Two chances, two fails

UPDATE: the first fountain I received was a lemon. After over a month of trying to get Amazon and/or the company to respond, the company finally responded and send a replacement pump. This one crapped out in 36 hours. Amazon is so big now that they don't know when they're selling knock offs and lemons. The ratio of good products to lemons is shifting in favor of lemons. Old review: This is a great product when it works, BUT: We purchased this item a little over one month ago. We set it up and began using it about three days after it arrived. Within the month of purchasing it, it has broken in different ways six times. The first 5, my husband was able to repair it himself. However, the sixth time, the necessary repairs are beyond the scope of our ability. So I checked on Amazon how we could exchange it for a model that WORKS. Sadly, we missed the window for which Amazon is willing to replace the defective product by about 10 days. This is extremely frustrating -- almost as if it's built only to last during the warranty period, after which it irreparably breaks and there is no possibility of exchanging it for a model that works. We invested plenty of our own time and energy repairing it ourselves, so we believe we have been plenty generous in terms of holding up our end of the bargain. Now it is entirely useless and we can't return or exchange it. To put it another way: THIS PRODUCT IS A RIP-OFF. THE BUYER PAYS FOR A LEMON, AND IN RETURN, AMAZON SAYS "TOO BAD, NOT OUR PROBLEM" WHEN THE PRODUCT FAILS. THE BUYER IS OUT $$$ BUT AMAZON DOESN'T TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR SELLING A DEFECTIVE PRODUCT. THIS IS THE 2ND TIME AMAZON HAS RIPPED US OFF (THE OTHER WAS A PAIR OF WIRELESS EARBUDS PURCHASED DURING THE AMAZON PRIME DAYS AT THE BEGINNING OF AUGUST THAT NEVER WORKED AT ALL -- AND NOT JUST US -- BUT SO MANY COMPLAINTS THAT AMAZON ACTUALLY SHUT DOWN THE REVIEW SECTION MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE TO WARN OTHER BUYERS OF THE SCAM) We have been good customers of Amazon from the beginning. However, the customer service is getting worse and worse every day. Now that Amazon and Bezos have more money than several small countries, not to mention the VAST number of consumers who have placed our trust in Amazon, purchased probably THOUSANDS of their products, and contributed greatly to the company's wealth (which, according to their hardworking employees, does NOT trickle down by investing in the employees who actually do the hard work). Compare this to a friend of mine who bought a Fitbit many months ago and decided she didn't like the design and Amazon didn't make her jump through hoops or pay shipping/return charges, they simply sent her a brand new one in a style she liked. That Fitbit cost about 5x more than the two products I've tried to return, but our customer service experiences are vastly different. Part of Amazon's game is to make returning a defective product such a hassle that the customer ultimately gives up and buys a new product, eating the financial loss. AMAZON. DOES. NOT. CARE. ABOUT. CUSTOMER. SERVICE. ANY. MORE. So what am I paying the "Prime" membership for? Being a Prime customer is getting more expensive, yet the "services" covered under #Prime are eroding to the point that there's virtually no benefit to being a Prime customer. Yes, I've talked more about Amazon's business practices than the lemon product I should be reviewing here. But how can I review a product that has spent more time not working than working? And if Amazon doesn't have my back when I'm spending tons of money on this site? Who has MY back? Amazon, I'd love a response.

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