On Friday I posted how bizarre my experience was with Amazon and how Jeff Bezos didn’t personally call me.
I became a new online customer.
Ordered a music device.
Paid.
And within seconds: cancellation.
Reason?
I might be manipulating their systems. My money? I’ll get it back in seven days.
The callback function didn’t work.
The phone number was out of service.
In chat they were friendly, but it stayed at: “It’s an error, you can place the order again.”
So I did.
In the end, I paid €600 three times.
Three times.
And I’ll only get it back after seven days.
Bizarre.
The post (unsurprisingly) went quite viral. Negativity always performs well.
But then something beautiful happened.
A man in the comments suggested: “Try ordering at HiFi Klubben A/S.”
What a golden tip.
I saw they also have a store in Almere. I called.
Got someone on the phone immediately.
Was helped properly.
Placed my order by phone.
And the next morning, the device was ready for pickup.
No algorithm.
No blockage.
No seven-day wait.
Even better: I received detailed advice about installation and additional equipment. The sales experience was simply… good. Genuine. Knowledgeable. Without pushing.
And maybe the best part:
Walking around in a nostalgic store again.
The smell of new equipment.
Beautiful tech.
Browsing around.
For a moment, I was 14 again. My first disco lights. My first CD player. That Free Record Shop feeling.
No online checkout can compete with that.
Ironically, we make our money with online, AI and digital strategy. But this experience reminded me of something fundamental:
We are still human.
Real contact still beats perfect technology.
Hopefully this positive experience goes just as “viral” as the negative one last week. Because businesses like this deserve it.
Give a 👍🏻 for HiFi!
