United States: deprived of his connected home for a week because of unfounded accusations of racism by an Amazon delivery man. He had however immediately provided video evidence of his innocence (Update: MBC chronicle)

06/17/2023

06/16/2023

In a world where technology is an integral part of our daily lives, a man recently came across an incident that shows why relying on technology can be complicated. Due to a misunderstanding with an Amazon delivery person, the owner found himself without his connected home for a week.

The unwanted disruption happened when a package was delivered to Brandon Jackson’s home by an Amazon driver. Everything seemed to be going well until Jackson could no longer access his Amazon Echo devices the next day, indicating that his account had been locked.

In a post shared by Jackson on Medium, he first thought that someone may have tried to log into his account multiple times, which would have triggered the security lockout mechanism preventing him from interacting with it. its devices.

In an attempt to resolve the issue, Jackson contacted Amazon customer service and an executive asked if he knew why his account was locked.

“When I replied that I wasn’t sure why, their tone became somewhat accusatory. I was told that the driver who delivered my package said he had received racist remarks from my ‘doorbell’.

Mr Jackson, who says his home is equipped with multiple cameras recording everything that happens on his property, reviewed the footage and found no evidence that such remarks were made. According to him, the driver, who was wearing headphones, must have misheard what the doorbell was saying, because the only sound it emitted was the automatic response: “Excuse me, can I help you?”

To add to his bewilderment, he had discovered while viewing the footage that there was no one home at the time of the incident, meaning the delivery man had seriously misinterpreted the situation. However, despite clarifying the situation with Amazon, Mr. Jackson’s account remained locked for an entire week.

Amazon wouldn’t have taken a more reasonable approach, such as sending a warning email or contacting the owner before depriving them of their own smart home. Following the bad experience, Mr. Jackson said he was “seriously considering discontinuing” his Amazon Echo devices.

IGN Southeast Asia

Amazon spokeswoman Simone Griffin told Newsweek, “We strive to provide our customers with an enjoyable experience while ensuring drivers who deliver Amazon packages feel safe.”

“In the present case, our survey informed us that the customer did not act inappropriately, and we are working directly with them to resolve their issues while looking for ways to prevent a similar situation from happening again.”

Newsweek