Amazon Deflects Data, Delivery Issues Before Crucial Black Friday Weekend

A glitch that led to Amazon exposing customer email addresses wasn’t a breach of its website or its systems, an Amazon spokesman emailed us Wednesday. “We have fixed the issue and informed customers who may have been impacted,” he said. A technical error caused the website to inadvertently disclose email addresses and names, he said, and Amazon emailed those customers Tuesday informing them of the issue, advising caution. The spokesman didn’t respond to our questions on the number of addresses affected or the cause of the error. Meanwhile, Amazon scrambled to recover from a Nov. 2 tornado that tore through an Amazon facility, interrupting deliveries in the Washington, D.C.-Baltimore area. The Washington Post reported last week Prime members were offered delivery dates well beyond the membership’s standard two-day pledge, even for items in stock. One Prime member tweeted he was offered a delivery date of Nov. 19 under the two-day free shipping program for an order placed on Nov. 12, but he could order the item for delivery on Nov. 14 for an $11.63 shipping fee. An Amazon spokesperson told us Wednesday it works “very hard to deliver on our fast, free Prime shipping promise” but natural disasters "are out of our control.” Amazon replaced the capacity it lost from the Baltimore facility shutdown and said this week the metro area was “back to matching the speed for the rest of the country.” The company opened an interim sorting plant and redistributed capacity to surrounding Amazon facilities, the spokesperson said.