Never order from Barnes And Noble online... in fact, never shop Barnes and Noble.
After receiving a Barnes & Noble gift card for my birthday in September 2014, I ordered two items -- a CD and the accompanying vinyl record release โ plugging in the gift card number, and taking advantage of free shipping.
Both items were delayed until January, for reasons unrelated to B&N. In an email, I was asked if I wanted to keep the order, and I said yes. In January, the CD was shipped to me. I asked about the vinyl, which was available elsewhere and advertised as available on B&Nโs site. I didnโt receive an actual response, but one day later, my order was mysteriously canceled. The item was โunavailable,โ even though it was, again, listed as available and for sale on the site.
No longer in possession of the gift card, I made numerous requests to receive the item for which I had paid. After several complaints, with each steadily increasing my disappointment with B&N, I was told to reorder online. The โpay by phoneโ option would allow me to restore the free shipping and access the gift card info.
I did this, although the only way to get an actual representative on the phone was to pretend to mess up when answering the automated questions, as the menus never offered that option. Finally, I had a representative. He retrieved the gift card info, but then told me that it was โon hold for 72 hours.โ I was told to call back in three days.
I did this, and gave them the gift card info. The free shipping was applied, and I used my credit card to pay a $7.71 balance. (I had used my credit card on the original order, as well.) Everything was fine, or so I was assured by another rep. I would receive an email telling me the order had shipped.
This happened, but only after they sent another email saying the gift card info wasnโt working. A second email assured me they had my โpayment information.โ The third told me the item was preparing for shipment.
Funny thing โ the incompetent clowns at B&N who had already taken up more than an hour of my time had billed the entire order to my credit card. A few days later, after several more emails which included my promise to call my credit card company and report the fraudulent charge, my good friends at B&N refunded the credit card amount. So, yes the issue was resolved, but only because I stubbornly invested a lot of time and energy born of frustration. Now, I am making it my lifeโs work to warn other potential shoppers: Do not shop Barnes & Noble. They are pathetically incompetent at order processing and customer service โ and what else is there?
I used to think it a shame that Amazon was taking over the world, putting everyone else out of business. I gave them too much credit. Companies like Barnes and Noble are destroying themselves. My family will never shop there again, and I am hoping by posting this as many places as I can, that others will avoid their business, too. Shame on you, Barnes and Noble. Shame on you.
Reason of review: Order processing issue.
Location: Golden, Colorado
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