Amazon received a lot of flack when they reached into their customers’ Kindles and, without any real warning or prior notification, deleted copies of George Orwell books. The reasons for the deletion weren’t entirely Amazon’s fault, but it provoked nothing but outrage nonetheless.
Although Amazon issued a sort of PR apology/promise, it was hardly enough to satisfy all of Amazon’s angry customers. Now, CEO Jeff Bezos is trying to make amends by issuing a full out apology on the Kindle forums. The full text of his apology is as follows:
This is an apology for the way we previously handled illegally sold copies of 1984 and other novels on Kindle. Our “solution” to the problem was stupid, thoughtless, and painfully out of line with our principles. It is wholly self-inflicted, and we deserve the criticism we’ve received. We will use the scar tissue from this painful mistake to help make better decisions going forward, ones that match our mission.
With deep apology to our customers,
Jeff Bezos
Founder & CEO
Amazon.com
This is actually a really smart move by Amazon and, judging by user comments on Bezos’ thread, is receiving a positive reaction. I’m glad Bezos is saying that he sees what people don’t like and Amazon won’t do it. Period. No PR speak or dancing around the subject.
As a side note, the post made me notice Bezos’ Amazon profile, and it was kind of fun seeing his reviews and what books he wanted to buy. He gives good reviews to milk and cookies products, but only 1 star to The 13th Warrior. I guess even Bezos doesn’t endorse everything Amazon sells.