The Amazon Echo Mystery

Our extended family probably has elite status with Amazon Prime. We regularly take advantage of the convenience of online shopping and Christmas in particular is our busiest purchasing season. In fact, this past Christmas was, as they say, “one for the books.” Multiple parcels were arriving on our doorstep daily and the Amazon boxes were piling up, so much so that it was hard to keep track of what was ordered and what actually had arrived.

So it wasn’t a surprise then when one of the Grandchildren presented me with a small, unopened Amazon box and asked if they could open it. I didn’t recognize it as one that had recently arrived and when I looked closer, there was no address label, or any other identifying wording that would indicate that I had in fact ordered it. I shook it, looked it over again and decided to open it. Inside was an Amazon Echo. You know, the one that lets you tell Siri what to do.☺️

I plugged it in and a greeting with my name appeared on the screen. This was getting creepy. I hadn’t even ordered it and it knew my name! The Grandkids on the other hand, thought this was hilarious and spent a lot of time asking Siri silly questions and telling her to do stupid things. It was a real hit with the younger crowd!

But now we had a mystery on our hands and it became quite a topic of conversation. I certainly hadn’t ordered it and I began questioning other family members. I thought perhaps one of them had ordered it as a gift, but no one claimed responsibility. The mystery deepened, but there it stayed until Christmas was over.

What the Heck is Going On?

And then, my “spidey senses” were activated and I switched to detective mode. I was committed to solving this puzzle, and I naturally went about it in my usual organized, methodical manner.

I began by asking myself if perhaps I had indeed ordered it? I am particularly good at second guessing myself and perhaps I had accidentally purchased it? A quick search of my recent Amazon orders produced no results. Phew, that was reassuring. At least now, I could place the blame elsewhere.

My next tactic was to share my story with anyone and everyone who would listen. That produced a myriad of possibilities. There was a suggestion that it was a “bonus” offered by Amazon as a reward for purchasing so much over Christmas, or perhaps an anonymous Santa Claus had simply left it on our doorstep. Or perhaps a family member had actually ordered it and didn’t want to admit it. And finally perhaps an Amazon driver had simply delivered it to the wrong address. (Given that there was no address label on the box, that seemed unlikely.)

After the fact, my brother in law suggested that I should never have opened it in the first place, as it could have been a bomb. In his defense, he is a retired police officer.

How May I Help You?

Next I resorted to phoning Amazon Customer Service to explain the situation. I phoned three times and each time my description was met with initial silence and then the suggestion that someone had sent it as a gift. And each time I replied in the negative. Finally, the third agent picked up on the fact that the box had a SKU number and lo and behold, I was transferred to the delivery department. Right then and there, the mystery was solved! Can you guess the outcome?

Wait for it…. Turns out The Echo had been ordered back in April as part of a bigger security system package. (ordered by someone else I might add) This particular box had been separated from that package and somehow mixed in with the Christmas packages. So there was no anonymous Santa Claus, mixed up Amazon driver, bonus for buying so much or, thank goodness, no bomb! What had been a source of consternation and mystery had a very simple explanation after all. Isn’t that always the case?

And now one mystery became another. It was far too late to return the Echo, so I was confronted with a dilemma. Should I plug Siri in or should I assign her to the recycle bin? I decided to seek advice from verified genuine owners. Middle Sis has one and she really likes it, a friend has one and she never uses it because she thinks it is listening, and the Grandkids don’t own one but they think it’s great fun. I see all points of view, but I am in a real quandary and solution paralysis has seized me. So, for the time being, Siri sits in the unlabelled box awaiting my decision. Hmmm, the mystery continues.

We Will be doing a new post every Monday, so stay tuned for our next one entitled “You Deserve A Break Today.”