Barnes and Noble Consumer Reviews - Page 2

First order completed, confirmed to me, but I found no record 3 days later when I checked on the status of my order. (approx 400US$ order) I was an unhappy customer as time was lost and I needed the books. They were to be used during an extended trip. Second - reorder completed, confirmed to me, again no record when I then checked on the status of the reorder. (Approx 400US$ order)

After checking with customer service, who had no records of the orders, leaving both sides perplexed: first and second orders were cancelled. I got confirmation of cancellations. Customer service was notified by me of all numbers involved in order and cancellations. They had no other records from their system?? Guess I found the bug in the system.

I was an irate customer when over an 11 days later, B&N later confirmed that both orders were found and were to be shipped to me. (I was traveling at the time.) After more emails with B&N, orders were stopped. A more senior service representative confirmed all was cancelled and that any and all charges were to be credited on my credit card - one or two charge cycles at most.

Then an email arrived, "we note problems, and cancellations with your orders, but one book was shipped just return in 15 days" blah blah blah. I went ballistic. Feckless service person who had not read the chain of mails, sent in response to that email, provided a bland just send it back and we will credit you email. I went ballistic again. And little mr feckless has not responded to any follow up.

(These emails occurred during even more exciting than planned travel due to Irene, can't fly anywhere but emails arrived.) Today the credit card bill came and it is reported that the credit is there. So, I will purchase from B&N again. My time constraint was part of the problem, traveling was an issue, and non-US banking/credit card systems that do not challenge problem billing was another issue. B&N resolved the issue in one month.

Moral of the story - check on your orders, contact customer service at first sign of a problem, and do not waste time with staff that do not know the issues - dog them until you work with someone who has the ability to resolve the issues.

A once great company for books, cd's and DVD's and noted for its exemplary shipping is now at the bottom when it comes to customer fulfillment. As a loyal customer, I've spent over $1,285.00 in the past 18 months. And now, once I get the long-awaited remaining order it will be the final one. I plan to never visit your website again.

Here is a reason (but not the only one) why: 12-06-10: placed an order with 10 items that ALL “Usually ship within 24 hours”. 12-12-10: Left warehouse (120+ business hours since order was placed). 12-12-10: Arrived at 3rd party intermediary vendor (ARGIX Direct) location. 12-14-10: ARGIX Direct logs that they delivered the package to the USPS in Philadelphia, PA. 12-14-10: USPS in Philadelphia, PA log that they received an electronic notification to expect my package for mailing. 12-20-10: USPS has not logged that they have received my package. 12-20-10: It's now 11 business days since I placed my order and I still do not have my package.

I don't see this as a ARGIX Direct problem, nor do I see this as a USPS problem. I see this as a Barnes And Noble problem. I did contact a B&N customer service representative. She told me that I could expect my package today. When I told her that USPS has not logged receipt of my package she said that they sometimes don't update their system. It was either wishful thinking on her part or I was getting a blow-off. Which do you think it was? However, I did contact USPS and their automated response said that my package has not been received.

In closing, would you buy from an online vendor that provided this level of service? On a final note: do you have children? The package that I'm expecting from you contains the major part of my son's Christmas presents. Please imagine how you would feel.

FLAGSTAFF, ARIZONA -- First off, I would like to say that I have used your company in the past for my textbooks and I have always been very pleased with the quality of the merchandise and the perks that I received with my purchases. This time however, I feel like you have let me down a little.

I placed an order online on 01/07/2008 at approx.1900 hours for over $300 in books that I desperately need for my graduate classes that begin on Monday. I wanted to order earlier, but because my college, Northern Arizona University, held onto my student loan and scholarship money until that day, I was stuck. I elected for the expedited shipping so I would have my books by Monday at the latest, since the online store stated that they would ship within 24 hours I went with your company over several others.

When I got home from work today, I checked my email looking for my tracking information, and there was nothing. I called to find out why there wasn't any information, and I was told by one of your very polite and helpful clerks, that one of my books was backordered and since all my books were shipping at the same time, my entire order was held until this Friday.

I asked if I could cancel and just bite the bullet and buy my books at the campus bookstore, but your clerk told me that I couldn't cancel and get a refund until I got the books and then returned them. This really puts me in a bind because I am a very obsessive and dedicated student, and I wanted to have my books so that I could get a head start on my class work. Please, in the future, when dealing with textbooks, please idiot-proof your site and warn those of us tunnel-visioned students that our books might be delayed in shipping. I appreciate your clerks efforts, and she seemed genuinely sympathetic, and that was appreciated.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK -- I was given the Nook for Christmas with a $25.00 B&N gift card. When I tried to purchase Nook books with my gift card, it was declined. B&N states you must have a credit card on file in order to download a Nook book using my B&N gift card. I find this to be misleading and misrepresenting the Nook. Many people don't have credit cards nor do I want one. The crazy thing is that it's their own gift card and one should be able to buy anything at B&N whether online or in the store.

Barnes and Noble have a big problem if they can't handle their own gift card with their customers regarding purchasing the nook books. If they don't change this requirement then I don't think they're going to have a long future with the nook especially in competing with the Kindle.

GLASTONBURY, CONNECTICUT -- A year ago last Christmas, (12-25-11), I received a "NOOK Color" as a gift. Two weeks ago, the speaker stopped working. I called their tech support line and was told that, since it was no longer under warranty, that they could not repair the unit. They said that if it had still been under warranty, they would have sent me a "Refurbished" unit and I would have to send back my broken one. I asked why they couldn't just fix mine and bill me for parts (a speaker) and labor. (about 15 min. worth).

It's amazing how these companies, either accidentally or purposefully, confuse the words "can't" and "won't". I used to be an electronics "bench tech", repairing caller I. D. boxes and we did both warranty work and direct customer repair work. The fact that they REFUSE to repair one of their products says a lot about Barnes and Noble.

They think that this is the best way to get me to cough up over $300 for one of their new "NOOK H. D." units. (The NOOK color is no longer available.) Also, In the NOOK H. D, the 8g memory card, the kind that fits into many cameras and costs only $40 has been replaced with an 8g, (same amount of memory), disc that costs $90.

BRIGHTON, MICHIGAN -- I have been sick for two days now after picking up a book at the store, opening it up to find the pages seemed a bit bent. Closed it and began having asthma problems... clear sign of mold on the book. The clerk, when I reported it, said "What do you want ME to do about it?" I would think she would have informed a manager but no, she said well you never know where these books come from. I'd like to know. And I think anyone else who is allergic to mold and may venture into that store and pick up that book would also like to know.

Recently I purchased an HP Touchpad from Barnes and Nobel. I received confirmation that the sale had gone through and that I was billed on my Visa Account. The HP was listed at a good price and since I received confirmation of the product, I did not think I had to place other orders and other stores. 2 days later after the product was sold out on other websites, I received a letter from B&N saying that because of the demand, they could not place my order, which in my view was a done deal. This shows a real problem with their billing department and computer department. Buyer beware if dealing with Barnes and Noble.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK -- I purchased my order on a Sunday morning. I had an emergency, so I wanted to cancel my order after midnight. They ignored me till Monday evening, saying my order couldn't be cancelled because it was already shipped Sunday. There are no deliveries Sundays. I still had the option to cancel it. They even sent me a review of my order saying I could cancel. My bank disputed it.

I also contacted the Better Business Bureau, the federal trade center, and the internet crime complaint center (ic3.) The bank did give me my money back. Better business bureau did investigate. Barnes and Noble never did send me my 2 books. I wanted to take these people to court. This isn't a respectable website like a lot of people think it is. Thank you.

HOMESTEAD, PENNSYLVANIA -- This afternoon my wife and I are making yet another trip down to our local Barnes and Noble. We like their selection, service and environment. It's a quiet store with comfortable seats so I can start reading my selections while my wife (who takes a bit longer in picking her books than I do) browses. After we've checked out, which is an easy process since our store keeps an eye on the register to make sure the line doesn't get too long, we grab a seat in the in store Starbucks and take a few minutes to enjoy some coffee and share a pastry. It has the feel of a good old fashioned bookstore and it makes for a very relaxing afternoon.

I ordered an eGift Card from B & N as a gift for a friend, who recently purchased a Nook. It never arrived and I've re-checked the e-mail addresses and can't find a reason for that. I have e-mailed them to ask to have this resolved to no avail. I called once and was told the representative couldn't do anything about it, could not take a phone number for a call back and could not transfer me to a supervisor. Though she was polite, I've never been in a customer service situation where the representative was so unempowered to do anything to help.

Called another day to be given the transfer-and-hold runaround until I gave up. Complained to the Better Business Bureau and have been ignored. It's been two months now. They literally scammed me out of $50, like some spammer! I would stay away from this company and would strongly recommend you get a different e-reader, so you're not beholden to such a useless company. Unless of course, you like paying for headaches!