxxxxx841" & then just continue with what you want to say. Once you receive a response, Amazon will merge the two cases.
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