When Amazon introduced its Mayday service, it offered an unprecedented level of customer interaction. It also opened up a platform rife for abuse, leading to some rather unusual—but not unexpected—activity. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos this week revealed that customer support staff have run into quite a few odd requests, including marriage proposals, help ordering pizza and plenty of users breaking out in song.
The “Mayday” feature on Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet summons a live feed of a customer support person right there on the slate. And apparently it’s inspired a bit of, well, unusual activity. Mayday technicians have found themselves in some humorous predicaments since the feature’s appearance last September, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said in a letter to shareholders Thursday. Among them: marriage proposals, and requests to speak with “Amy,” the tech advisor played by an actress in Mayday TV ads. Mayday uses one-sided videoconferencing (and two-way audio) to help Kindle Fire users troubleshoot problems. Amazon’s unveiling of Mayday with its latest Kindle Fire tablet created a lot of buzz as a unique approach to customer service. The Mayday technicians can take over users’ screens to help them navigate their tablets, or help with any number of tasks, including how to order a pizza online, according to Bezos’ letter.
