Associated Incidents
Amazon's Alexa sure is one high-class shopper.
The retail giant's Alexa voice assistant aims to revolutionize the shopping experience, but recently delivered a big surprise to one six-year-old's parents.
Dallas, Tx. resident Megan Neitzel, recently received the Echo Dot as a holiday gift from her in-laws. However, Neitzel was surprised when she received a confirmation email for cookies and a dollhouse that had been ordered.
According to Neitzel, the device had not been hooked up for long, and while she overheard her kids telling Alexa Knock-Knock jokes, the cost of the items on the invoice was no laughing matter.
“It was a $170 Kidkraft dollhouse and 64 ounces, four pounds, of cookies,” she told Foxnews.com.
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Neitzel knew the only person who could have possibly placed such an order was her six-year-old daughter, Brooke. While Brooke denied ordering anything, she did confess that she had asked Alexa about cookies and a dollhouse. It turns out Alexa mistook the conversation for an order and selected the items itself.
Alexa is not without its SNAFUs when it comes to tiny tots. Just a few days ago, Alexa made headlines after it returned a child’s request for a favorite song with "crude porn."
Neitzel said they ultimately decided to use the incident as a teachable moment. They have thoroughly enjoyed the tin of cookies and they are looking for a local charity that will take the dollhouse. Neitzel also activated a parental control feature that requires four digits for all future purchases and has warned fellow parents to heed the lesson and set up security measures of their own.
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Given that this is their first experience with Alexa, Neitzel said they are a bit more cautious with what they say around it. “I [feel] like whispering in the kitchen,” she said. “I tell my kids Alexa is a very good listener.”