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Barnes and Noble Customer Service

User Reviews, Ratings and Comments

Barnes and Noble customer service is ranked #401 out of the 538 companies that have a CustomerServiceScoreboard.com rating with an overall score of 28.85 out of a possible 200 based upon 518 ratings. This score rates Barnes and Noble customer service and customer support as Terrible.

NEGATIVE Comments

496 Negative Comments out of 518 Total Comments is 95.75%.

POSITIVE Comments

22 Positive Comments out of 518 Total Comments is 4.25%.

Issue Resolution

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Product Knowledge

Terrible Overall Customer Service Rating
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  • I have never been so upset with a company and I am writing to our Better Business Bureau. I rented 4 textbooks from Barnes and Nobel (if anyone knows they are very $$) for the spring semester. I received an email in April stating my rental expired and they extended it and the email was to notify me they charged my credit card. OK, I needed the book and did not dispute. I went to print my return for "rental" and there are none. I researched deep into my CC account because I could not locate any purchase on my BN account. They charged be full price as if I bought all these books brand new. Two of the ones I received were used!!! I contacted them and they told me the email I received was only a 14 day rental (who everr needs a 14 day rental for a textbook or even 30 or 60)and because I did not renew my contact, they billed me for all the books. Of course at this time they can not extend the rental and credit my account. I am out $500 for textbooks I could have rented from Chegg. I hope no one does further business with them. I wish there was a legal way to gather all these complaints and take them to court.

    jbach 5/10/12 6:39PM
  • There is NO CUSTOMER SERVICE at Barnes and Noble. Be careful they send your shipment via UPS with the last hand off to local post office...must get a lower rate...slows everything down and not at all shipped via UPS as they say. I can tell Customer Service is in Asia and they could care less...did get transferred to someone called supervisor but again she did nothing. They are saving money now by using something called Surepost which is UPS to USPS and is very unreliable. They do not tell you this up front. No more for B and N

    kathy 5/9/12 1:40PM
  • I cannot stress how upset I am with Barnes and Nobel’s Customer Service. I ordered a gift card online for my husband’s mom for mother’s day, but made a HUGE mistake in the billing address – my first name. His family doesn’t know we’re married yet – we are waiting to tell them in person. His older sister just got married but we weren’t trying to have her stressed out before the wedding knowing her little brother got married before she did.
    My family knows, and is extremely happy that I married my best friend and am having an actual ceremony in 2 years; however, when I realized what I had done, I immediately called to Cancel, Change the Billing/Shipping Address or Anything I possibly could.
    They told me they had it under control, but the reality is that they weren’t trying at all. I called every day for the past 5 days and they all told me the same thing “We can do that, it’s still in process.” It was like a slap in the face when I called on the 4th day.
    It went from “we can do that” to “Nothing can be changed; if you would have called sooner you might have had a chance.”
    I almost screamed the next day when I saw the Order Confirmation E-mail saying it was shipped. This is the WORST possible way for it to go down. Not only were they lying, but nothing was done on their part – they simply handed a “request” form to a “higher” power, and dragged out the issue. What’s the point of calling them Customer Service Representatives when all they do is push their concerns onto other people?

    Overlooked and Worn Out 5/8/12 8:54AM
  • Unbelievably rude store manager. Should be replaced immediately. She was hostile and defensive when I approached her with a smile on my face to complain about my Nook which has a recurring problem.

    mannamy 5/7/12 5:30PM
  • On 04/29/2012, my husband and I went to the Barnes & Noble at Riverside Square Hackensack, New Jersey.

    We went to the second floor and noted customers, which included adults, children and students, slumbering on the floors to the point where other customers were stumbling over them.

    We looked for two chairs and finally found approximately 15 of them placed along a wall in the back of the store, situated next to the rest rooms. And, yes, the seating area smelled like urine and feces and some air freshener to mask the odor.

    Understandably, not wanting to sit in that area, we dragged two available chairs to an area near the escalators, and out of the way of other patrons and not to block the book shelves,

    As I was dragging one of the chairs, a B&N sales representative named named "Amy" wearing dark black frame glasses, began yelling at me from across the store; "Mamm, bring that chair back here." Amy then moments later appeared and approached my husband and I and started citing "rules" about the placement of the chairs at which time in so many words, we asked for her Manager and she stated she would send a manager over and a manager never appeared. We told her that we are not putting any chairs back and we are not moving. And further told her to chill out.

    Margo 4/29/12 1:55PM
  • I had ordered a book from B&N online 3 weeks ago. I received an email the day after I purchased it that said it was being shipped today. Needless to say I still have yet to receive the book. Never again am I switching from Amazon.

    Anonymous 4/27/12 12:18PM
  • I received a Nook Color for Christmas 4 months ago. Everything was fine until my charger started to fall apart. Pieces of the plastic up by the wiring started falling off without any warning or prior damage. I was on chat with customer service and was told an order was put in and I would receive a replacement within 3 business days. Well, that NEVER happened. I called customer service and was told the same thing AGAIN. That NEVER happened. I emailed customer service and it's now been over a month, I have had to use electrical tape on my charger to prevent electric shock, and I still have no replacement for my defective item. NOW as of today, the charger doesn't even connect to charge my battery at all! I am so angry right now considering the money my son spent on this Nook and the absolutely reprehensible customer service. This is totally inexcusable behavior.

    reneedc 4/26/12 5:13AM
  • I was at Barnes and Noble in Athens, GA last week, late in evening, not busy at all. Asked about a AAA discount, had been notified on line about l0% discount. A very rude male employee interrupted me, did not even let me get by inquiry out, practically yelled at me, even though I had two CDs in my hand to buy. Would not look up on computer about the E-mails I had received from B & N. Kept yelling that I would have to buy the membership. I wish I had gotten his name. On way out, asked a lady at the desk about the AAA discount, she yelled at me also with a big NO. Needless to say, I won't buy anything more from B & N.

    Anonymous 4/23/12 9:26AM
  • I was at the Miracle Miles store,in Coral Gables,Florida,this afternoon.I asked one of the girls for an HTML book(about web sides).She just send me with an attitude like if she was doing me a big favor.After a few minutes I went back and I ask her:"Can you check in your system if you have the book?".And her answer was:"I already check and we don't have it".I went back to look for something close to what I was looking for and I found the HTML book.I went back to this girl and I told her about the book and she answer:"Consider your self lucky then".Is always this attitude problem with this people,this has to be corrected.

    sergioa.rojas 4/22/12 7:32PM
  • I live in NYC and yes there are B&N's here but I live in the Bronx and the only store here is in Bay Plaza but I'm a member so i get free shipping. Now this is something that bothers me a lot. Why is it that if you live in Manhattan you get same day shipping if you order before a certain time but it takes 4-5 day for it to get to the Bronx. BTW members get free express shipping which is supposed to take 2-3 days. But instead they first ship it out using a company called Argix Direct and then they give it to the USPS. I've complained numerous times to them about this especially when my packages get lost or go out for delivery and take an extra day to get to me on top of the 4-5 days I already waited. Why can't they use UPS of FedEx for members who get the express shipping from the outer boroughs. It's irritating.

    yuniesan 4/20/12 7:17PM
  • Do not buy a book from Barnsandnoble on line. I paid for one from here called Killing Lincoln by Bill OReilly for 14.95 and my credit card was charged. The seller was known only by an email address that was hazelbarrow211@gmail.com out of Saint Charles, Mo. A month has gone by and no book and contacting Barnsandnoble was no help. They don't even have a phone number or address for this seller using their web site. I guess anyone can get on their web site and sell books and keep the money and not send the books. Seems like a criminal case to me.

    Anonymous 4/19/12 1:08PM
  • I sideloaded NOOKbooks to my NOOK 1st Edition. I received an error message "unsupported file type" for all 9 books I downloaded when I tried to read any of them. I have successfully sideloaded books before & tried these same books 3 separate times. I chatted with online customer service who gave me absolutely no helpful advice/answers/strategies to try! He asked me stupid questions & treated me like I was an idiot!

    Anonymous 4/17/12 6:16PM
  • I live two hours away from the nearest barnes and noble so when I go I had better be coming back with a book. Last week I took that two hour trip to return two books my mother bought me. I already had those books so I thought I could exchange them for something of equal or greater value or get a gift card as I did not have a receipt. Well I was wrong. They have a new policy that says you cannot return a book without a receipt or beyond a fourteen day period. Normally I would respect this as I also work in retail and know the reasons behind these policies but this is a little rediculous. The checkout associate basically accused me of stealing the books while telling me that this policy has been around for about a year. I'm sorry but I am not a card member and got no notice about the change in policy. Nor is there anything around the front stating the new policy. In our store our return policies are stated in bold print at the register. Because of this the rest of my shopping experience was a complete waste. Normally I spend about $100 on books but because of this I left spending nothing and two useless books. Honestly if I was going to steal a book I would steal one that costs a little more then $5. Not to mention the nooks that are casually placed on shelves. Honestly Barnes and Noble corporate need to get their heads in the right place and fix this policy. K-mart takes your license, keeps a record of how many times you return items without a receipt and blocks you after a certain amount. You never recieve cash back which was why I expected to at least get a gift card for my two books. This whole affair has ruined my experience with barnes and noble which is horrible as they are just about the only bookstore in the area.

    Victoria 4/12/12 9:29AM
  • I got caught up in all the hype about the Nook Color. So I purchased one online through bn.com. After playing around with it for a few hours I decided it was not a versatile tablet. The next day I went to the local Barnes and Noble store to return it. I could not get my money back at the store because I used PayPal to buy it. They said they could give me a gift card in return for the amount owed. I don't want/need $180 gift card for Barnes and Noble. I just want my bank account credited. They told me I would have to call their support number. I was told I would have to ship it back to their place in Arizona. So I began the process, I had to pay the shipping $11. The postmaster said I could get 2-day priority for the same as standard. Well I sent it out April 2..it is now April 11th. I have not heard a thing from Barnes and Noble.

    Today (the 11th) I did an online chat with a Barnes and Noble rep. He said everything will be fine, don't worry, you'll get your refund when we receive your device. Receive your device?!! How have they not received my Nook Color yet!

    So now I am waiting to see if I am out almost $200. I am not optimistic about this process.

    Anonymous 4/11/12 8:59AM
  • I was charged extra shipping in Canada at my doorstep after already having paid the American one. After several emails requesting a refund and being promised one, I had still not received it in my credit card statement two billing cycles later. Emailed them again, was told irrelevant info on what PST and GST stand for and how they add up to the HST (they honestly TRY not to answer your questions directly, as if they think that you're stupid). Emailed them YET AGAIN asking for contact with upper management, and no reply several days later. Absolute worst company from which I have ever purchased something online. I'm quite ecstatic from the news that I've heard about them going out of business. With overcharging without customer awareness and terrible customer service, they deserve nothing more than to be out of business. I'd advise anyone to purchase from other sites like Amazon, even if the item is a few dollars more expensive.

    DISSATISFIEDCUSTOMER 4/3/12 7:22PM
  • I have a Nook and have been pretty satisfied with the product until my friend tried to lend me a book through the Lend Me feature. I got the book and tried to download it only to get an error saying this book had already been lent to me -- which it hadn't. I did 30 min of online chat support and after all of that I was told to call customer service.

    I called customer service and after 20 minutes on the phone they said in 2-3 hours my friend could lend me the book again. Four days passed and nothing had changed. I called again and was told by a different person that it was impossible to reset a book's eligibility and that I was out of luck. I asked to speak to a supervisor and was put on hold for 20 minutes before I just hung up.

    I e-mailed customer service my problem and they responded with a generic description of what the Lend Me feature is -- they never even read my problem. I even used twitter to try and get help and that was no use.

    On my third call a guy told me I had to have my friend's credit card in order to have the book be lent again. At that point I lost it with Barnes and Noble.

    I chose the Nook over the Kindle because the support was suppose to be so much better. The in-store support is crap and the phone/chat/email support is even worse. Do yourself a favor and don't buy a Nook.

    Anonymous 4/3/12 2:05PM
  • On hold forever, after finally getting through I could not understand either of the telphone reps. Obviously this is routed through some foreign country. I will not buy any Barnes and Nobles product again, I learned my lesson!

    Mrwoolyrad 4/3/12 7:37AM
  • Awful!
    switched from Amazon to order a book
    big mistake.
    they promised same day delivery
    I ordered on friday
    it's monday, 6pm, I still haven't gotten the book
    never again.

    sane3000 4/2/12 3:05PM
  • I recently ordered two books off of the Barnes & Noble Marketplace. I have learned my lesson to not do this again. One of the books I ordered was correct. But the other, though it had the correct cover and back, was a completely different book on the inside. And to my dismay was the same exact book on the inside as the other book in my order. Someone had clearly glued the correct cover onto the wrong book. So, trying to be civil, I emailed the seller and waited 2 weeks for a reply. Did I get one? Of course not. So all I could do was leave an 80 characters long comment on the seller. I am very disappointed and will just be using Amazon from now on.

    Anonymous 3/31/12 7:37AM
  • The Barnes & Noble on Transit Drive in Buffalo, New York has some of the worst customer service I've ever experienced. My friends and I were treated very poorly by an older-looking woman who cashed us out, and made it perfectly clear that we were a bother to her, and all of two other customers who were waiting in line.
    I had forgotten my debit card, and wasn't able to purchase a book I wanted. After she rang everything in, I told her I was terribly sorry, and that I didn't have my card on me. It must have been such a bother for her to ask someone to void out my purchase, because she was incredibly rude about the whole thing. I kept apologizing, and was very sorry for taking up her time, but she obviously didn't want to hear it.
    Then, my friend offered to pay for me. When she went back up to pay, the older-woman said very rudely, "Okay, what are we doing now? I already voided it out." And she huffed and puffed about it for a good minute. I was so furious by her attitude, I finally said, "Forget it, we're leaving," and stormed out without my purchase.
    I work with customer service as well, in a much more stressful setting than she, and I ALWAYS treat my customers with the utmost respect, and I expect the same when I'm the customer. Perhaps if she would not have been so haughty, I would have considered waiting to be cashed out again. I don't tolerate being talked down to, and will be taking my service elsewhere in the future.

    Anonymous 3/26/12 5:57PM
  • I am sure that this company will go out of business!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DO NOT SUPPORT THIS COMPANY SINCE THEY ARE TRULY HORRIBLE IN CUSTOMER SERVICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    I purchased 5 wedding books for a total of $300 and they did not arrive at all!!!!! I called customer service several times and they did not do anything and told me: "Bad luck and they could not do anything". They say I can do whatever I want but I am not going to get them as promised". ITS THE WORST EXPERIENCE OF CUSTOMER SERVICE IN MY LIFE!!!!!!!!

    Anonymous 3/26/12 4:05PM
  • I stopped going to B&N a long time ago simply because of how some of the employees behaved. I know there are good people working there but after the two I encountered in one store I decided I'd rather visit other book stores with friendlier people. I used to visit the store almost every week. I ordered books from them and looked around the shelves close to a hour each time. After a couples months of going there and making purchases every time one elderly Caucasian employee decided to call over another and told him in a "whisper" to "keep a eye on that girl I don't like the way she looks." I was probably like 5 feet away from her and was looking at bookmarks. I looked to my left and right and I was the only one there. And, while I browsed through the books I noticed the male employee hanging around. I have never been the type to be qualified as suspicious I fall under the more nerdy type. I believe she said this simply because I am mixed. She was always giving me dirty looks anytime I went to purchase my books. I was even in my school uniform and if I wanted to steal something then why would I spend $25+ on books every time I went there? The second time I ordered a book believing it was a fairytale remake book because I read a similar story in a anthology by the author. The male employee who processed my purchase made a lewd comment about how he can give me erotica to another employee. I walked away confused and when I had the chance to take a good look at the book I ordered it fell under the erotica category and I returned it. Even though it was a mistake in genre he had no right to be so rude and lewd about it. He did not act professionally and I am still horrified to this day that he would say that to me when I was in high school. A grown man making lewd comments to a underage teenager in the work place and even encouraged by laughs from another employee...

    Jen 3/26/12 1:02AM
  • I just wasted one hour of my life!! I purchased the Hunger Games Trilogy. Long story short, was over charged. After one hour and speaking to 3 people...I got a bloody $10 gift card that i am thinking about selling on ebay because I no longer want to support this company. I have to admit that I was a huuuuuggggeeeee supporter of Barnes and Noble, and opted to purchase the Nook Color over the ipad...today a decision that I somewhat regret. Barnes and Noble has unreliable prices on the nook color, and disappointing customer service. I recommend that you purchase your reading material elsewhere.

    Appallednookcoloruser 3/25/12 7:31PM
  • Barnes and Noble needs to learn from Apple Customer Service! They renewed my membership to B & N without my authorization and have to wait 2 months for it to be reimbursed. I was going to renew it anyway but now I will no longer be shopping there. I was also planning on buying a Nook this summer but now I will go with a Kindle. I hope the attempt at stealing my $25 was worth losing me as a good customer.

    Not a fan 3/25/12 11:36AM
  • To whom it may concern:
    I can not begin to explain how much I hate Barnes and Nobles customer service, text e-books and anything that has to do with this company. No wonder companies like these are going out of business. With that being said, here is my problem. I called several times to have my funds refunded due to the fact that the books is not comparable with my NOOK( which also hate) and was not able to open the book on my computer after my husband had to re-installe all the computer programs due to a bug on our computer. I was transfer several times and no one could answer my questions or even help me. All reps had very strong accents,were rude and did not know what the hell they were doing, I was even transfer to a non working number. Barnes and Nobles has taken poor service to a new, much lower level than any company I have ever dealt with my whole adult life in this country. Again... after several calls that did not take me anywhere, I was told that this company could not refund me even though I can not open the book on the nook or on my computer for that matter. Since I am desperate to study due to the fact that I have a quiz tomorrow, I called once again and got hold of some under the name Rick who happened to be a nice rep who was willing to help me with my dilemma and problems. Rick said he that the book was disabled for some estrange reason and that he would re-set everything and that I should be able to view and use the book without any problems as soon as I got home. Well..... I am home and the F*&^ng system does not work, I tried to call your customer service as it says on the page, but there is no service after 8pm! Once again make me realize I do not want this book anymore! all I want is my money back, due to the fact that Barnes and Nobles can not deliver, follow through or follow up with simple request that other companies do without much trouble. I suppose that in the very near future I can see this company's name written all over the news paper chapter 7 filling page

    jhoannaj 3/23/12 8:44PM
  • I don't know how they stay in business, the worst Customer Service dept. I got disconnected twice after long wait, and after I ask for escalation, got disconnected again. I will never ever patronize them again.

    luha 3/22/12 4:43PM
  • BARNES AND NOBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE IS HORRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    I PURCHASED 5 BOOKS FOR A TOTAL OF $175 AND THEY PROMISED THAT IT WILL BE DELIVERED WITHIN 3 TO 5 BUSINESS DAYS AND THEY STILL HAVEN'T SHOWED UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    I GOT IN CONTACT WITH THEM AND THEY SAID THAT THERE NOTHING THEY CAN DO I WILL AVE TO CALL UPS MYSELF AND ORGANIZE THE DELIVERY MYSELF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    DO NOT PURCHASE WITH THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Anonymous 3/21/12 8:28PM
  • absolutely terrible, does anybody care that the accounts are not being processed as promised i've been waiting on a $3.99 refund since Christmas

    jpsovereign 3/16/12 5:03PM
  • B&N lost my book in the mail.It was shipped to Canada.No tracking #.Can you believe that??
    I need the medical book now.
    Have to wait a month then will get a refund.
    No apology.
    I want them to resend it to a store in Mi and I will pick it up.
    No response from them.
    Most frustrating experience in a long time.
    Will not use them again.

    Anonymous 3/16/12 9:16AM
  • Wow! Nook books cost more then THREE TIMES the amount for the same title in hard copy from Amazon! I just spent more than 30 minutes on Barnes and Nobles useless chat with some clown who tried to tell me that the reason the electronic version of the book cost $85 when Amazon's price for the exact same title in paperpack only costs $27.53 is because "electronic book prices are different than hard copy prices" (DUH!) and that Barnes and Noble doesn't set their prices - publishers do! I asked the clown if the publishers own their "business" but he refused to answer. In response to the complaint I filed with them via e-mail, Barnes and Noble had the audacity to state (and this is an EXACT quote):

    "However, Barnes and Noble does not control the pricing of eBooks.
    Publishers control the pricing of digital books.

    We are committed to offering these eBooks and ePeriodicals at a very competitive price. As per your request, we will be forwarding this information to the publisher for consideration and possible revision of the price. eBooks will continue to offer an extraordinary value versus most physical books."

    Yeah, right. Their eBook prices are extraordinary - extraordinarily obscene. They have just lost a customer.

    Barnes and Noble Ripoff 3/14/12 4:16PM
  • If you load a B&N gift card into your account, KEEP THE ORIGINAL CARD. According to B&N, if you don't use the card for a "long time" they hide it so that you can't see it. I asked them to define "long time." It's 30 days. Althought the cards officially never expire, they hide them do you can't use them. The only way to get them back is if you have the original cards or to call customer service.

    Big G 3/14/12 1:25PM
  • still waiting more than 2 MONTHS for Nook refund to be applied to my credit card.

    The policy is not stated anywhere on website, in fact they have an "easy refund" icon.

    Please, Please file a BBC report if you have had similar experiences!!!

    kelpet 3/13/12 7:55PM
  • This is what I sent to customer service and I never received a reply ? they also wouldnt let me cancel my order even though it hadnt left the warehouse ? and they want me to get a special authorization number for my return because I paid via Paypal or they wont refund my money ? WOW

    Dear Zoe,

    I guess where the confusion falls is below the not eligible for coupons or promotions it states, "unless expressly stated" and below that statement it says "kids club eligible" Not kids club eligible for points very misleading considering that your own staff gave me three different explainations. I do feel if you are going to exclude kids club discounts you should not place that statement under the expressly stated comment.

    I will be returning my item being that no one could give me a straight answer and that your phone staff yesterday morning told me they would be sending an email with an adjustment for the 30%, and I would receive an email conformation within the hour with the adjustment instead of telling me that it couldnt be done.

    Thank you for your time and attention to this matter,

    tigixx 3/13/12 11:45AM
  • I am a bibliophile. I visit B&N 2-3x/wk. And I often buy books on a weekly basis. On 3/11/12 I tried to buy a $50.00 book with a 15% coupon (thru 3/11/12), but B&N would not let me, sayingI had used a 15% coupon on a $28.00 book the week before. B&N flatly denied ever having the 15% coupon (thru 3/9/12) that I prev. used. I could not have used the 3/10-3/11/12 coupon the week before (which I explaind to the cashier 3x). You WIN!. So I'll return the $28 book. $0.00 v. $68.00 and B&N prefers $0.00. Thanks for encouraging me NOT to buy books at B&N (WOW, the Dunning Kruger effect really exists)--that's how you stay in business.

    anonymous 3/12/12 4:18PM
  • Barnes and Noble does not care about providing good customer service. Once they have your money do not help and are even rude. I have called many , many times asking to be allowed into my Barnes and Noble account to use my fortune's worth of ebooks, only to be told that they will have to start a new account and erase everything. They did say they could restore my free samples!HA! Then they had the nerve to laugh. I bought another device to read my ebooks on and the few books I had salvaged are non transferable. Even the ones I purchased that were not working on my device they would not refund and stated they could be used on all my devices. I will never purchase anything from them as they have already stolen over a thousand dollars from me. I hope they go out of business soon. They had an jump start on the market with Nook but let it go to their heads. I suggest any other reading device and any other ebook provider. They are on the way out and to bad they didn't go before Borders.

    Alice 3/11/12 10:08PM
  • Customer service is so terrible it's laughable. It's not that they don't have the capability to have good service, their representatives are just slow. Slower than I thought was humanly possible.
    One representative online took 3 minutes between each message to reply. The replies were vague and sometimes incomplete. When asked for a clarification about his suggestion to buy multiple devices for a discount, he informed me that I could buy 50 and save. Unhelpful.

    TheNerdyPengwin 3/11/12 3:52PM
  • We just bought a Nook Simple Touch yesterday. Nook activation requires wi-fi ... therefore, the tech support staff needs fairly high level of expertise with the many facets of wi-fi configuration. Sadly, this is completely lacking. Given a secured home network, they need to be familiar with a variety of routers, encryption schemes, and firewall setups. When we failed to connect, I thought I might have to open additional ports in my firewall. The support person didn't know what a port was!

    The end result was that I stumbled around and found my own solution. The time on the phone with tech support was completely wasted.

    John Kwasnik 3/11/12 1:45PM
  • I ordered a text(s) for class. Spent nearly $400.00. Spent the extra money to have expedited shipping as classes had already started. Didn't receive one of the text books. Checked my B&N account-no tracking number for the unreceived book, yet it stated that product had shipped. I ordered the books on February 2, 2012. Barnes & Noble said that even with expedited shipping it could take twenty business days... WHAT? Twenty days? SURELY, you are kidding? So I reviewed their 'Help' section--NO WHERE in their statements on shipping does it mention; pay the extra money for expedited shipping for in-stock items and we'll get 'em to you in about a month. In the first week of March I got a pleasant email from BARNES & NOBLE that I could again contact them after March 5th if the book hadn't arrived for further assistance. I can't believe it-just stunned. Further, Barnes has a store about 5miles from my home and since 1993(when they opened) I estimate that I have spent upwards of $20,000 at that location. Now when I drive-by Barnes & Noble I feel like they are thieves and I get a little pissed-off every time I drive-by. ANYWAY... Happy to report in the last two weeks I have bought eight books and a helmet (for my son) from AMAZON. I paid for expedited shipping on the book purchases they all arrived faster than I thought they would. BARNES & NOBLE SUCKS!

    veritas5 3/11/12 5:11AM
  • After contacting Customer Service 9 times @ 1.5 hours (average) each, I have to say I haven't been this disappointed in a company...well, ever.

    My Nook stopped working. I needed a replacement sent. I spoke to supervisors who were flat out rude (Jose), to the guy (Nelson) who seemed appalled at the runaround and poor service I was getting and was going to ''own'' the problem and call me back--and I never heard from again.

    Today,I gathered up my courage and backbone and tried again.
    After talking to 2 different customer service people (1 hour and 12 minutes this time), while waiting for yet another supervisor to come on the line, they ''somehow'' hung up the phone.

    I am so disappointed right now, I have no idea what to do.

    flossjockey 3/9/12 4:06PM
  • I got an error message on my color nook and called customer support. They said I would need to transfer my account to another email address. When doing so they did not inform me that I would loose 70% of my books and my monthly magazine subscription. I lost over $250 worth of material. To ease this upset they offered me $10 dollars to appease me. 8 phone calls to clear it up and it is still not cleared up. I WOULD NEVER PURCHASE FROM THIS COMPANY AGAIN. THEY DO NOT CARE. I intend on telling everyone. With over 450 complaints on this site and 22 positive ratings I'm just upset I did not do my homework better before purchasing.

    I have always been a faithful Barnes and Noble customer...I learned one thing...It means nothing.

    Sherrie 3/9/12 3:01PM
  • You desperately need to review your communications formats with your customers.

    I switched over to B&N from Amazon and you are so bad on-line....I'm switching back to them? How pathetic is that (for you).

    You just interupted a 4-book order I was placing to ask customer satisfaction questions. OMG. Your service is a bad joke!

    I have a clue for you. Have one or two or three of your MANAGERS (i.e. not flunkies)place orders as if they were customers. Put them on "high receive" so they listen carefully. You would benefit from this.

    You need the help.

    Good Bye.

    popssaratoga 3/8/12 3:44PM
  • I am very dissatisfied with this company. I purchased a e-gift card for my mother's Nook for Valentine's Day and it was never emailed to her. I contacted B & N and the customer service representative informed me that instead of issuing the ecard they were going to refund me the money and I could reorder. That was a month ago. I called for a second time today and was informed that the refund process was never initiated. I am so glad I got a Kindle and will be getting one for my mother as soon as I can afford it. This company is a poor choice for consumers. They are over priced, unaccommodating, and unconcerned about customers. Above all, I should not have had to contact them twice, and they should have made it right. This was a gift, not just something for myself.

    MeliKae 3/8/12 11:24AM
  • I placed an order with Barnes and Noble for four CDs more than five weeks ago. Two arrived promptly. The other two were noted as being usually available in 1-2 weeks. I received an email stating that the two delayed CDs were to ship in about two and a half weeks. They were not. Then I received an email that they would ship in 1-5 business days. They did not. Then I was given an expected ship date that was more than five weeks after the order was placed. They were not shipped. Then I received an email saying they will ship in 1-5 business days, but a representative told me that they new expected ship date was almost three weeks away. All this time the CDs have been listed on the web site as if they are available. Finally, one of them is listed as "out of stock," but the other is still shown as available. Why is the company allowed to be so deceptive by listed items that they have no idea that they can actually acquire? I have used Barnes & Noble for many years, but I have had it with them. This is not the first time this has happened. I'll do my future ordering from a more reliable company.

    Disgusted 3/7/12 4:05PM
  • The customer service support at Barnes & Noble is lacking. Upper level management cannot even communicate with their customers, not even with the common courtesy of a reply to a letter or an email. What is even worse there is the absolute lack of any capable technical support. Issues on their site have been going on for over a year (advanced search feature and wishlists disappearing). Do yourself a favor - get a kindle and shop with amazon.

    EllenKeiff1 3/7/12 10:02AM
  • The customer service is horrible and the tech support is dismal. We are still waiting over a year for the advanced search feature on the website to be fixed; the website wishlist is STILL broken after almost 3 months; and you can't get any kind of a commitment that either of these are going to be fixed if ever. Also Bob Weis? VP of Customer Service. I do not think he would know customer service if it bit him on the butt. Most unresponsive person ever. My suggestion - if they screw up an order report them to the BBB.

    EllenKeiff1 3/7/12 9:07AM
  • My new Nook Tablet was dropping the wireless connection constantly. I took it with the box and receipt to the store and they refused to exchange it. They made me go through the customer service toll free number to request a emai for replacement. They wanted to replace my brand new unit with a refurbished unit which was unexceptable to me. It took several calls and speaking to a manager to agree to ship me a "new" unit. I think this is extremely poor customer service. I think a new unit should be exchanged with a new unit when you have proof of purcahse. This kind of experience with Barnes & Noble has really made me think of how much they think of their customers. You should not have to go through all of this trouble to excahnge a $250.00 Nook Tablet.

    Nook User 3/6/12 12:39AM
  • I contacted Barnes and Noble customer service 4 times - 2 through chat, 1 via email and once on the phone with their help line. All 4 times, they did not understand my problem and kept telling me answers to questions I never asked. 3 times the directed me to talk to their supervisor on the phone. When I finally called the number and asked for a supervisor, the representative asked when I needed to talk to a supervisor. She refused to connect me and after 30 minutes of her trying to understand the problem, she couldn't give me a solution nor would she connect me to a supervisor. I don't usually complain but this was such horrible service I felt the need to tell others.

    tdear 3/5/12 3:01PM
  • Do not, I repeat, do not, conduct any business with Barnes and Noble. I was given a Nook Color as a gift and in the three short months I have owned it, I have grown to detest it. The Nook itself operates satisfactorily. Their customer service department, however, is incompetent. I have just spend three hours on the phone with B&N's customer service trying to clear up some erroneous charges made to my credit card (2 monthly charges of $6.45 each for a magazine subscription that I should not have been charged - as confirmed by 2 of its customer service representatives). A simple matter one would think, no? After THREE HOURS on the phone, I have been told by a SUPERVISOR that she will send an email to 3 different departments (since one or more may be busy and not able to respond immediately) and HOPES to have resolved within the next couple of days. UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    B&N - The Retailer Whose Name Wi 3/4/12 11:49AM
  • Was told the books I ordered were available and promised my order would ship out within 24 hours when I ordered. After I ordered I received an email the order would ship until 3 days later. I emailed back got no response. So I called and was told the items were in stock and they would ship (not 3 days later) but 5 days later. No one had any explanation for the failure to ship within 24 hours. So I ask them to cancel the order. They could not cancel the order and again said it would ship 5 days later and I could return it to the store or send it back!

    Anonymous 3/3/12 5:41PM
  • Yea Barnes and Noble!! Had what I thought was a complicated issue having 2 emails regiered and needed to delete the one my husband had purchased all his books on. It took a TOTAL of 15 minutes, all his books were there (over 100)and customer service was perfect. THANK YOU!!! All the other transfers have taken at least an hour! By the way my husband LOVES his NOOK!!!!

    Anonymous 3/3/12 5:22PM
  • I purchased a Barnes and Noble Nook Tablet on 1/6/2012. Barnes & Noble completely locked me out of the entire android app market. In other words, unless it is purchased from B&N - YOU AIN'T PUTTING IT ON YOUR TABLET!
    Nowhere on Barnes & Noble's website did it detail the types of restrictions that are put up on the purchaser of a Nook Tablet. I believe the Barnes & Noble misrepresented itself. I believe that those restrictions should have been posted in plain view on the homepage of Barnes and Nobles website. But they were not. All I wanted is my money back.

    I purchased it right from their website for $266.43 using a credit card on 1/6/2012
    I received it on 1/11/2012
    I called for an RMA # on 1/16/2012
    I shipped it per their instructions on 1/17/2012
    They received it on 1/24/2012


    They told me my $266.43 would be returned by 2/17/2012. It wasn't. Now they say 3/172012. Or maybe the billing cycle after that on 4/17/2012? As a added insult, I have to eat my $17.01 return shipping costs. I'd much rather have the use of my own money for 3 months, but I guess their huge corporation needs it worse. I am beginning to resign myself to the possibility that I may never see my money again. But, I sure don't want that piece of crap Nook back!

    mhelm1 2/29/12 5:04PM
  • HORRIBLE SERVICE! AFTER 15 EMAILS AND CALLS WITH THE PROMISE MY SCHOOL WAS TO BE RECEIVED IN FULL A WEEK AGO..1/2 THE BOOKS ARE A DIFFERENT COVER..1/2 STILL NOT EVEN HERE..3 WEEKS PAST ORDER..THEY NEVER HAD A PROBLEM/ BOOKS WERE STOCKED AND PROCESSED THAT DAY/ CHARGED ON CARD/ NO PROBLEM! 3 WEEKS LATER STILL WAITING - THEIR FINAL SOLUTION- I SHOULD GO TO ALL THE B & N STORES AND EXCHANGE TO SEE WHAT THEY HAVE IN STOCK!!!

    Anonymous 2/27/12 10:55AM
  • Got a $50 gift card for Christmas, went to BN to buy books, was told "This card was not activated properly, it has no value."

    No support, no help, no more BN for me. Amazon just got three more orders.

    Anonymous 2/25/12 8:00PM
  • Extremely poor customer service! I've contacted them 6 times in the past 2 weeks and every time it's the same result. No one wants to take ownership of my problem. It appears that they all read from a script. I will never use B&N ever again and I intend to tell everyone of my experience. So long B&N I hope you enjoy Chapter 11!

    dontpurchase 2/24/12 5:45PM
  • I have been fighting with them for 2 months to receive a $20 credit for an item I returned. There were approx 4 phone calls and 5 emails. I finally got them to acknowledge that I returned the item (I had tracking info) and they said I would receive a credit. 3 weeks later, I forwarded their own email back to them (saying I would receive a credit), explaining that I had not yet received the credit and these morons responded by saying that the return has not yet been received. In addition, they don't seem to care AT ALL that I am frustrated.

    Anonymous 2/23/12 12:42PM
  • 1st call could not understand the rep, asked me to charge tablet with laptop..against directions for tablet, after troubleshooting, she asked me what part I needed, 2nd call 2/5/12 rep was supposed to send new tablet, called 2/16...2/5 rep did not process the request, talked to Wayne a supervisor from NJ promised I would have it no later than 2/20...it's 2/20 I still don't have it.

    lfnmh0 2/20/12 10:55PM
  • I rented a communications textbook from the BnN website at the beginning of the fall semester, which costed around 20 dollars. Yesterday, I received an email stating that the book was almost a month overdue and therefore I had been charged the rest of the price to buy the book (around 80 dollars!!). Of course I was outraged, especially because I NEVER received email notification that my book was due, and I had been specifically looking for such an email so I could know where to return the book to, and when. In addition, the book I rented had no stickers, no BnN tags, nothing to indicate that it was from BnN or even a rental at all. Since I get my books from several different sources, I had no idea who to return it to or when it was due, or who to contact. After spending a good 40 minutes on the phone with them, most of which was being on hold, I was told that it was IMPOSSIBLE to reverse the charges on my account because the order had already been closed. In addition, the supervisor who I spoke to was completely rude and patronizing. She seemed to imply that I was lying about not receiving notification emails and that it was my fault for not knowing when to return the book. She then suggested that I sell the book back to them for a fraction of what they had just charged me, as if I would even want to do any more business with them. I took the dispute to my bank, and they are taking care of the matter from this point on. As a loyal customer for 15 years, I'm extremely disappointed and appalled that one of my favorite stores has such atrocious customer service.

    Anonymous 2/20/12 7:00PM
  • I found this thread and can echo all the complaints about BnN customer service I see here.

    I ordered a headset from BnN "Marketplace" and it did not fit so I emailed for an RMA number. Two days later I get a reply asking to verify my original email address (I was sending from another acount) I sent the information and hear nothing. My husband calls sometime the next week and they promise to send an RMA number (not sure why they cannot just generate one....) a week later we hear nothing so he calls back and the person finally gives a number but cannot provide a shipping address......!!???!! He promises to send that elusive address the next day. As expected the promised email never was sent so we call again and they tell us to ship to the address on the invoice. Okay. We were not sure as it seemed everything is a big secret around here.

    We mail the headset back and of course hear nothing. A week from the day it was recieved we call and they need OUR tracking number before they can tell us anything. We provide this number and they then inform us that Yes they recieved the package and that was it. Basically all they did was look up my tracking number on USPS and saw it was recieved. I had to call customer service for this favor. After about four more attempts and two escalations we finally see a credit to our bank account and this nightmare is finally over.

    I shudder when I see a Barnes and Noble sign on the road.

    BTW I filled out TWO customer comment forms during this fiasco and NO ONE responded to either.

    Amazing. NOBODY took owership INCLUDING the customer service "managers". I am not sure how they stay in business. Either customer service needs more information to do thier jobs or they need to care a bit more about US the customer (or a former customer in my case).

    napy 2/19/12 2:50PM
  • I will NEVER shop at Barnes & Nobles again! After they purchased all of Borders customer lists they refuse to honor their gift cards... I'll be taking my business elsewhere to local book stores as well as Amazon!

    I've gone into the store where the Customer Service girl told me "No, we do not buy Borders nothing." And I called the 800 Customer Service number where I was told "keep checking the website for updates on whether we will be accepting Borders giftcards." NICE TRY!!!

    1nyprincess 2/16/12 5:40PM
  • I bought the Tablet in Dec and it just stopped working. They said send it to the warehouse and they would refund the money to my Credit Card, once they receive the table. It's Feb and every time I contact them,they say wait 48hours. I've tried the BBB and I'm sure I will have to go to small claims court, but my money is important to me. I've gone through a lot the past eight months and refusing a simple refund feels like the straw that broke the camel's back. Barnes and Noble has really gone down hill, and I don't know why.

    Courtney 2/15/12 3:30AM
  • They keep promising a refund but the refund never shows up on my account. Bad business.

    adaglen 2/14/12 8:44AM
  • My Nook Color overheated and now will not turn on at all. The only thing that their IT person asked me to do to resolve my issue was turn on my Nook, give him the serial number and advise me that I didn't have an extended warranty. They did offer for me to pay $85 for a refurbished Nook Color, but never offered to repair the one I purchased.

    Anonymous 2/14/12 5:51AM

  • I have a first generation nook. I called due to problems three times and have been given different information each time. The first time I was told that several people were having problems shopping and that soft ware updates would be available soon. The second time I was told this was untrue but that my warranty would be up 4/1/2012 and I could exchange it for a new tablet at half price. I had until the first of April. This last time I was told my warranty was up in November, then it changed to December and that no updates to correct the problem, that there was no record of my calling and that I was out of luck. I asked for a supervisor and was told he would allow me to exchange it, but only for a nook color, not a tablet. He stated that there was no record of my two prior calls and went further to say "why would we exchange for a tablet when it is clearly a superior product. My confidence in your product and in your customer service is waning. Since I have several books I have not read I had no choice but to purchase a new nook.....He further questioned my name, why I would have a po box instead of a mailing address... (had nothing to do with shipment since you have all of my records on file and I provided both)In addition he did not know how to look up the serial number with out removing the battery. I asked if he was new and he stated he was a long time employee. When I asked how long he said since 8/2011...in other words he was new.

    Anonymous 2/12/12 4:50PM
  • I ordered a Book online (Because it was cheaper than in store) it was sent via UPS and the day it was supposed to Arrive B&N switched it over to USPS and now 4 days after the day it SHOULD have arrived its still only had its shipping label printed for USPS and isn't due to arrive for almost another week tho it is in the same city as me now.... needless to say I will NEVER order from them again.

    JeffJAQ08 2/11/12 8:57AM
  • I forgot my password (yet again) and clicked "forgot password?" B&N sent me a password email and I clicked the link and changed my password. So far so good. But when I try to log in it claims that the password isn't right and eventually after several tries I get locked out. This is a chronic problem with B&N. When I call customer support they keep trying to give me a new password (doesn't help). What apparently does help is cleaning out all my cookies (for their and all other sites!) and rebooting. The regular employees are pleasant but not helpful and the supervisor is very rude and not helpful. The matter is still not resolved. I have been a long time customer and bought many books from them including expensive textbooks but I am completely dissatisfied. I will not be buying from them in the future.

    FMD 2/8/12 4:43PM
  • Barnes and Noble cancelled part of my order because they ran out of stock. I used a gift card which now has a balance of zero although with their cancellations there should be balance left on it. I called their customer "service" and after holding a total of 40 minutes nothing was resolved. Barnes and Noble does NOT appreciate customers. I am extremely frustrated with this experience. They have not responded to the message I have sent 2 days back. Best to shop at Amazon where at least you are not charged for items you are not shipped.

    banna 2/8/12 11:39AM
  • B&N has another promotion saying you'll get a $25.00 gift card if you order a NOOK. They has a similar promotion on Dec 12th and I ordered the NOOK. I'm still waiting for this Gift card....! I emailed them and no response. I chatted with a rep. online today and he says they're mailing it. Meanwhile my semester has started at college and I've to spend more money for the ebooks! What a ripoff!

    soccermomstudent 2/7/12 10:17AM
  • Barnes and Noble does not appreciate 20-year loyal customers, not offering same discount to Nook eReader as it does to new member.

    Case: 21988X

    Fact - for 20 years, we have renewed membership and are entitled to 10% discount on all items at store. When I questioned why we did not get 10% discount on Simple Touch Nook we purchsed on 01.14.2012 at the store, store Manager Mr. Landon retorted that discount would only be available the next time we renew (May 2012), in spite of new member getting discount on Nook effective July 2011.

    Interpretation - 20-year loyalty counts for nothing when it comes to new offer. BN only cares about getting new customers.

    Observation - while BN aspires to be eRetailer, a mere 10% on $99 Nook ($9) is a small acquisition cost for current customer migrating to the digital platform. If I were investors, I would think twice whether BN could thrive in the eBook space. As a customer, I'd just opt for Kindle as my future eBook reader.

    Pat in Houston 2/5/12 3:28PM
  • I bought a gift card for my daughter to use in making purchases with her new B&N Nook Color. I found out that I also needed to set up a credit card for her profile in order for her to shop on the Nook. I was not prepared to do this, and tried to get back my money for the gift card from B&N. Unbelievably, B&N Customer Care was unable to locate the order for the card (which I had placed just 4 days back), even when I gave them my e-mail, the order confirmation, and yes!, even my credit card information. I like the B&N stores, but must say that the protocol for Nook purchases, as well as their customer service is extremely poor.

    Truth B. Told 2/5/12 10:41AM
  • I bought a magic card trick gift for a grandchild's January birthday in December during the Christmas sales. I was not able to give the gift and went to return it on 2/5/12. Barnes & Noble would not return the gift because they said the time period had expired to return the gift, i.e. 1/31/12; nor would they give me a store credit which I would have gladly accepted. They indicated the terms for returns was on the back of my receipt. Does that mean I had to first buy the gift to see what their "returns" procedure was? It's not like the gift is out of date. The same product will be for sale next Christmas.

    I will never buy anything from Barnes & Noble again.

    sueroseg 2/5/12 9:49AM
  • I had a horrible experience simply trying to exchange an item we received as a gift. It was not something my daughter desired. I called trying to simply EXCHANGE for something else. They refused unless I contacted the gift giver despite having the receipt, order number, etc. this is ridiculous! I was VERY disappointed. Will not shop with them again!

    unhappywith B&N 2/3/12 11:47AM
  • I recently purchased several children's books as gifts from Barnes and Noble's website. The books themselves were actually less expensive on Amazon.com, but BN had the better shipping rate, which is why I purchased here. However, these books took 3 full weeks to arrive (15 business days, which was after the specified shipping estimate of 4 - 14 days). No tracking number was provided, so I sent a follow up email on day 14, stating that I still had not received the item despite having waited the estimated period of time and requesting any information that could be provided as to the whereabouts of the items I had ordered. The only reply that BN could bother with was the following: "Your order was shipped on Jan 05 via USPS media mail. The arrival expectation is 4 to 14 business days. Please let us know if you have any questions."

    I was very disappointed with the shoddy customer service I received. Clearly, the customer service agent had not even read my email (which did, in fact, contain questions). I could have never received the item at all, and would not have gotten anywhere with BN.

    This incident, coupled with disinterested and annoyed customer service during frequent visits to BN stores, has confirmed my decision never to shop with BN again. There is now no redeeming quality to compensate for the already overpriced merchandise and increasingly limited selection. If you are wise you will take your business elsewhere.

    Tartberry 2/2/12 10:29AM
  • Bought several Nookbooks to download to my tablet, had already "tested" several cheap books to make sure it would work. New books wouldn't work so I tried to find answers on the website - not helpful and couldn't solve my problem. So I sent an email, response was almost 24 hours and before that time I tried online chat help. They were able to fix 3 of the 4 books, one had been deleted (website said I could download it as often as I wanted) and they said they were unable to download it again for me and I would have to rebuy the book. I then asked if I could get a refund on the original purchase since I didn't want money back I just wanted to the Nookbook that I had already paid for. Chat gave me customer service #. I don't have time to sit on hold so have tried emailing more. They came back and said that per their website there are no refunds on Nookbooks, so I copied exactly the statement on their website about being able to download as many times as I wanted and I said that I wanted to download it again and they needed to tell me how. Waiting to find out what their response is but if this doesn't get me an answer then I will call the credit card company and file a dispute.

    dogdoc2001 2/1/12 2:54PM
  • I was excited when I got my Nook for Christmas a year ago, because I had always wanted an e-reader to condense my vast book collection. That same Christmas, and shortly after for my birthday, I got two $25 e-Gift Cards, and as they instructed, I redeemed them via B&N's website, and threw the cards away. Had I known what hell I'd go through for that, I wouldn't have bothered.

    Simply checking your balance is nearly impossible unless you still have the original piece of plastic with you. Each time I wanted to check my balance, I had to go through customer service, wait forever to get an answer, then be guided through a 5-7 step process to find it. Without doing that, you're completely unaware of what you have to pay when making a purchase; a notification simply tells you that your card will be charged $______, unless you happen to have credit to use. It actually charges you regardless of whether or not you have credit, rather than bringing you to a confirmation page to show you specifically what you have to pay first. That's ridiculous.

    To compound my issue, I had ignored my Nook due to my poor experience for the last half year or so. Realizing I still had credit left that I didn't use, I went on and found a book my friend had recommended. Too lazy to go through the hassle of finding the lost treasure of my balance again, I simply purchased the $10.99 book, as I was nearly positive that I had about $16 left. I knew for a fact that I hadn't used it all yet, I just didn't know how much. Well, apparently the credit lost its value without me being informed, because I was charged a full $10.99 with no credit taken off. Now I've been waiting for half an hour to get someone to explain to me what's going on, and STILL no luck.

    The Nook hardware is fantastic, but I won't be purchasing anymore e-books through B&N. Their setup is archaic, their customer service is horrid, and to make matters worse, their e-books are overpriced. They shouldn't cost more than the hard copies, since they no longer have to account for printing and shipping and storing costs. My entire experience has been horrible, and I'm done.

    Anonymous 2/1/12 2:05AM
  • This was the worsst customer experience I have ever had. I had to call 4 times at 45 minutes each time to get a credit for a gift certificate that didn' arrive. Employees gave out different information, supervisors were required for action but were unavailable. I own two kindles and have been an active Amazon customer for almost as long as they have been in business and have had no problems. Of course, I won't deal with them again.

    Anonymous 1/31/12 2:16PM
  • 3 weeks and still waiting for my textbooks for university... we are a month into class. Man oh man. Wish I could have had someone to talk to atleast and voice my complaints, but hey, I get disconnected because apparently their phone lines are busy every day of the week. Geez. Get your act togethor

    oli88i 1/30/12 9:16PM
  • Purchased three eBooks from B&N. Orders were accepted and credit card was charged, but the website won't allow me to download the books.

    What's worse is that customer service refused to acknowledge that there is any issue at all.

    No more Nook for us!

    Calab 1/30/12 3:32AM
  • THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU SHOULD BE LOOKING INTO THESE ISSUES POSTED. I HAVE A PROBLEM OF BILLING MY CREDIT CARD BUT HAVE SEVERAL GIFTS CARDS REGISTERED BUT NOT RECOGNIZED. I SHOULD NOT HAVE TO CALL EACH TIME TO GET CREDIT CARD REFUND. NOOK DOES NOT CHARGE GIFT CARD AT ALL. COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN IS NOT APPEARS TO FALL ON DEAF EARS. I AM JUST GOING TO

    PRITTYLADY 1/28/12 5:23PM
  • I will never order from them again! Just spent 27 mins on a call while they tried to find my son's text book. Was supposed to be shipped on Jan 20. Had tracking number. Kept tracking it. Nothing. Called.We had no delivery estimated date since we couldn't track it!
    B&N wanted to ship a new one ground. NO! Need the text book! Ground would be 5 days. Expidiated looks like 3 days so maybe Wed.
    The tried to blame UPS driver>> Oh he's a personal friend and I happen to work at a UPS Shipping center!
    I told the gal all the steps I took to trace the book. It never arrived at the UPS hub to ship!

    Hollysmom 1/28/12 11:01AM
  • WATCH OUT B&N DOESN'T STAND BEHIND IT'S USED BOOKS COMPANIES!!!!

    I ordered a text book from B & N used books and paid extra in shipping so I could receive the book in 2-3 days. I received an email from the seller saying the book would be shipped after it was supposed to be to me. I complained and all of a sudden the book had beed SOLD TO SOMEONE ELSE and was no longer available to me. I emailed b&n and they basically said too bad and by the way we look foreward to your next order. FAT CHANCE I am done with them

    Anonymous 1/27/12 8:39AM
  • I would give this rating a zero if I could. They sent a package that wasn't supposed to be shipped at all and so I spoke with a representative on why it was sent and she said to just refuse the package and I would be fully refunded. But that was just a joke. So the package was sent to me and I refused it. It almost took a week to be sent back and when they got the package, I talked to a representative through an online chat and he said that I would be fully refunded. Then they sent me an email saying that I'm going to be refunded less than the original package and so I calculated everything and the numbers didn't match up. So I called customer service once again and I had to speak to three different representatives. The first one couldn't explain to me how the charges were put. She just kept repeating what the email said even though the numbers didn't match up. I was on the line with her and she put me on hold at least 5 times saying "I apologize for the inconvenience." She couldn't figure out how the charges were made and so she had to transfer me to the manager. I waited on the line for at least ten minutes and when I was connected, this manager said she couldn't help me because she didn't have the information to explain it to me. So she transferred me to another manager and this manager finally explained to me that there was a hidden charge that NONE of the other 4 representatives told me. And she put the blame on me for not reading the fine print but I made sure that I called and made sure I knew what was going on before I sent the package back so I was really pissed about that. And the final representative I spoke to was extremely rude so I am very dissatisfied about this customer service.

    Above all, I was really pissed because none of this should've happened if they didn't send the package like I asked them to. AND none of the representatives explained to me what charges were made and what hidden fees were put in. Not to mention I was on the phone for almost 45 minutes just to be transferred to 3 different representatives and put on hold for at least 10 times.
    I'm never ordering from here again unless it's an absolute emergency.

    Anonymous 1/26/12 8:07PM
  • I just tried to EXCHANGE a weekly planner that I had received as a gift for a monthly planner. The manager would not allow the exchange because I did not have the receipt... duh, hello... it was a gift that was obviously not used or even opened for that matter! I was told they would know what the gifter had paid. REALLY??? do what every other retailer does, give the current price! I was shocked! In todays economy when brick and mortar bookstores are a dying breed, one would think B&N would want to keep their customers happy and comin' back for more! Go figure...

    B&N Hater 1/26/12 8:07PM
  • They sent the WRONG book and won't contact me back about replacing it. NO customer service!!!

    Docar 1/26/12 7:57PM
  • I accepted a trial membership with B&N since I was a Border's member. I had not planned to take the membership due to the 25.00 fee. However, it was automatically started. I called to ask about this and had terrible customer service. I agreed to take the membership but I asked for the membership card. The person kept saying "you need a replacement card"--no, I never got one! She said she would have a new member packet mailed. that was three weeks ago. I tried the online chat but I could never be connected. I have emailed customer service three times. Today I received a "thank you for your membership" and you will receive a card a week after enrollment. That would have been 1/10/12. The customer service is horrible. I wondered if this was being outsourced out of the US since it was very difficult trying to relate my problem to the tech.

    Kar 1/26/12 12:22PM
  • It is ubelievable that this Company provides such a low and poor customer service. I called the stores on Kendal and Coral gables (Miami) and they both left me on hold for a total of 40 minutes in 3 calls. Each time the person who would pick up says he had to transfer me because he was physically too far from customer service and each time nobody answered. I finally decided to call the little Books & Books store in Coral Gables and their service was amazing. They answered the phone right away and the book I was looking for was available.

    misteffi 1/25/12 7:49AM
  • Have a nook first edition that I purchased 3/8/10. Purchased the 'protection plan' with it. SHOULD guarantee my nook for 2 year. BN says I haven't got a warranty. Meanwhile my nook is unusable, 'ghosting' making the words unreadable. I am SO disappointed, customer service LAUGHED at me when I said I had a first edition nook (I prefer the 3G capabilities and the black and white). I have spent over an hour talking to them on two occasions, plus the didn't log our first conversation so I had to redo everything with the second person! Thinking I may take my complaints to facebook. Seems like that may be the only way people listen these days.

    klmck16 1/24/12 11:28AM
  • they are the rudest company I have dealt with. 3rd companys who sell their products are treated like scum. And they give you the run around and can't even give you a straight answer.

    former customer 1/24/12 10:21AM
  • Unable to get my Nook to work it was returned to Reno NV receiving facility on ( I have a tracking receipt dated )Jan. 3, 2012. More than 3 weeks later I cannot get any help via phone so am preparing to contest it with my credit card company. DO NOT PAY THEM ANY OTHER WAY! ! !

    E J 1/24/12 8:36AM
  • Unbelievable. I thought I could trust B&N's website because I trust the book retailer. Big Mistake. I'm an architect student, and I ordered my book from B&N the night after coming back from class. I was excited to see a rental option, which would have saved me over 100 dollars in comparison to buying it at the campus, so I placed my order Thursday night. It was a 24 hour shipping guarantee, and they sent an email confirming my order, and the expected shipping date was 13th, so I was expecting it to arrive no later than maybe the coming Tuesday, or Wednesday, just in time for my Thursday class. Nope--I checked the order status after two days of no shipping confirmation e-mail, and it still said "NOT YET SHIPPED." I wrote an e-mail to customer service, and didn't receive a reply.

    I was pissed, of course, so I called them up and spoke with a rep. She checked my order for me, and told me it hadn't been shipped, told me that there would still be 3 business days before I could receive it because of some sort of holiday that happened on the monday--Martin Luther King Jr day or something, I don't know, I live in Canada-- so that's fine, but it still doesn't explain why it wasn't shipped on the Friday, because if it were, it'd still be able to arrive to me on time by the Wednesday. The rep told me it'll be shipped immediately, and ready to be picked up on the 21st. I accepted that.

    Then the following day, I received an e-mail from a B&N rep, Randi, replaying to my e-mail sent a few days before, and apologizes for the delay because THEY HAD RUN OUT OF STOCK. I wrote back an angry letter demanding to know what sort of crap service they're running if they've got the gall to accept orders for products that are running out, and sheepishly send an email to the customer SIX DAYS AFTER THE ORDER WAS PLACED TO TELL THEM THAT THEY'VE RUN OUT OF STOCK.

    I cancelled my order, and i'm ordering off Amazon. It's just too bad--I had hope, and I loved that I could rent books. Too bad my first online Barnes n Noble experience was the complete worst.

    Little E 1/20/12 3:17PM
  • My husband and I ordered Nook tablets for Christmas. They did not have some of the features we thought they would so we promptly got Return Authorizations and returned. It took 3 phone calls just to get the RA's. We have proof that they were received back at the warehouse more than a week ago. Customer svc agents by phone and email keep giving us different stories as to why we have not received any credits or confirmations that they have even been received. One rep could not even speak English well enough to understand us. They send back either generic email responses or ask for info that is right in front of them.

    kpet 1/20/12 8:14AM
  • I am no longer able to shop from my Nook. I have Version 1.7.0. I was told that the problem would be resolved shortly. Not so. I have been unable to contact Nook Customer Service - just stonewalled. Up to this point I have been happy with both the easy or purchasing and the local store support. Think twice about buying that Nook and more about the Kindle.

    RBucholtz 1/20/12 8:03AM
  • Placed an order with B&N on December 31st, 2011 and purchased with a gift card I had gotten for Christmas. I checked the order the next day and it said most of the order wouldn't ship until January 23rd, 2012 (despite all items in my cart saying they would ship within 24 hours.)

    I contacted customer service at this point to see why and got no answer. The associate pretty much told me it happens sometimes with no reason as to why. I cancelled a significant portion of my order and eventually received the remaining items on the 1/6/12. Since thie first contact with customer service, I have since contacted them 4 more times, the final time being promised money would be restored to my gift card with in 24 to 48 hours. This was on the 14th... It is now January 18th 2012 and the balance of my giftcard remains at $0. I will NEVER purchase from Barnes and Noble again. Honestly, save yourself the trouble and order from Amazon.

    Revel 1/18/12 7:07PM
  • Requested replacement USB for Color Nook. Waited two weeks and when my order came, it was the plug in with no USB. Called customer service again requested USB. Called back a week and a half later and was told at first that there were no USB cables available in warehouse. After further discussion was told it would be shipped in three to five days. I am not very optimistic. Representatives are friendly and polite, but clueless.

    Anonymous 1/18/12 4:14PM
  • Cancelled membership last year they charged $25 again this year and refused to refund the charge when it was called to their attention. Did not use membership one time in last twelve months. Worst attitude from a customer service person I have ever received. It is my hope that if by telling enough people about their attitude they will loose ten times the $25 they ripped me off for.

    REX 1/18/12 3:22PM
  • I ordered a Nook Tablet on December 12, 2011 for the special promotion: You get a $25.00 E-card when using your Mastercard to order the tablet on that day. I have contacted B& N two times about this issue and they said I should receive it in the next day or two. I waited a week each time with no luck. Although the customer service assistant was friendly, the problem was not solved. It has been frustrating and I am not sure why they will not send it.

    Anonymous 1/17/12 1:12PM
  • I purchased a Nook Color along with an extended warranty plan and within 1 months time, the device began acting erratically - turning pages at random, highlighting words and opening books - without being touched. At other times, the screen was completely unresponsive. We took it to the store where they performed a factory reset and installed a later software version and told us to return for a replacement if it the problem persisted. That evening, the same problems occurred with the Nook. I returned to the store the next morning, however the employee who helped me the previous day was off and another store employee who was asked to assist me, said there was nothing that could be done because I had to first call the 1-800 support number to obtain authorization for an exchange. When I asked if I could contact support through the store, seeing as how I had already made two trips there and had been told the day before to just bring the Nook back if the problem had not been resolved, I was told no (and not in a friendly way) because the employee who assisted me the day before was wrong in telling me to return with the device and that "people make mistakes". After some persistence on my part and seeing for herself the erratic behavior of the device, the employee reluctantly exchanged the Nook for a refurbished one. Within a week's time, this Nook began exhibiting the same problems. This time, I called the 1-800 support number and after close to an hour on the phone, was directed to perform a factory reset and download the most recent software version. It did not help, so I called back and was told that it would be exchanged for anther refurbished Nook. I returned to store to make the exchange. Within days, this Nook began to exhibit the same problems as the first two, only worse. I contacted support again and was told the only thing they could do was either provide me with yet another refurbished device or offer me a prorated refund. I said I was reluctant to accept another refurbished Nook given that three of them all had the same problem and that at this point, I would prefer a full refund of my purchase price. I was told that was not possible because the "14-day" buyer remorse period had passed. I said this was not an issue of buyer's remorse, but rather an issue of defective merchandise being sold by Barnes and Noble. At that point, I was put on hold and told I would be connected with a supervisor. An hour and 15 minutes and two supervisors later, I was connected to someone who identified himself as a manager. I explained the problem to him. He asked me to perform a factory reset and to download the latest software. When I told him that I had down exactly that with the previous Nook's and that it made no difference, he told me that he was so sorry for all the problems I was experiencing with the Nook and that if the reset and download did not resolve the problem, Barnes and Noble would exchange the Nook for a brand new one, not a refurbished one because of the trouble we had had experienced and because Barnes and Noble values its customers. I repeated what he told me regarding Barnes and Noble providing me with a new Nook and he assured me that such was the case and that he was making note of that in my file as we spoke. This seemed reasonable, so I told him I was willing to once more try the reset and software download. When I asked him for his name in case this didn't help, he identified himself as Auguste, spelled his name ("like the month but with an e") for me and said his position was that of a manager. He went on to say that I didn't really need his name because he had documented in my file that I was to be issued a brand new device should problems with the Nook persist after the reset. He told me to call back and that anyone would be able to assist me with the exchange. I thanked him for his help, hung up and immediately performed the reset and downloaded the new software version. Not surprisingly, it made no difference whatsoever. I called support again and explained why I was calling. I was as though it was the fist time I was calling and had to go through the entire story. When I was finished, I was told that the best that could be done was that I either exchange the defective Nook for another refurbished one or accept a prorated refund. I said neither was acceptable as I had just been on the phone for over an hour and had been promised a new Nook by Auguste, the manager with whom I spoke. She told me there was "no one here by that name". I was put on hold for several minutes and then another employee by the name of Edward got on the line. I again shared my story and he told me that there was no one named Auguste, but added "at this location" and that there was nothing in my file indicating that Barnes and Noble would provide me with a new Nook in exchange for the third defective one they had given me. I asked if I could be please be provided with the number of the support team that logged my previous calls so that I could speak with Auguste and he said he couldn't do that and repeated that there was no Auguste and nothing in my file to substantiate my claim. He also said my only choices were to accept a refurbished Nook or a prorated refund since we were beyond the buyer remorse period. By this point, Barnes and Noble had lost all credibility with me and I said that neither was acceptable and that I wanted a full refund since the merchandise was defective from the go get. He said he wouldn't do that. I asked to speak with a supervisor and he told me that he was a supervisor and that if I was dissatisfied I could contact the corporate office, the number of which he rattled off and then hung up. Needless to say, the conduct of the Barnes and Nobles with whom I had contact, was extremely outrageous. At best, they were rude and incompetent and at worst, were outright dishonest and propagating a scam by providing customers with false names and with one defective device after another until enough time elapsed so that they could then claim that only prorated refunds would be made because the 14-day buyer remorse period had expired.





    Anonymous 1/17/12 12:58PM
  • I was forced to buy something from B&N due to the fact that I was given a gift card. What a horrible experience! There website wouldn't let me buy something and send it to someone as a gift. After messing with that for hours, they finally got the order correct but the invoice is still wrong. In addition they charged sales tax at a higher rate than I am required to pay and no one there seem to be able to figure out how to fix the problem. I should just protest the order with the credit card company! BUT, I think I would rather just tell everyone I know about this GREAT experience and let them know if they want anything that resembles customer service to just order from AMAZON. Incidentally, email inquiries resulted in being told that customer service was very busy and to check their frequently asked questions. Yeah - Right!

    Anonymous 1/16/12 2:31PM
  • Barnes and Nobles canceled an order. I place it on Friday & it was canceled by Sun. It was a college book I needed to rent for my daughter. I went on their website after recieving their email and the book was still listed as available for rent.

    When I called customer service & asked for an explanation they advise that the website hadn't been updated and didn't offer any alternative.

    I won't be shopping with them again. I have lost time for a book I needed delivered ASAP for my daughter.

    mmintzs 1/16/12 9:35AM
  • Went into B&N today with my USB cord where the little black component broke off at the plug in site. Wires are exposed. The manager told me she did not have another one in the back for the Nook color and that I would have to buy another USB cord for f14.95. I said, "You have to be KIDDING"? What happens if this starts a fire. She did not seem concerned. So much for customer satisfaction!!! I should have bought a Kindle FIRE!!! B&N lost my business after today. Shame on you!!!

    griffdr 1/14/12 5:05PM
  • "I had a horrible, terrible very bad experience with Barnes and Nobel.com. I ordered a DVD on Thursday Jan. 5th and was given a 3 to 6 day delivery timeframe. I have still not received the item as of today (Jan. 13th). I finally got a person on the phone who told me that the DVD didn't ship until the 7th (why it took two days was not explained). She also had the temerity to tell me that the 7th -- the very day it was shipped -- didn't count in the delivery calculation because it was a Saturday! The package was shipped UPS but for some reason was given to the USPS because it was "small." What is that about? Now they say I will get it delivered on the 16th which is, I believe, a federal holiday (no mail delivery). Don't believe anything these people say. I will never again do business with this incompetent, duplicitous company.

    gliadenfree 1/13/12 4:58PM
  • I tried to return a textbook at my college bookstore and was told that I missed the 7 day deadline (by one day). I contacted the store directly and was told that they make no exceptions. I contacted B&N directly,and after being transferred many times, waiting, and dealing with people who knew less than I did, I asked to speak to a manager and was put on hold.....for a ridiculous length of time. Needless to say, a manager never picked up the call. I was told, however, that college B&N store do not adhere to B&N policies...they set their own!!! I will NEVER purchase another item from B&N due to this terrible experience.

    Anonymous 1/13/12 2:11PM
  • Waited for 15 minutes for a live chat rep, and they signed offline while i was waiting. They also put me on hold for over 15 minutes for a refund that I already requested and never received! Absolutely TERRIBLE Customer service...unbelievable.

    Traverse 1/12/12 3:56PM
  • I will never order anything from Barnes and Noble again. I purchased a game in Nov. 2011, but instead received a book not related to the game. I contacted customer service, and 3 days later I received another wrong item. I returned it and asked for a full refund. Despite numerous phone calls, E-mails, and talked to 3 different managers, I have yet to receive my refund. Customer service is horrible. No one seems to Know what they are doing. Does anyone know how to reach upper managment???

    Anonymous 1/11/12 12:20PM
  • I ordered a Nook Simple Touch on Black Friday with the promotion of receiving a $25 gift card by Dec 29th. That date has come and gone and after several email and phone conversations at 1-880-the-book have only apologies and promises but no Egift card. Each time I call the delay time to be expected gets longer. I wont be purchasing anything else from B&N most assuredly. This was supposed to be part of a Christmas gift.

    Anonymous 1/10/12 11:36AM
  • I have a problem with a nook device from Barnes and Noble. I need a simple part (can snap it on myself) and the part is "no longer available" as they want me to upgrade to a device with significantly reduced features. They were polite, but really? A nook less than two years old with NO REPLACEMENT parts for something that 2 other people I know have broken also?

    B&N lost me as a customer today by trying to force an upgrade and failure to provide support. I'm sad as I loved them and used them for everything. I had even bought 2 nooks for family members and convinced another to buy one. We're all done now. Will use the nooks to download free books and for library usage. Won't buy from B&N. Four paying customers lost in one polite phone call.

    Next e-Reader will be a Kindle. :-(

    CuzSlowpoke 1/10/12 7:45AM
  • Worst customer service I have ever dealt with...each person was telling me something completely different. I had my order shipped to one address, but it was sent to another, and they say they can't change it and that it would take days for the correction to be mad.

    Anonymous 1/9/12 5:05PM
  • I had ordered Nov. 15, 2011 from Barnes & Noble and B&N Marketplace. I received my two bvooks from B&N, but never received my book from the Seller. My order #275769333 (KMM32988231V7079L) the cust. serv. rep's name was Frank Martin. I did wait the 14 days and still there was no book! Please help me with this order or I will call my credit card company for refund. Thank you, Mrs. Bea Buckley

    Anonymous 1/9/12 1:11PM
  • I have been using the Internet since 1997. I've been making my living on it since 2003. I have a lot of experience here. And without the shadow of a doubt, Barnes & Noble's customer service is the WORST on the Net. Period.

    fredsdavis 1/7/12 9:58AM
  • I visited the Barnes and Nobles in Cary, NC on Dec 23. Of course, it was very busy. I was looking for some special books to give as Christmas presents. I spent about 2 hours looking for just the right books to suite each person. I was carrying perhaps 7-8 heavy books. I went into the Starbucks coffee shop there, and placed the heavy books down on a table very close to the cashier. I got my coffee and turned around, maybe 1 minute later, and my books had vanished. The girl at Starbucks tried to help by calling someone to see if they had been picked up. She called them "orphans".
    I myself looked all over the store, and could not find them. I was dismayed by the lack of concern that staff showed me. Except for the Starbucks girl, no one else offered to look, or help me. They acted as if it was my fault because I put my books down for 1 minute. Most of the books I picked out only had 1 copy on the shelf, so I couldn't back track and get more. I was SO upset because I had taken a lot of time to find the right book for my family members. I never complain about customer service, ever...but I feel that I need to get this off my chest. Please think the next time you swoop down on someone's books. You might want to look around and consider that someone spent a lot of time shopping, and needed to unload for a minute.
    Thank you,
    Diane Hussaini

    Anonymous 1/6/12 5:59PM
  • im in manila Philippines, i ordered a book reviewer and chose that $35 international priority courier 1-4 days, immediately, BN posted to my order status-- shipped, so 1-4 days is counting, unfortunately, in 10 days, UPS hasn't updated my tracking yet!! also, i haven't received my item!!! terrible! i contacted their customer service, heck! i know better than them!! if its lost, they told me that they cant replace my item! what a s**tty company it is!! boycott this!!!

    dradaga 1/5/12 7:32PM
  • So, I bought someone a Nook Simple Touch for Christmas. A woman who loves to read, I figured it'd be a thoughtful gift... but I quickly found out how expensive ebooks are, and for all her favorite books it was 3-4x the price to buy the ebook version than to purchase the actual books. And she's on a tight budget, so she can't afford to purchase the ebooks. )Between amazon and ebay alone its simple to find hardback books for the cheap.) Nevertheless I called BN to return it.

    It was purchased with Paypal, so after carefully reading their policy (http://www.barnesandnoble.com/help/cds2.asp?pid=8121). I saw that I needed a special authorization code to return it, but if I bought it with a credit card I could return in the store, but if bought through paypal I had to ship it back.

    I called the number:
    "1-800-THE-BOOK (843-2665) for a return authorization"

    for the authorization code and information to return it. The guy (outsourced to India) insisted that I could return it to the store for the authorization code, so that they could check it im person and so that I could save on shipping, and that it could be processed there and would be in the system so that Barnes and Nobel could refund me via paypal. I asked him 3 times to clarify since the website says the opposite, but he insisted.

    I went into a Barnes and Noble store, and after talking to two managers they told me that that was not possible. And I could only get a barnes and noble giftcard if I returned it in the store. They told me that the person I spoke to was 100% wrong and that there is no process in their POS to do such a thing.

    So today, I called them back today and I got a woman (outsourced in India of course) and she processed it, I got the email with the code and an address. But then the woman proceeds to give me an address opposite the address sent by Barnes and Noble in the email. I told her about the difference, but she said b/c of my reason of return (she described it as "buyers remorse") I had to return it to the address. I told her that I was not comfortable with that b/c of the difference, but that I would ship it there if she could send me an email with the address she just told me. She said she couldn't send emails.

    My question is, has anyone returned a Nook and what address did you send it to?


    Here's the address the woman from India told me to send it to:
    JABIL CIRCUIT OF TEXAS
    911 N.Industrial Park Avenue
    Nogales, AZ 85621

    Here's the address sent by Barnes and Noble in the email:
    Barnes & Noble Global Hub - Reno
    12660 Old Virginia Rd.
    Reno, NV 89511

    Personally, it seems fishy... I googled the address she told me and I can't find any relations to Barnes and Noble. Plus the name "jabil" seems indian and arizona isn't the most moral/legal-activity state (no offense) so it seems foolish to send it there since it has scam written all over it, ESPECIALLY since she couldnt send me an email with that address (her name was Deeh btw). Amazon also has partially outsourced their customer service and all the people I speak with can always send me an email. (some kind of indian barnes and noble nook scam)

    So, I'm going to go ahead and send it to the Barnes and Noble Global Hub address with tracking confirmation.

    Any comments, advice, or experience with returns to Barnes and Noble would be appreciated.

    lavieenrose 1/5/12 2:27PM
  • Do not order from B&N Marketplace Sellers because if something goes wrong, B&N has NO CUSTOMER SUPPORT. Everything is handled through the buyer and marketplace seller, so if the seller decides for whatever reason not to help you or contact you, you have no recourse. In my case, seven days after I placed an order, the item still had not been shipped. I emailed the seller, cancelling the order. The next morning I got an update from B&N saying my item shipped at 12:08 am that morning, AFTER I CANCELLED THE ORDER with the seller. Fortunately I used a mastercard, so if my funds are not returned, I can file with them. Again, STAY AWAY FROM B&N MARKETPLACE!!

    woahisme 1/5/12 6:57AM
  • I WROTE THIS EMAIL TO BARNES AND NOBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE AFTER A HARROWING SHOPPING EXPERIENCE. ANYBODY READING THIS MAIL WILL HAVE THE TRUE STATE OF AFFAIRS AND MY MIND DURING THAT TIME....

    ........MY EMAIL TO BARNES AND NOBLE........

    THIS HAS BEEN A VERY BAD SHOPPING EXPERIENCE ON MY PART, WITH YOU and I demand an immediate answer...I CAME TO SHOP WITH BARNES AND NOBLE WITH LOTS OF HOPE , BUT LET ME BE FRANK...I AM TOTALLY DISAPPOINTED WITH YOU...I HAVE FAR MORE BETTER EXPERIENCES WITH CONCERNS LIKE AMAZON.COM ETC. ..

    THE WAY YOU RESPOND TO YOUR INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS, PARTICULARLY THOSE WHO BEING PHYSICALLY FAR FROM YOU RELY ON YOUR EFFICIENCY AND TRANSPARENCY, NEEDS LOT OF IMPROVEMENT...BEING AN AMERICAN BUSINESS CONCERN, I THOUGHT YOU TO BE MUCH MORE PROFESSIONAL THAN OUR EASTERN COUNTERPARTS..BUT I AM SORRY YOU FRUSTRATE AND ANNOYED ME...LET ME BE CLEAR....
    I had lot of problems with this order...The latest being with the item.." Ernest Hemingway: Four Novels (Barnes & Noble Leatherbound Classics)"....THIS IS ONE OF THE TEN BOOKS THAT I ORDERED FROM YOU....YOU CLAIMED IN YOUR WEBSITE AND THROUGH YOUR EMAIL TO ME THAT YOU SHIPPED IT ON 31.12.2011 AND YOU PROMPTLY CHARGED MY CREDIT CARD, THE ONLY TASK YOU PERFORM WITH UTMOST ZEAL AND EFFICIENCY.....HOWEVER THIS WAS NOT AT ALL TRUE...THE UPS TRACKING NUMBER THAT YOU PROVIDED ME FOR THIS PARTICULAR ITEM(1Z1813436634125347) CLEARLY SHOWED THAT THE CARRIER RECEIVED THIS ITEM ONLY ON 04.01.2012..THAT TOO AFTER LOTS OF EMAILS TO YOU FROM MY PART AND ALSO INCESSANT CHATTING ON MY PART WITH YOUR CUSTOMER REPRESENTATIVES, WHO INITIALLY COMPLETELY RULED OUT ANY MISTAKE FROM YOUR COMPANY'S PART , BUT FINALLY ACCEPTED THAT IT WAS YOUR FAULT.....
    NOW THAT THIS ITEM IS SHIPPED I FIND IT WILL REACH ME ONLY AFTER 10.01.2012, THOUGH I , IN MY ORIGINAL ORDER, I OPTED FOR THE FASTEST SPEED OF DELIVERY, THE INTERNATIONAL EXPRESS DELIVERY MODE...AND PAID IN FULL FOR THAT....HOWEVER , WHEN I ASKED UPS OFFICE FOR THIS CURRENT ITEM, THAT IS IN TRANSIT...WITH TRACKING NO. ..1Z1813436634125347., AND ASKED THEM WHY IT SHOULD BE LATE....THEY POSITIVELY INFORMED ME THAT YOU, YOU ONLY HAVE ASKED THEM TO DELIVER THIS VIA EXPEDITED SERVICE WHICH IS A MUCH CHEAPER MODE OF DELIVERY, AND THAT IS WHY THIS PARTICULAR ITEM..( Ernest Hemingway: Four Novels (Barnes & Noble Leatherbound Classics)
    Ernest Hemingway
    Hardcover
    ISBN-13: 9781435129849.."..WILL NOW REACH ME LATE....
    I STILL HAVE THIS MAIL FROM UPS CUSTOMER SERVICE STORED IN MY INBOX...
    WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO ME..???..CAN YOU ANSWER...???..HAVE I NOT PAID FOR THE FASTEST SHIPPING MODE..????..THEN WHY DID YOU SHIP MY ITEM THROUGH A CHEAPER MODE OF SHIPPING....???..I DEMAND AN ANSWER...
    I HAVE ALREADY CANCELLED THE LAST ITEM OF THIS ORDER THAT WAS STILL REMAINING TO BE SHIPPED AS I DO NOT WANT TO FACE SIMILAR SITUATION...IS THIS NOT CHEATING ,,??...I AM NOT USED TO SUCH FOOLING AND I AM USED TO GET THE SERVICE FOR WHICH I AM PAYING...AND YOU HAVE THOROUGHLY FAILED IN THAT REGARD...I WANT THIS TO BE REPORTED TO THE HIGHEST AUTHORITIES OF YOUR COMPANY AND CURRENTLY TRYING TO FIND HOW TO CORRESPOND WITH THEM................
    LET ME TELL YOU FRANKLY....I HAVE MUCH MORE BETTER SHOPPING EXPERIENCES WITH CONCERNS LIKE "AMAZON.COM" AND "AMAZON.CO.UK."..THEY ARE MORE FRIENDLY AND EFFICIENT THAN YOU, MUCH MORE CONCERNED ABOUT CUSTOMER WELFARE AND MUCH MUCH MORE PROMPT IN SOLVING CUSTOMER PROBLEMS...YOU ARE NOT EVEN PROMPT IN ANSWERING QUERIES....

    I EXPECT YOU TO GET IN TOUCH WITH UPS COURIER IMMEDIATELY AND ENHANCE THE SHIPPING SPEED OF THIS PARTICULAR PACKAGE..(TRACKING NO. 1Z1813436634125347) SO THAT IT REACHES ME WITHIN THE PROPER TIME FRAMEWORK FOR WHICH I PAID...ALREADY IT IS TOO LATE...DO NOT GIVE THE SAME OLD EXCUSE OF HOLIDAY SEASON AND RUSH HOUR..ETC...YOU ARE TAKING MONEY AND HENCE I AM ENTITLED TO GET THE RIGHT SERVICE..IF SOMETHING WRONG HAS BEEN DONE, WHICH EVIDENTLY IS SO IN THE PRESENT CASE OF MINE, THEN ONLY SAYING SORRY WOULD NOT DO....YOU ARE TO COMPENSATE FOR MY LOSS....
    OTHERWISE IT WILL BE VERY VERY BAD PUBLICITY FOR YOU...
    I ALSO EXPECT YOU TO HUNT DOWN THE PARTICULAR PERSONS IN YOUR DISPATCH SECTION AND MAKE THEM ANSWERABLE, WHY THEY DID THIS TO ME....
    ULTIMATELY, I KNOW IT IS HIGHLY POSSIBLE THAT YOU WILL JUST DISREGARD THIS BIG MAIL OF MINE AND DO NOTHING..BUT THAT WOULD ONLY PROVE MY NEGATIVE VIEWS ABOUT YOU TO BE CORRECT, CURRENTLY WHICH ARE DEEPLY INGRAINED IN MY MIND AND MAKE ME MORE RESOLUTE NOT TO COME BACK TO YOU IN FUTURE....

    SO JUST ENHANCE THE DISPATCH SPEED OF MY PACKAGE SO THAT IT REACHES ME WITHIN NEXT TWO DAYS OR COMPENSATE ME ....THAT IS MY DEMAND
    .........END OF THE MAIL........

    A.M. 1/5/12 2:31AM
  • I bought a nook that stopped working after downloading two books. The store refused to replace it, saying that I must call the 1-800 service number. I have now called four times, with each call taking at least 30 minutes. The first rep. told me that an email would be sent with authorization for a replacement. This didn't arrive. The second call resulted in an email authorization, but for a pre-owned nook. I called again and insisted on receiving a new one. This was resisted until I asked to speak to a supervisor. I was put on hold for a lengthy time, then the original supervisor returned saying that I had been authorized for a new nook. The email arrived - and only authorized a pre-owned replacement.
    I will now ask my credit card company to pursue a refund. Don't buy a nook.

    Anonymous 1/4/12 1:24PM
  • I ordered a 60$ Doll from BN.com for my daughter as a Xmas gift. Took 3 weeks to get it and when I emailed customer service 2 weeks after my order date no adequate explanation was given except to tell me to contact my local mail office. But when I finally recieved the doll it looked nothing like the picture posted on the BN website. Needless to say I was disappointed but my daughter loved the doll so we kept it. I decided however to go to the BN website and write a review telling other parents that the picture of the doll was very misleading even though the doll was cute but in the end it's not what they are really buying and paying alot of money for. Turns out BN.com moderators do not allow free speech on their website and if they dont like reviews they will let you post it. When I complained to customer service, they just sent instructions on how to edit my review of the doll. NEVER buying anything from BN again and one of the best customer service experience I have experienced in YEARS!!

    Disappointed mom 1/3/12 6:03PM
  • Okay, this is just to warn you people never to order anything from Barnes & Noble. Their customer service is the worst I've ever experienced. I ordered something for my boyfriend's birthday on 11/25. My order shipped two days later, and it still hasn't arrived... Although it's already 1/3. I live in Europe, and I was aware of the fact that I'd have to wait for 22 days max. It's been more than a month, and nothing has arrived yet.

    I talked with a customer support rep a week ago, who explained that my local post office and customs might be the reason for the delay. He adviced me to wait for two weeks, and talk with the local post office.
    I am really upset about the tracking number they gave me, which didn't work. When I brought it up, they told me that International Airmail can't be tracked. To be specific, those orders "have no tracking number". Needless to say, my local post office cannot offer any kind of help unless I provide them with a tracking number. When I asked why I was given a tracking number in the first place, he dodged the question.

    So... A few minutes ago, I talked with yet another customer support rep. I asked her what exactly is the use of that tracking number, to which she replied that orders like mine do not have a tracking number. That got me really frustrated, so I gave her my tracking number. And then... Oh what a surprise! She asked me to call customer support. A phone call from Europe to America costs a lot, so that is not an option for me... As well as many others, I suppose.

    I'd be very willing to ignore the matter if I got an apology. I already had to buy a different gift so as not to show up empty-handed on my boyfriend's birthday, so I thought there was no point being angry any more. However, it's just impossible to ignore such rudeness.

    Bottomline, just avoid Barnes & Noble. I have never seen anything like that in my entire life - terrible service, and not even an apology.

    Vickie 1/3/12 10:37AM
  • I received a BN Nook Simple Reader as a Christmas present. After using it for a day or two, I realized that it was just too small for my use. I attempted to exchange it for an upgrade to the tablet version and was told that I couldn't do it since I didn't have the receipt. Barnes & Noble customer service is the pits- they want people to buy their products to give as gifts but won't help with adjustments. What a crock. Anyone want to buy a practically new Nook for $10?

    UnhappyinRockville 1/2/12 7:33PM
  • I know in a way this is my fault but I think it is a bit ridiculous to charge a $20 fee for cancelling an order! I will never be buying from B&N ever again. I have had problems with them in the past but this is the final straw. I have never been charged for cancelling an order on any other site. Just a thank you email for considering shopping with them. They were very rude to me on the phone when I questioned about this. I just wanted to know why I was charged but instead they were very rude about it and that could have been avoided.

    mimi 1/2/12 1:29PM
  • I got a Nook Tablet for Christmas but needed to return it due to some issues with the device. I deleted all my content before mailing it back, but stupidly forgot to deregister it (before purchasing and registering a new NT). It didn't hit me until I was registering the new device.

    So now, a week later, I have spoken to customer service four times trying to get them to deregister the device for me. Each time it takes forever to get them to even understand what to me seems like a simple issue. Each time they assure me the device is deregistered, but every time I check my account online it's not. It takes everything in me to be calm while trying to deal with their obvious incompetence. At this point, I'm ready to return the device and cancel my B&N account altogether before the 14 day return period is up.

    I also didn't appreciate the snide attitude of the first customer support person I got who lectured me on the importance of always deregistering devices before returning them. Before going on to give me false information and be completely unhelpful.

    This is some of the worst customer service I've ever received in my life. B&N is about to lose me as a customer all because they couldn't resolve what should have been a simple issue.

    Disappointed 1/2/12 12:31PM
  • I went to return a Christmas gift I had purchased for my son today @ Barnes & Nobel. I had purchased this encyclopedia on 10/24/11 using my debit card for $50.00. Apperently their return policy states that with a reciept, they will refund only 14 days after purchase! I never flipped the reciept over to see this, as it was bought as a Christmas gift.My son recieved 2 of the same books as gifts.I was forced to take a "gift card" because the manager could do "nothing for me".I think this policy is ridicules, especially at the holiday season!!

    Anonymous 12/31/11 2:06PM
  • Incredibly bad service. Ordered 2 Nook books online as same time as gift. Daughter could only download one. They had me erase current address and charge card and reenter as solution. Still could not download. Told to get it as gift card and still same message and daughter unable to download gift. I checked and it was already charged to my account 2 weeks before. Huge waits on phone. Tried talking to supervisor. Still waiting for 20 minutes after 25 minute discussion with service rep. Daughter on phone 40 minutes day before. Incredibly bad service. Will never shop here again.

    Kathy 12/31/11 10:26AM
  • Customer service was slow to respond on "chat" and then did nothing to resolve my problem and told me to "Have a Happy Holiday." Seriously?!!! The product I ordered on 12/19 and that the website said would ship in "1-2 days" will still not even be here by New Years. It was supposed to have been a Christmas gift.

    Brandy 12/30/11 8:29PM
  • I have had an account with BN and a Nook for 3 years. I have purchased around 20 books on my Nook and countless others in store over the years. This morning when I tried to purchase a book through my Nook a message came up that said BN did not have my email address on file. I went online to BN's website and tried to log in to my account but it also said they did not have my email address in their records. I finally called Customer Service, I told them my name and email address and they could not find my account. The Customer Service rep told me that I must have the wrong email address and directed me to look on my Nook for the listed email address on the device. It was the same email address I had entered in a billion times and spelled out for him at least three times. He told me it must be wrong, said that BN does not delete accounts EVER, and hung up on me. The end. Now I have a useless Nook that I cannot buy any more books on, my wishlist, which was over 300 books long, is gone, and if I create a new account then all of the books I bought on the Nook will disappear. What a way to say Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from BN!

    Kristin Y. 12/30/11 1:49PM
  • Barnes & Noble customer service sucks. When you phone you get some third world jerkoff whose command of English is limited. Their lousy FAX number doesn't work and their interactive chat is a joke. I will never again buy anything from Barnes & Noble. Use them at your own risk.

    DKHunter 12/29/11 8:25PM
  • Ordered two items as Christmas presents back in November. One item shipped as scheduled but the other was "delayed" and I was asked to authorize a 30 day extension. (The extension ended Dec. 16) Since that date I have clicked the "cancel" button at least ten different times only to receive an automated reply telling me they can't cancel the order because it has already been shipped (it hasn't). I have also emailed customer service three different times and I get the same reply. Customer service is horrible! I will never buy from this company again

    gda32570 12/29/11 9:28AM
  • i will never do business with them again. ordered something rush shipping on the 12th of dec. the person i talked to could not speak english and said i must wait 14 buisness days for my fiances christmas present on dec 28th. did not offer any refund after i said i do not want

    ano 12/29/11 7:28AM
  • I bought a Nook Tablet for my wife and after she tried one at the store she decided that she wanted the I pad instead. Since I was over the 14 days all I was offered was a store credit of $314. Even best buy lets you bringg back a present you don't like.I hope to sell it to someone else that wants one and you can believe that I'm now an Amazom customer.

    Anonymous 12/28/11 4:00PM
  • I received two Nooks for Christmas. I went to return one that was totally still factory wrapped and I also had the receipt. They refused to give me the money back and only offered a gift certificate. I was NOT pleased to say the least. I am no longer a B & N customer!

    angry customer 12/27/11 3:23PM
  • I personally do not recommend BN Textbook rental service. Although the book arrives in time, they have an unrealistic return policy. For example, I had a book which was due on 22Dec11, shipped the book on 18DEC11 via the prepaid UPS label they provide. Was still charged the extension fee because the book did not arrive at the warehouse by the 22nd. Due to the holiday rush, they did not care to factor in the increased holiday shipping traffic. Had to fight with Customer Service in order to get my refund for the extension. Once I dropped the book off at UPS, had no longer had control as to when the book arrived. As of today(27DEC), the book is still in transit with a scheduled delivery of 28DEC!!

    Anonymous 12/27/11 12:07PM
  • Have been trying to contact Barnes and Noble for problem resolution for 3 days with no luck (phone, email, live chat, pony express, smoke signals, etc.)

    Deserted 12/27/11 7:51AM
  • I just returned from a horrible trip to Barnes and Noble. Not horrible from the post holiday rush or the amount of people inside, horrible due to the treatment of myself and my son at the hands of the rude TSA agent like staff at the Barnes and Noble on Tyler. when we first walked in their metal detectors went off as I walked through. A young girl came running from behind me screaming " EXCUSE ME, EXCUSE ME, I NEED TO CHECK YOU TO SEE WHY THE ALARM WENT OFF." not being sure what she was going to actually check being my hands were empty and I had a purse the size of a wallet, I said ok. she then asked : i need to check your clothes to see if you have any anti-theft tags on your clothes. WHAT! I said "my clothes are not new and there are none. she then asked if I had any gift cards in my wallet that have NOT been activated. both questions were an accusation that I stole my clothes and I stole gift cards from someplace and walked into Barnes and Noble with them. I told her, look I don't know what to tell you as to why your censors went off but I just walked in and don't have anything that belongs to you.I paid for what we bought, walked out the door and low and behold they went off on me again. a different girl approached me this time and attempted to say the same things to me. I cut her off and said we just went through this because they went off when I walked in. she went and got her manager and she then said this " GIVE ME YOUR WALLET AND I WILL SWIPE IT AND DE-ACTIVATE IT" I looked at her and said "are you out of your mind, clearly you have zero training and no clue what your doing. if you swipe my wallet you de-activate the magnetic strip on all my credit cards." then she said "well, give me your purse, maybe you still have a anti-theft device still attached to it." all the while numerous people were watching as though they were watching someone who just got caught stealing.she then said, " give me your purse and walk through the metal detectors again. I said that"s it, have a great day. and I left. they wanted to physically search my body, remove my possessions from me, de-activate my credit cards, take my wallet, ALL ILLEGAL ! can you say LAWSUIT! search and seizure without cause is Illegal in the state of California. and just because they went of when I walked in doesn't cut it.
    I will never spend money in BARNES AND NOBLE again...

    Takin$eslwhere 12/26/11 5:36PM
  • I ordered 2 Nook Simple Touch for my parents for Christmas gifts. One works, is all set upa nd they have ordered books on it. The other does not work, I spent hours on hold woth Support and online tutorial videos, it is simply defective. Today, after over an hour on hold, I was hung up on by the first person I spoke to, then after another 45 minutes on hold, I was told I was too late to return, it was past 14 days from the order date. The supervisor I was finally able to speak with after another 20 minutes on hold told me the same thing. No apologies, no nothing. I was forced to purchase a third Nook to replace the defective one so my parents could have the same units. They refused to even give me a refund for the extended service plan I purchased for the defective one. I have had my own Nook for about a year now and I really like it, I have spent hundreds of dollars on books for it. As I was having my final discussion with the rude supervisor, I was ordering a Kindle Fire for myself.Barnes and Noble, you lose, I have spent thousands of dollars in your stores and online. Amazon will be happy to have my business.

    LisaBVL 12/26/11 2:15PM
  • The customer service sucks! I wrote a review and mentioned what I went thru with CS and it was deleted. I paid over $130 for a piece of useless junk! Here is the review...First, this looks good but it's cheaply made! The Parent handle is basically useless. It worked on the very first ride but the next time I attempted to use it it was so loose I couldn't control it. There is really no purpose if you can't steer it. It's very LOUD!! You can hear the cheap plastic scraping the ground a mile away. I tried it without the base which you really don't need but the wheels are SO cheap that one broke off while my baby was in it!!!! I contacted Barnes & Noble and they promised me a refund. I NEVER received it. I followed up with them many times. Finally two months from my first contact they said the refund was wrong but said they can send the postage in the mail to return it for a FULL refund. Needless to say, I never received that either. This trike is cute but so not worth the nmoney. It shouldn't be more than $30 for the quality you get. Due to the barely there Barnes & Noble customer service I will NEVER order anything from them again!!!

    angrymiss 12/23/11 11:29AM
  • Same as AnneC below. No word on website that the book is backordered, until after you order it. Should be listed very clearly on the page when shopping. An underhanded way to get you to buy and then...oh by the way, hoping people will not cancel. I too am done with them.

    zzzzz 12/23/11 9:15AM
  • I am DONE shopping at Barnes and Noble. I tried adjusting to their service model after Borders closed, but after spending 45 minutes looking for six different titles by going to the service desk, I left more than irritated. Why can't they make a few computers available to customers so we can look up simple information like author, genre and title?? Instead, I waited forever while 2 clerks tried to answer phone questions and questions from customers. I will switch to amazon.com for all future book shopping.

    Anonymous 12/22/11 8:57PM
  • Our family has two e-readers and an iPad. I've had a chance to talk w/CS at B&N, Kindle and Apple. B&N has the worst CS I've ever encountered. Based on my experience, I highly recommend to those considering e-readers and/or tablets to stay away from this very poorly run company.

    Cbates 12/22/11 3:12PM
  • This is the first year I've done any sort of internet shopping, and it has ruined what used to be a very profitable relationship between myself and Barnes and Noble. On the 17th of December I ordered over $250 worth of books for a birthday gift for a family member. I was perfectly willing to pay the expidited shipping fees to have it here in time for the birthday, which is the 22nd. I recieved an email confirmation saying that my order had been shipped on the 18th. I didn't really look it over, as my only real experience with internet shopping has been with Amazon, which is a top notch orginization. Yesterday (the 21st) I decided to find out where my order is, so I looked at the confirmation email, and noticed that my order was not going to be shipped until the 10th of January. The header on the email said very plainly that my order was confirmed for shipping, in 1 -3 days. Except that I guess they meant 1-3 days from the 10th of January? Hopped on the phone, took forever to reach a human, was cut off. Called back again, eventually got in touch with a human, who while was sorry, was unable to help with this situation. His explination was that they were waiting for one book (out of seven) that was on back order from a third paryty. And of course they absolutely will not ship the rest of the items until they are all ready to ship. Really??? I very nicely let him know that I understand that none of this is his fault, but I'm ending my relationship with this store.Even though its not the actual physical neighborhood store that I have an issue with, I will never again walk into it, nor will I ever again be ordering off of Barnes and Noble on the internet. I am quite disappointed with the service I have recieved, and I feel lied to.

    AnneC 12/22/11 6:37AM
  • i have had ongoing problems with them.
    i tried to renew my membership and get a new membership number. they said it would take 10days to 2 weeks to reach me.i ordered in oct. have never received it.
    i spoke to them by phone and they said i couldn't use my old number and,again,said i would get it in a few days.nope,no card.
    today i wanted to shop for books to buy and the site wouldn't show a full screen. there was no navigation arrow across the bottom screen. was an up and down but no across.
    ispoke to someone by phone and was given no solution. was asked to increase screen size,had already tried that.
    i asked to cancel my membership and was
    i
    told i

    would not rceive a refund.
    so i,m stuck with a useless membership and the site is hopeless.
    i have had good service in the past but none in the past few months.
    maybe since they took over Borders?
    i am disabled and can't drive and love to read.very dissapointed.

    angel 12/21/11 4:30PM
  • I have been fighting with Barnes and Noble for 2 weeks. I stupidly bought a Nook for my daughter. I did not receive my discount. I have fought and argued with CSR after CSR. In the middle of it all, I received an email asking me to take a survey about my satisfaction with my experience with Customer Service. Seriously?! Today, I received an email from the company telling me the Membership guidelines. I am disgusted with this company.

    Lilabeth 12/21/11 3:56PM
  • I repeatedly cancelled an order, but its status remained as to be shipped. It was ordered as an in stock item on November 28th. Not delivered by December 20th. I tried to communicate online about the delay and got the response that online customer service was not available. So I cancellde the order and reordered with Booksamillion. These guys are absolute shockers

    Nick 12/20/11 5:57PM
  • I called 1-800-THE-BOOK because I couldn't use the online system to redeem a gift card and NOT use my credit card. I am now on hold to place my purchase. The recording is saying "Your estimated wait time is less than 5 minutes" CONTINUOUSLY, no pause between sentences but over and over "Your estimated wait time is less than 5 minutes Your estimated wait time is less than 5 minutes Your estimated wait time is less than 5 minutes". I hung up after 2 minutes. Ridiculous.

    mc 12/19/11 6:25PM
  • Barnes and Noble has FALSE advertising about helping with the Nook. I brought mine in for help updating and they said, "We can't help you with that here." The commercials lie. Poor service!

    hater 12/19/11 5:56PM
  • I was waiting to check out in the music section at the barnes and noble on Haywood rd in Greenville,SC. I was the only one in line yet I had waited for several minutes already when the girl working the nook stand just cut in front of me with the customer she was helping. I waited some more while the girl who was working the register didnt comment that i was there first. After they begin a lengthy conversation about the nook i put back my cd and left very ticked off. What kind of customer service is it where the workeds jump the check out line in order to help another customer who didnt wait at all?

    anick492 12/19/11 5:05PM
  • I'm on the phone with Barnes and Noble customer service as I type. I've been put on hold...I think he's mad at me because he put me on hold without telling me why. My PC version of Nook has stolen three books that I've bought and paid for by refusing to let me download them! I had to go on the phone and get the rest of my library back, but these three wouldn't work no matter what we did. They refuse to refund my money for the items. That's about 35 dollars. I think it's time to go back to paper!

    Pissed Off consumer 12/19/11 10:43AM
  • Terrible customer service! Can't get to a live person! I have ordered a gift card for Christmas and I have never received it. It was ordered Nov 23. They were to ship another out onf Dec 16 and I have not received it either. Now I am on hold for ever and can't get to a live person. Terrible Service.

    Anonymous 12/19/11 8:13AM
  • I use my Barnes and Noble Nook constantly. I love it.

    BUT... After I installed new software three days ago, I started having a problem with the display. I sent an email to their customer service asking how to fix it. They replied that I would love their new software update, and should install it.

    Wait, what? I tried again. No, the new software caused the problem. Is it a bug? Can it be fixed?

    What do you know, I got another reply telling me to try their great new upgrade. I'm disgusted.

    I haven't tried their phone support yet. I'll report back if I have better luck there.

    Zabster 12/16/11 11:02PM
  • sold me something that wasnt in stock, have yet to refund my credit card, been on hold for a total of 4 hours combined, and 27 emails, and a bbb complaint , and they don't care. If i had not checked on the order status, i would never have gotten the item or my money. They suck and should go out of business.

    ganafar 12/15/11 11:32AM
  • Still on the phone with customer service after 49 minutes 31 seconds. Gone full circle..customer service rep who couldn't understand the request; Supervisor who understood credit request, approved and transferred back to customer service rep who is arguing the supervisor's decision. Being transferred back to a supervisor. 53 minutes and counting...

    bn-is-a-joke 12/13/11 10:28AM
  • I ordered a DVD boxes set for a Christmas present only to find out after I'd submitted my order that it wouldn't ship till January. I followed the online instructions to cancel the order within 24 hours of placing it. It appeared that was done, but I never received an email confirmation. I sent emails to various entities at B&N and was finally after 3 days informed that once an order has been placed it couldn't be canceled. Furthermore I was welcome to return it if I didn't want it. Huge hassle and expense.
    Will not do business with them again.

    Unhappy at xmas 12/13/11 7:35AM
  • I sent the following via email to B&N customer service several days ago, and received no reply. No acknowledgment. Zero.
    ***
    Tonight at the Barnes & Noble on 3rd Street Promenade, in Santa Monica, CA, a B&N bookseller (Nick G) refused to honor my B&N membership. My account is in good standing, and has been for many years, since it was established by my father. But when I gave this bookseller the phone number on file with my account, he insisted that there was no account associated with that number. When at last he found that there is indeed an account associated with the very number I had given him, still he insisted that the account did not exist, and indeed treated me as though I had fabricated it - as though I were a liar, in other words, and my account a fake. Once a computer resolved this matter, I received no apology from your bookseller - no acknowledgment at all, in fact, of his error. According to his demeanor, it was I who was at fault, I who had misinformed. This is not true, as your records will reveal.

    The number of expensive titles that I purchase from B&N every year is significant. Yet, I'm nevertheless forced to wonder whether continuing my B&N membership - which, again, I have had for years - is genuinely worth maintaining. If B&N booksellers will not honor a valid membership, what is the point of my continuing to pay for one? I would like to point out that one reason why the bookselling industry is in poor health at this juncture may be just the sort of "customer (dis)service" that I received tonight, which only indicates to me that it is simply not worth persisting in my loyalty to flesh-and-blood booksellers - especially when that loyalty carries an annual membership fee. At least online bookstores, maintained by computers, can recognize the validity of my account information. Neither do computers treat their customers as frauds. It is sorely disappointing to come away from what was once among life's greatest pleasures - in-person book-shopping - with nothing but frustration.

    Anonymous 12/13/11 12:18AM
  • Barnes and Noble is conducting business in the Stone Age! I ordered a $50 gift certificate as a Christmas gift for my daughter. Since, unlike amazon.com, I could not specify a deliver date -- it had to be emailed right away -- I had it emailed to myself so I could print it out and include it with her Christmas package which must go out tomorrow. I checked my email a few hours later, and no certificate. I checked my order online and found that I would not get the certificate for 2 days! By email! I called customer service, got disconnected 3 times (!) and finally reached someone who could not help me. She transferred me to another department where I was told that any order over $49 triggered an alert and credit card information had to be verified. For some reason, it takes B&N 2 days to take care of a verification that everyone else can do immediately. When I explained why I needed the certificate immediately and asked the representative to expedite the process he told me his computer was down, there was no one else in the office, there was no one he could transfer me to for better help, and that I would have to wait until 10:00 tomorrow morning to reach anyone. This, during the busiest, most profitable season for retailers! Needless to say, this will be my last Barnes and Noble transaction. Thank heaven for Amazon.

    agentdiane 12/12/11 7:48PM
  • On 11/23 I placed an order with Barnes & Noble online store using the excellent Black Friday coupon. I ordered a PlayStation 3 Uncharted Bundle Pack as my children unanimously want a PS3 for all of it's
    valuable features. I have never used B&N' online store before.

    On 11/23 I received confirmation that my order had been successfully received and would soon be processed. On 11/24 I received a notice that my order was confirmed and would ship on 11/25 and I should expect my product within of the ship date of 2-6 days. On 11/26 I checked the status of my order to get a tracking number and saw the order was
    cancelled. At this point, I had already missed all other Black Friday deals I could afford, mind you. I proceeded to call Custer Service. The first person I spoke with was polite, but solidly unwilling to help me. He even to failed to explain to me WHY my order had been cancelled. I requested to speak with a supervisor. The Supervisor explained to me that my order had been cancelled due to an issue with the Black Friday coupon I had used. I informed her that I had received NO phone calls and NO email notifying me of the issue. At this point she told me she is not able to help
    me further, but instead gave me the email address of the management team for customer service. She assured me that the management team could help me and make this right. I was not happy about this being delayed again, but trusting the supervisor, I concluded my phone call.

    On 11/27 I received an email requesting for me take a Survey about my Customer Service experience. I decided I would take this later, after the issue had been resolved. Now here is where my frustration continues to mount. My funds were still held up in the cancellation process, so I was still unable to purchase ANYTHING similar anywhere else. So I missed Cyber Monday as well. Monday 11/28 goes by...not email response, fine...I can understand this, being Monday that is fine. Tuesday 11/29, still no email, but I did get ANOTHER request to take ANOTHER survey. I decided to give it a little more time. On Wednesday 11/30 I decide to take the survey. I completed the survey before lunch. I had an email response at 3:47pm EST that day. I don't know if they are related, but three days to reply to an mail of this nature is not very professional.

    The email sent said my concerns and case have been sent to "the appropriate parties" whomever they are. I then in short order receive a coupon for 30% off my purchase. Excellent, I was happy. I then looked at the "See Details" portion of the email. I saw the limitations of the coupon and it is NOT even usable on the product I wished to purchase! I had just been given a useless coupon to my needs. I then ALSO saw that the comparable products you have on your site say "Note: This item does not qualify for coupons or promotional discounts unless expressly stated". So even if the coupon did not have that restriction, nothing remotely similar to the product I intended to purchase would have accepted the coupon anyway!

    So I replied BACK to the email with my feelings and my point of view on this "solution" (included below for your reference). I received a response. After reading the response I became even more angry. Her email had MULTIPLE factual inaccuracies. I then responded back pointing them out and ultimately expressing my dissatisfaction and my wishes.

    The response was very curt and basically made me feel like "I am done helping you talk to this guy". The email provides me with the email address for the VP of customer service. So I am back to explaining my story again...for the third time.

    I receive a response from the customer management team......the SAME people that sent me to the VP! I reply back that THEY are not the people that I emailed. I then received a phone call that says they are not going to help me at all.

    I am done with Barnes and Noble. I am extremely dissatisfied. I feel that the fault lies in the misleading email given to me, confirming my purchase and providing me with an anticipated ship day. If there was something wrong with the coupon the system should have caught it WHEN my order was placed. It could have also caught it BEFORE the order was confirmed, and I DEFIANTLY should have been notified of the cancellation I did receive a Cancellation notice on the 30th (well AFTER I had started this communication). I missed my opportunity to purchase a comparable product elsewhere (Walmart, Amazon, Target, etc had other options) for Black Friday as well as Cyber Monday. Then being told in email that my order was cancelled for a completely different reason then what I was told initially means that either the supervisor or manager were providing me with false information. Either way, that is WHOLLY unacceptable. I feel that the amount of time and energy that I have had to expend on this is beyond the pale. Missing BOTH big sales days of the year was not taken into consideration and they have no reguard for ME as their customer.

    solarum 12/12/11 1:42PM
  • This is cumulative over the course of several calls.

    First, there was a problem where I wasn't able to order a Nook Simple Touch and renew my membership at the same time. I was trying to take advantage of the cyber-Monday sale, so time was of the essence. They told me they couldn't process the order online. Ultimately, I found a way to order the membership first, then a few hours later, order the Nook Simple Touch. Then it wouldn't give me the $10 discount on the Nook! Forty minutes of customer service later, I got that resolved. They still don't know why it wasn't automatic.

    So then a few days pass. First there's a delay in the order. Fine, I understand, it was a popular sale. Then the next day it says it shipped. Great! But after a few more days, UPS' tracking status still says they've only received a shipping label and it hasn't left. As a member, I'm getting Next-Day Air so it should have already arrived. I called Barnes and Noble-- they said they shipped it and its a problem with UPS. I call UPS- they say only a shipping label was created and they never received the actual package.

    So I called Barnes and Noble back, and an hour later, after being transferred through four different people and having to retell the problem over and over again, they finally agree to reship the item. Here's the final kick in the face though-- I won't receive it for 2 more weeks! I reminded them that as a member I should be getting Next Day Air, but I was told 'there's nothing we can do.' I asked if there was any kind of compensation for the delay and inconvenience and they said there was none.

    So here I am, hours of customer service later with my single item that I was supposed to receive two or three days after ordering (November 28th), and now I won't be receiving it until after Christmas. Some present... hope my fiancee still like it.

    What a nightmare.

    AlexC 12/12/11 9:08AM
  • Got a Membership on 11/28/11 and tried to take advantage of Black Friday deal. Was told that the card would take 5 days to process in their system. It is now 12/11/11 and the card still can't be used on-line. CS is no help.

    Hagred 12/11/11 7:14PM
  • Whoever designed Barnes & Nobel's web site should be hung by his balls. It is the worst I've ever encountered.
    I searched for hours for simple things. And if there is a space you can write to the company directly, it has to be well hidden among all the rest of the tangled ball.

    It is no wonder, they are having difficulties. They need to hire whoever does Amazon.com.

    I know I NEVER want to do business with a company who cannot even figure out how to design and implement a website.

    I don't like to say anything negative about anyone, but these people have stolen part of my life by making me search for so long. I am totally frustrated and mad as hell!

    Red 12/10/11 9:04PM
  • Barnes and Noble charged by credit card a $25 renewal fee for a membership I never had. After doing research I found out it's because I had a membership with Boarders and B&N automatically charged Boarders customers a renewal fee. How they ever got my CC number I don't know! I have spoken to customer service on 4 different occasions and still my CC has not been refunded. The charged was apply over a month ago and they will do NOTHING about it. The most ironic part is that they can find no information on me anywhere in their system. Maybe it's because I was NEVER a member. Maybe it's time to give me my money back! Before this incident I liked shopping with B&N but now I will not shop at B&N ever again. I do not agree with how they do business.

    rkarow 12/9/11 12:19PM
  • Barnes & Noble's customer service policies (the store) are getting worse and worse. Tried to do an even exchange for an item (SAT in a box for ACT in a box) - same price/brand everything and because I bought the first one with a coupon that had since expired - the wouldn't consider it an even exchange. If you go to a store and buy a shirt in blue but want to exchange it for a green one - ALL stores will consider that an even exchange. Barnes and Noble sucks and I won't be back. There are many other stores out there that offer a better deal any way. I ended up ordering the one I wanted from Overstock.com for less anyway.

    anonymous in WI 12/9/11 10:26AM
  • Possibly the worst customer service I've dealt with. They will bounce you back and fourth between departments for hours. Not happy and will never order from their online service again!

    Anonymous 12/9/11 6:52AM
  • Stay away from BarnesandNoble.com. I had nothing but problems with my recent purchase. The B&N is completely at fault for the problems. My order shipped then B&N recalled it requesting a Delivery Intercept from UPS. The package made it all way across country to my local depot and then was sent back to B&N. B&N made no notification of this action and my order status never changed. B&N has never offered any explanation to my many inquiries. The package arrived back to the B&N warehouse about ten days after it shipped to me. The same day and unbeknownst to me they sent my order again. I learned that my original order had been return from the tracking# and immediately sent customer service an inquiry. I sent them 3 more over the next 3 days. Finally a CS rep respond to the 1st inquiry saying my order was cancelled because the item was no longer available. He said my refund would take 1-2 months. Unacceptable plus he didn’t answer why B&N recalled it the 1st place or address any of my other concerns. I respond telling him so. A couple of days later I get two emails from B&N. The 1st notifies me that they have shipped my order. This email has a different tracking # and it is scheduled to arrive the same day. The order status on my account never showed a change from the original tracking #. B&N had 5 days to notify me but chose not to. The second email arrived a few hours after than the 1st and clarified that I would receive my refund in 3-5 days. I did receive my order but since it was 10 days later than promised and thinking it was cancelled, I made other more costly arrangement. B&N’s CS has never addressed my concerns and completely ignored my questions in their responses. They sent my order a second time, didn’t bother to tell me until the day it was delivered and no longer needed. Unless you want to lose time and money stay away from this company and save yourself the anguish.

    B&Nbad 12/8/11 5:55PM
  • I have had my Nook for 17 months, of course, the warranty expired after 12... my Nook worked in the morning, and the afternoon, then in the evening, it started going crazy! it was flashing from screen to screen, I couldn't turn it off, even after taking the battery out of it. I did an online session w/customer service, they were ok, but didn't solve my problem. I woke up the next day, took my Nook to a B&N store, had a great Nook girl, who also, couldn't fix the problem. She said that she had never seen or heard of this before, it was stuck in some crazy loop and there was nothing she could do, even after calling customer support herself. she suggested that I call them when I got home.
    so, taking her advice, I called...where did I get? NOWHERE!!!! obviously, if the Nook girl couldn't fix it in the store, how were they going to fix it over the phone. so, as a consumer, and a HUGE reader, I asked for a discount or a coupon or something to keep me..."unfortunately" was the beginning of the conversation, and we all know where that leads...
    now clearly, if no one has ever heard of or seen this with a Nook, don't you think that you would give me a new one? or at least give meI a coupon for a Nook Tablet or something? I love(d) my Nook, but the answer was: ABSOLUTELY NOT...I am now purchasing a Kindle...at least I know Amazon has great customer service, I have dealt with them before.
    the 4 representatives with whom I spoke didn't seem to care about my needs at all, and that just doesn't work for me. transferring me from one to another doesn't help either. supervisors should and DO have the authority to do something and keep a customer happy, apparently not at B&N...thanks for nothing!!!

    NoMoreNookForMe 12/8/11 5:54PM
  • Stay away from BarnesandNoble.com. I had nothing but problems with my recent purchase. The B&N is completely at fault for the problems. My order shipped then B&N recalled it requesting a Delivery Intercept from UPS. The package made it all way across country to my local depot and then was sent back to B&N. B&N made no notification of this action and my order status never changed. B&N has never offered any explanation to my many inquiries. The package arrived back to the B&N warehouse about ten days after it shipped to me. The same day and unbeknownst to me they sent my order again. I learned that my original order had been return from the tracking# and immediately sent customer service an inquiry. I sent them 3 more over the next 3 days. Finally a CS rep respond to the 1st inquiry saying my order was cancelled because the item was no longer available. He said my refund would take 1-2 months. Unacceptable plus he didn’t answer why B&N recalled it the 1st place or address any of my other concerns. I respond telling him so. A couple of days later I get two emails from B&N. The 1st notifies me that they have shipped my order. This email has a different tracking # and it is scheduled to arrive the same day. The order status on my account never showed a change from the original tracking #. B&N had 5 days to notify me but chose not to. The second email arrived a few hours after than the 1st and clarified that I would receive my refund in 3-5 days. I did receive my order but since it was 10 days later than promised and thinking it was cancelled, I made other more costly arrangement. B&N’s CS has never addressed my concerns and completely ignored my questions in their responses. They sent my order a second time, didn’t bother to tell me until the day it was delivered and no longer needed. Unless you want to lose time and money stay away from this company and save yourself the anguish.

    B&Nbad 12/8/11 5:03PM
  • PS3 uncharted 3 bundle. B&N cancelled it- lost out on all black friday deals. They put the same ps3 bundle deal up yesterday and then took it off b/c I called and asked if they could give me the original deal they promised and they said NO! What a slap in the face to put up more of the same ps3 bundles and not offer the black friday deal to all those who got screwed!

    Terrible business!!!!

    an 12/8/11 4:40PM
  • Ordered the PS3 Uncharted Bundle before Black Friday with a 30% coupon. They sent me a confirmation email and an email saying it was scheduled to be shipped. They then cancelled the order and notified me a whole WEEK later saying they would not fulfill the order. Spent hours calling customer support and even corporate and in the end they did not budge and offered the same coupon I originally used for ONE item, but it could not be used with the PS3, electronics, the nook, or anything of value to me. Lost out on all black friday sales because they contacted me long after they were completed

    Anonymous 12/7/11 4:31PM
  • I ordered the Lego Harry Potter book for my grandson last September. I paid approximately $23 for it; I wanted the one with the Lego figure included. They sent the regular book out - the one that did not include the figure. I called, and they re-shipped my order. Sent the same book out again. Called again and they promised to re-ship the correct one this time. Never received anything at all. I returned both of the incorrect books, and they received them on October 17. To date, I have not yet received my refund, although I have called multiple times and e-mailed. All times I was told that the refund had not been processed but that they were doing it immediately. The last time, via e-mail, I was told that I would see the refund in "one to two billing cycles" . I now doubt that I will ever get that money back. I will be cancelling my Barnes and Noble card and am now exclusively shopping at Amazon. I just had a problem with a non-arrival of an item, and I used their e-mail "contact us" link. I had a personal response in 3 minutes! So, Barnes and Noble is now on my "do not shop here" list!

    palajl 12/7/11 2:59PM
  • I just wanted to comment on the prices of the products in general. I used to be a big supporter of Barnes and Noble, but ever since Borders closed B&N has really jacked their prices up. This is really aggravating. I will be switching my support to Amazon.com if this continues for very much longer. I am currently going through my "Save for Later" list and looking them up on amazon. Not to my surprise, I am finding that Amazon has many of these items for literally 1/2 the price of B&N. Like I said, I was a strong supporter and didn't purchase anything from anywhere else unless B&N didn't have it, but I'm going to switch unless their prices change soon.

    aeronpink13 12/6/11 7:45PM
  • I’ve had extremely unpleasant experiences with their rental policy, and paid more that what it would’ve been cost for a new book for a used textbook. It was my fault at first for not returning the book on time, because as students we are very busy and can’t keep track of these date. B&N sent me 2 emails regarding the book that I’ve neglected because I thought it was promotion. (They do send a lot of promotions) There are no mailed statements to my home, so I’ve totally neglected this issue until I saw my credit card statement in Dec. The book was due on 10/30 and they charged me ~$10 for late fee in Nov., then they charged me over $70 in Dec. It charged a total of $121.11 for a used textbook, when a brand new book cost $113.22. I spent over half hour on the phone with customer service, and nothing was done except for writing complaint which will be ignored. I know that I caused all these troubles, but B&N is unethical for doing business like this. I guess it was a mistake in the beginning since I decided to save money by renting a book.

    rl2011 12/6/11 7:02PM
  • TERRIBLE customer service!! They make the mistake on the order, charged me and now it is my problem and my $$ down the drain. How the heck do you get a hold of someone in America not India? Throwing my NOOK in the garbage...moving on to a Kindle.

    Anonymous 12/6/11 5:28PM
  • I have recently purchased the modernist cuisine from Barnes and Noble and I picked the express option(international because I'm from Malaysia)
    which promised me that my books should be here within 2~5 working days?It's been 7 working days and I still have not received anything and to add insult to injury B&N gave me a 20 digits tracking number that does not work with any delivery service company including Brokers world wide/ISAl which they stated in their second email informing me that my item was shipped.
    More over I have tried sending their customer service an email stating my dilemma and I'm still waiting for a reply from the customer service.
    If there is any suggestions I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you.

    Alan 12/6/11 3:25AM
  • Stay away from this terrible, terrible company unless you want aggravation, time-wasting, and empty promises.

    I am still waiting for my money to be refunded. Time to call the CEO in New Jersey.

    I also hope someone can benefit from my absolutely awful experience. I will get my money back from them, no matter how long it takes.

    Tarin J 12/5/11 9:31AM
  • barnes and nobles online shipping is the worste I have ever seen!! last year I ordered a book from them I payed extra for the 1-3 day shipping....i got it 3 WEEKS later. So I thought maybe I'll try them again since I had a gift card...big mistake I ordered a c.d and got the 1-3 day shipping and once again it has been a week and a half and i still haven't gotten it. I looked at the tracking and it has been in one place for a weeK.I never had this problem with amazon i ordered something one night it shows up the next day or the day after.i will only use amazon now. I WILL NEVER USE BARNES AND NOBLES AGAIN.

    tundra97 12/2/11 8:26PM
  • I hope my experience can help someone else. I ordered 2 books online. At the time I placed the order the website indicated my items would ship within 2 to 4 business days. Shortly after I received an email stating 1 item would not ship until December 16th. I then tried to cancel the order and was told I could not. I tried sending an email and talking to customer service twice. I was told because the item was a "marketplace" item I could not cancel. I was told I would have to wait until it ships and then return it for a refund.

    The issue I had with this is the item was not ordered as a "marketplace" item. So, I contacted their Corporate headquarters in New Jersey and asked to speak with CEO William Lynch. I was put in touch with a person in his office that handles complaints that come to him.

    Within 2 hours I was contacted back and after apologizing to me, I was told the item was not a "marketplace" item and they could get it out to me immediately. Unfortunatley, I told her that I had already ordered it elsewhere and she told me she would get the order canceled.

    Sometimes with these companies you have no choice but to call their CEO or President to get an issue resolved.

    Anonymous 12/1/11 9:52AM
  • Tried to send a gift book to relative using BN.com. They charged my credit card instead of my gift card. Customer service is in another country. Phillipines? Very hard to communicate with them to get a refund. 25 minute phone call to resolve a 3 minute problem.

    Their website is terrible to navigate and 100% confusing compared to Amazon.

    I hope I get my money.

    Tarin J 11/30/11 8:25PM
  • I followed direction from a customer service rep and deleted a book that had a debit card payment problem. I entered a credit card and then was double charged for the book. The latest rep said they do not refund any books that were deleted for any reason. Doesn't really make sense one can only read one copy. Why the company policy to still pay for 2 in a 24 hour period.
    I'm thinking of returning the Nook because i don't want to deal with Barnes & Noble.
    I'm still waiting on hold for a supervisor (I've been on the phone for 30+ minutes) Is this acceptable in anyone mind??

    C 11/30/11 7:30PM
  • I got a "free" Membership through January since I was a Borders member. Well, they haven't gained a customer in me. I've given them two chances, and I'm done. First, I ordered 2 CD's online on Nov 18 (Friday) for my dad's birthday. Since I'm a "member" of their fabulous club, I got free expedited shipping. Whoop-de-doo. If 10 days from order to delivery is "expedited" I'd hate to see what the regular shipping is. Now I did give them one last chance and ordered a book on "Cyber Monday." Supposedly it shipped today, Wednesday, so again I guess when it states on their site "Usually ships within 24 hours" usually means never. I say it supposedly shipped today since they charged my card and they created a tracking number, it's waiting for UPS....Barnes and Noble creating a shipping label and calling that "shipped" is like me telling the gas company I paid my bill because I put a stamp on the envelope. Now, I was sad to see Borders go out of business and I enjoy reading actual books and don't want to read from a machine, but I don't care if Barnes and Noble goes out of business tomorrow.

    Missing Borders 11/30/11 5:10PM
  • I ordered the Nook Tablet online but decided to return it 5 days later. The instructions in the box told me to take it to a Barnes and Noble store with the reciept for a refund. The instructions did not say, "and take your original credit card" so when I got to the store they would not process the return.

    I understand why they might need the original card but they sure as hell could have printed that on the return instructions.

    What a pathetic company, not using technology to it's benefit. If I returned it through the mail they wouldn't need me to mail the card to them.

    The manager didn't even offer and apology or any sympathy about me needing to make a return trip.

    UtahReader 11/28/11 6:07PM
  • Still waiting for my pre-ordered Nook tablet. When it was clear a week ago that the item was lost, a B&N CSR told me I had to wait 6 full business days despite the fact the tracking showed the item a town away. Well the six days are up now and after a lengthy 30 min hold I was told a new one would be shipped in 2-4 days! No way I said... I just want to cancel now and get my money back. "Sorry", they said. The order had already be placed and cannot be cancelled!!!! Now I'm stuck waiting an addtional 2-4 days for item I could have picked up over a week ago. Never again will I deal with B&N online. Stick with overpriced bookstores and leave the online work to companies that actually want to take care of their customers.

    grrr1974 11/28/11 10:56AM
  • please tell me how to obtain the free_books to read that i was told would be available.everytime i attempt to get one i am turned down.why? your offer of the free books were of value in the desire to purchase this.are you a company of integrity.?barnes/noble

    stkyfngrs2moons 11/26/11 11:58PM
  • Overall Barnes & Noble bookstores are excellent but there are a few flies in the ointment. Most of the employees are exemplary, most of the time but for years now, there have been some who sometimes engage in degrading behavior towards customers, making derogatory comments about females, etc. Some of them ridicule some of the customers. Where I live in Honolulu, there is a manager at the Kahala and Ala Moana stores who leads the employees in making negative comments about customers behind their backs. As with other stores, it becoming more frequent for employees not to say thank you when a customer makes a purchase. Someone should really get on that, and clearly, they need to prohibit the employees from engaging in the other behaviors. Sending through shoppers periodically would also help.

    Elf 11/26/11 6:58PM
  • I called Barnes and Noble to attempt to resolve an issue regarding an online order and their return policy of 14 days. I took the books back to my local store as indicated in receipt provided just to be told they couldn't take them. The advised to call their customer service number to resolve problem. However, they weren't helpful in resolving my problem. I have dealt with this company for many years and have aken my grandchildren their on several occasions so am very dissapointed with my first online experience. I will not deal with the local company or online further due to their lack of cooperation and resolution of my problems.

    Roberta Kannall

    Roberta Kannall 11/25/11 5:04PM
  • Nook application I purchased didnt execute properly. 3 hours with tech. I deleted app. BN refused refund even though employee assured me that refund would arrive in 3-5 business days.

    sccgac 11/24/11 8:29PM
  • Order book 11/1/11
    get 11/14/11 damaged
    call for new one 11/14/11
    still have not got

    COME ON BARNES AND NOBLE
    SHAPE UP, WE DONT WANT AMAZON TO GET A MONOPOLY DO WE, WE WANT YOU TO STAY IN THE CO. BISS, SO WE CAN STILL BYE FROM AMAZON

    SUP 11/22/11 10:45PM
  • 11/22/2011
    Customer service at Barnes and Noble Marketplace is the worse I have ever dealt with. First, if you call in the evening you get to talk to a person from another country who reads off a skit (I know this because the rep told me).

    I made a purchase on October 30th, 2011 and had it sent to my little sister for a Birthday present. She has yet to receive it and the process to find the item has been so difficult. I have been told to call back 4 times to try to resolve the issue. I called back today and they told me to call back next week to file for a lost in Transit to get a refund. I guess It takes a month to file for a lost in transit. I have tried to contact the authorized seller and the seller has not respond to my emails. The customer service rep told me to contact the Marketplace resolution center which can only be contacted by customers via email. I was told to forward the email I sent to the authorized seller as it was one of two attempts to contact the authorized seller regarding an order placed October 30th, 2011 and was supposed to be shipped October 31st, 2011. I am aware it can take up to 14 business days to be received an item but in all the years buying and selling items on the internet from companies including Barnes and Noble has it took this long to receive an item. However, it has exceeded the the 14 business days and the item has not been received. I have sold many items on Amazon and Amazon requires a tracking number and method of shipping so the seller can be accountable for items sold via the internet. BEWARE: BARNES AND NOBLES MARKETPLACE DOES NOT HOLD THEIR AUTHORIZED SELLER TO PROVIDE A METHOD OF SHIPPING NOR A TRACKING NUMBER. BARNES AND NOBLE DOES NOT HOLD THIER AUTHORIZED SELLER ACCOUNTABLE. This experience has made me very upset as it has been so difficult getting this issue resolved, I will never buy anything from Barnes and Noble again. I do not like Barnes and Noble Authorized seller policy. I have been a good customer and bought so many items from this company but no more after this event.

    Lettuce5 11/22/11 5:10PM
  • I have had a terrible experience with Barnes and Noble support. I had a brand new Nook that did not work. At B&N request, I sent it back. After at least 8 more calls to support, I have yet to receive a replacement Nook. I have been told the Nook was sent; then told it had not been (sorry type of excuse); then told it had not been sent....etc. etc. Supposedly, after 10 calls and numerous waits on the phone, a 'new nook' is to be sent. We'll see...

    Texasmlg 11/22/11 6:06AM
  • Unless you're one of the lucky few to get a Nook that actually works for more than a few months, stay away from this product. We had trouble with our Nook (popping back to the Library home page every few minutes) and the B&N store here in town suggested we return it for service. Big mistake!

    The Barnes & Noble CSR's (Customer Service Representatives) are both clueless and dishonest, saying anything they can to get rid of you. When we called to find out why we hadn't gotten a response from the B&N service center, the first CSR said they'd gotten our Nook, and that a new one would be shipped to us, arriving within a week.

    One week later, we called again to find out why we hadn't received our new Nook. A second CSR says "We have no record of having received your Nook in the first place." Huh?

    So, then we went to the local B&N store manager, who called the service center herself. The Manager tells us that a new Nook should be here for us within the week.

    Another week later, no Nook. So we called the service center again, and this CSR says that they will need ANOTHER 1-3 weeks to "look into things". Whatever the heck that means!

    So there you go. Welcome to B&N Customer Service Hell! Since my wife has 135 books on her Nook, and no way to read them since this whole fiasco began, I went to B&N today and had to buy a brand new Nook for her. Hopefully this one will last for more than a few months, and I won't have to deal with B&N's poorly named "Customer Service". Be warned!!! If you have any other options for an e-reader, take them. Don't end up like us, at the mercy of B&N's inappropriately named "Customer Service".

    mikey 11/21/11 2:51PM
  • An excellent bookstore, that is much more user friendly than many libraries, open longer, has as many books and more people working there. I will miss my B & N if it ever closes, having had many great memories, things to do, authors to listen to, music, magazines unlimited.

    jabb 11/20/11 12:50AM
  • I also just received an email that my Nook Tablet would not arrive until December 18th. Looks like I will spend my money on the Kindle Fire which I have played with and it is awesome!

    spolaro 11/19/11 6:38AM
  • I got a coupon that they won't accept. Says it has already been used. Not true. Now it says it is expired but it has 5 days to go. Tried calling customer service. Got someone in the Phillpines and spent an hour and got no place. I will buy from Amazon.

    Hockey mom 11/17/11 7:51PM
  • I preordered the new Nook Tablet and was told that it would be shipped when they were all being shipped!! Today is November 17th, and they advertised they would release the Nook Tablet on November 18th. You can already purchase one IN THE STORE; THEY SHIPPED TO THE STORES, AND NOT TO THE CUSTOMER THAT PREORDERED!!! I preordered over 12 days ago and they told me this still hasn't shipped! So, so much for Preorder priority. The customers that preordered were suppose to receive the Nook first, and now you can just walk in a store and purchase it. I will never do a preorder again!!!! Barnes and Noble doesn't value their customers!

    magpie 11/17/11 1:21PM
  • UGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
    Barnes and noble needs to learn from there mistakes. Read some other reviews, costumer service is bad, products are bad. I bought a book it was MISSING 10 PAGES asked for a new book but guess what, nope. I wasn't to surprised as it had been only 3 days. I mean that is forever, or at least to Barnes and noble it is.

    Go amazon 11/14/11 9:02PM
  • I had a nook color. I had to replace it 3 times. The screen gets glichy and will not re spawn to my touch. It is now a friends. I have the nook simple touch now. Have had no problems...yet.
    I bought 2 books on b and n, i have gotten one. The charger on the nook color is terrible. It broke within 5 days of having it.
    So Barnes and noble, you going to change or are you going to keep losing costumers to amazon?
    Get you act together.

    Haragared 11/14/11 8:47PM
  • Worst customer service, the battery in the Nook I bought drained within hours, got a replacement battery, same problem. Customer service is horrible, the Nook is horrible.

    Anonymous 11/13/11 6:05AM
  • I had a gift card on file online at BN. I hadn't used it in about 2 months, and went to order some ebooks. I knew there was suppose to be a good balance left over, more than enough to cover these purchases. However, I was shocked to find the charges went to my credit card, and that the gift card was no longer on file. I called, they said they had a computer error that had deleted the gift card, they restored the card balance, and said they would reverse the charges off the credit card onto the gift card. Well, they did this but now my balance is less than it should be by an amount exactly double the purchases. It seems like they have now charged me twice for the purchases. I have emailed them again and do not have a response back yet. It would appear they are doing everything possible to steal my money. Amazon is SO MUCH BETTER. Have not seen my credit card billings yet, and I hope that has not been screwed up to. Still fighting this. How can a supposed good company do this? I also asked for further compensation for my time and anguish, and I'm sure that will go over well (ha ha).

    loveamazon 11/7/11 8:32AM
  • I purchased a book in store, I couldnt find my receipt but I needed a copy of one for my expense report. No one in the store exept the manager is trained in how to do a copy of a receipt. This is 2011 not 1975.

    Barnes and Nobles should have some kind of computerized system that can look up all transactions under a credit card in a store for the last 30 days.

    Now I have to wait and see if the store manager will give me a receipt she couldnt take care of it when I was there and it could take DAYS to get it.

    I said it is pathetic that no one is trained to give this service. I can get it at other stores. What makes Barnes and Nobles different. I am not looking to return the stupid book, I would like a copy that shows I paid for it even if it states it cant be used to return the book.

    Brett H. 11/1/11 2:41PM
  • Terrible customer service. The complaint is really against one particular customer service personnel rather that the whole CSR department. I am complaining about TORYN at the audit department (he is the senior analyst at the audit department). He is the RUDEST customer service person I have ever talked with. A few weeks ago I placed orders for 10 B&N gift cards to use as gifts. Somehow it triggered some alarm so my orders were placed on hold and I had call customer service. It happens with a lot of merchants and they just want to verify the credit card information to make sure it was not fraud activity. I called the CSR and was transferred to this senior analyst Toryn. First thing he said" you placed 20 orders of gift cards). I said I placed 10 orders today and there a two more order from months ago (6 month or so). Then he said ok 15 orders! And he said it with such a accusatory tone as if I had committed some kind of crime. First of all, I placed 10 orders. If you cannot count maybe you should not have the job you have now. Or maybe you can count you just want to make it sound bad then you are out of line. Secondly, as a customer service personnel your job is to verify my information and get the order through! As long as I can prove that I am using my own money, I don't have to explain to you why i'm buying what I'm buying or how I use my credit card. Then after he gave me a hard time I still went through the verification with him, despite his rude attitude throughout the phone call. At some point I mentioned B&N made it very hard for customers and he told me to just stop buying from them. So Toryn, just wanna let you know that I'm taking your advise and delivering it to all my friends and family and coworkers. Thank you very much for the great suggestion otherwise we may run into you again when we call customer service.

    Anonymous 10/29/11 4:11PM
  • I ordered a product 2 mths ago. Online said it was in stock, but apparently it wasn't. I have been on the phone with customer service and have even talked w/ supervisors. I have spent hours on teh phone every week trying to get my money back and all I get is false promises and the run around. They all say different things-one supervisor even stated that the product was in stock and that I should be receiving it soon...but as you can guess, I never received the product. I have been a customer of barnes and nobles for YEARS and as of now, I WILL NOT EVER order from them again!

    Anonymous 10/27/11 6:45PM
  • I received a Nook3G as a gift.
    recently the Nook fell out of its holder on to the floor.
    After that happened I was unable to get anything on the screen to show.
    When I called customer service, I was told that the Nook's can not be repaired, they can only be replaced.
    The sended of my gift did not purchase a 2 yr.extended coverage for damage to the Nook, by it falling on the floor, thus after having this Nook after only 6 months, the only thing I could do was to purchase a new Nook.
    I was irate, that a company like Barnes and Noble would sell a product that could not be
    repaired at all, and the only service they had was to replace the product if one had purchased the extended warranty.
    It makes one believe, that Barnes and Noble will soon follow in the path of Border's.
    I am a very liberal person, but it is disturbing to have some of these larger corporations to continue to have their customer service departments in foreign countries, where there is a language barrier.

    Anonymous 10/25/11 5:43PM
  • I have the first edition nook reader; it was bought as a gift so the person buying did not take out the extended warranty. The base warranty is only good for 1 year and the extened warranty has to be purchased at the time of the product purchase. I have had the nook for 3 years and each year the bezzale has cracked at the page turns on both sides. It was replaced 3 times now. This past time, my nook is no longer downloading books and the bezzale is cracked again. Basically since it is past the 1 year warranty they will not replace it and it cannot be repaired since they do not do repairs. I asked the representative my options since the pager turner crack is clearly a manufacturer defect. There were no options except to buy another nook. I believe this is wrong. If the product has a manufacturer defect is should be replaced regardless. In this situation the product only seems to be usable for 1 year before it breaks. I will recommend to everyone I know not to purchase this product as Barnes and Nobles gives you no options to get the $300 product fixed or buy the extended warranty up to 30 days after purchase.

    Anonymous 10/25/11 7:33AM
  • How does Barnes & Noble expect to stay in business?

    I have just spent over one hour trying to purchase a book online from Barnes & Noble on BN.com. I could not do it. Key information needed to complete the transaction was completely unavailable even after speaking to an experienced supervisor who had been with the company for many years. Here are the details:

    1. I received an eGift Card from Barnes & Noble which I attempted to use.

    2. I decided to buy an audiobook, "The Fifth Witness" by Michael Connolly.

    3. Clicking on the appropriate URL I was given a choice of 5 different audiobook versions at 5 different prices.

    4. Of the five versions, one was listed as abridged, one was listed as unabridged and three (including the least expensive) did not specify that detail. After spending 30 minutes trying to find the missing specifications I called customer service.

    5. I asked the customer service person two questions:
    First, how could I tell which of these versions was abridged and which was unabridged (aside from the 2 versions which were specified?)
    Second, What other differences were there between the version offered for $10.78 and the other versions that were priced between $20 and $28?

    6. I spent 15 minutes with this customer service person without receiving an answer to either of my questions. I asked for a supervisor.

    7. After a 5 minute wait I spoke to a very nice supervisor named Vinnette who had been with the company several years and seemed very knowledgeable.

    8. This supervisor informed me (very politely) that there was no way to determine whether whether the unspecified versions were abridged or unabridged, and also that there was no available information about any other differences between the 5 versions. She apologized very nicely for my obvious frustration.

    I can't be the only person who has experienced this with Barnes & Noble. I certainly never ran into the problem with Amazon.

    Can someone tell me what is going on here?

    simplyjeff 10/23/11 2:24PM
  • I paid $25 for the membership card for Barnes and Noble with the guarantee that I would get coupons in my email like the ones I used to get from Borders. However, BnN have not sent me coupons and I have been talking with their customer svc online for OVER 2 months to get them and they promise them to me, but they never arrive! It constitutes fraud to have a customer pay for a service that the business has no intention of delivering!

    g_drau 10/19/11 8:54PM
  • Been having issues with the opt out process for Borders customers who want to avoid having their data in Barnes and Noble's system. I keep getting the run around because I'm not getting the email once I key my email address to opt to finish the process. They are the worst!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

    Frustrated 10/19/11 10:07AM
  • I am very glad I received this email because I will be choosing to opt out of having my information transferred to Barnes and Noble and I will go to your website to make this choice quite clear. I recently ordered a book through your customer service department in the Pittsford, NY. They did not order the correct book and made very little attempts to rectify the situation. The cashier who waited on me initially tried to find out what happened and saw that there was a book on hold. She asked a second cashier (male) what should happen and his attitude and comment was and I quote “oh well, sorry”. He did not bother to check how long the book had been on hold or when the person was scheduled to pick it up. My assumption was he was in charge or the go to person for problems in the store. I explained that the book which had been ordered by the customer service representative was the exact same book I had purchased previously and they should have ordered the devotional instead. I know the representative did not misunderstand me because she quoted the correct price of the devotional which I was ordering. I realize you do not have a lot of competition from other bookstores since Borders is gone but I will not be ordering anything through your store or website anymore. The manner in which this incident was handled was poor and it is obvious that customer service doesn’t matter to some your employees. I don’t know if anyone who really cares about customers will read this but I felt I needed to inform someone of the poor service I received.

    Korokeyi 10/17/11 11:22AM
  • Barnes and Noble should include the initial copyright for the nook books. I have purchased a number of nook books, only to find that I had already read the book, either in hardcover or paperback. This is especially true when searching books directly from the nook.

    Maxaluna 10/14/11 3:41PM
  • Even when i enter all my pass words etc. I still cant review whats in a book

    With amazon it"s quick with none of the time wasted on all the entrance stuff.

    I have an I pad. Think Amazon is winning hands down

    Anonymous 10/13/11 9:18PM
  • TERRIBLE SERVICE!!

    My USB Cable broke off just after a week of purchasing Nook Color! I called to get a replacement cable and was told that I will get it in 3 to 5 business days. I was so happy to hear that, all they needed was my address! Well, I waited till the 6th business day and no CABLE. When I called, I was told that they were out of stock and won't know when it will be available after 45 minutes on the phone. Why would it take so long just to tell me that?! I was told that they can't e-mail me the status. I would have to keep calling every 48 hours to find out the status. This is very annoying. I am going crazy not able to charge my nook. The worst part is that you have to use the Nook Color cable with the Nook symbol, otherwise it won't charge properly. This has been the worst experience!

    Anonymous 10/12/11 11:30AM
  • I placed an order on October 4th along with the 2 months free membership. The membership is 'suppose' to provide the customer with express shipping (1-3 business days). The order was shipped on October 5th and made it to my local UPS on October 8th, with a delivery date of October 11th. How is that express shipping? When I tracked the package on October 10th, it said that they tried to deliver on October 10th but the shipper was on holiday. I called UPS today and found out that BARNES & NOBLE selected to use SHORT SHIP option. Now a short ship is where UPS carries the package over the long haul then delivers to the local postal service for them to deliver to the customer. Again...HOW IS THAT EXPRESS SHIPPING? UPS still has my package and it is 12:30pm on Tuesday, October 11th. I have to wait for them to deliver to the post office and then WAIT AGAIN for them to deliver to me directly....how in the WORLD is that express shipping. I am currently on the phone with them now and have been on hold for 19+ minutes and counting!! SAVE YOUR TIME & MONEY AND PURCHASE FROM AMAZON.COM! BARNES & NOBLE SUCKS!!!

    Fyneart 10/11/11 9:35AM
  • first of all, when they answer they don't even say hello with the company name. only, hello, what did you need. aaahhh!!! Awful awful!!!! Then when I told them my problem, "Ok, it'll take 15 minutes ok? Thank you for calling." And I was promptly hung up on. Horrible "service".

    NM1cookie 10/11/11 8:20AM

  • Bad or should I say NO customer service!! Crappy company..

    Anonymous 10/10/11 12:32PM
  • B&N doesn't have a Customer service at all, Their customer service is terrible. They have accepted orders for Touchpad and hold the money in credit card, after a day they cancelled the order saying there is no stock, How can they accept order without stock, It is completely a SCAM.. I would have bought elsewhere if they showed as No-stock and dont accept orders.

    I called customer service, no answer. I mailed them for the reason for cancellation, no reply till now. I don't buy anything from here and never recommend this site for anything.

    darek 10/10/11 6:13AM
  • We are having real problems with Barnes and Noble. We are in the Peace Corps, and can't get books in English easily so we ordered two Nooks, a color and a regular one, in mid-August. We had them shipped to my sister's house in Virginia, since we would be visiting and could pick them up. It took them 10 days to ship, much longer than they said it would, and then the Nooks were set to arrive in VA the day we were planning to leave for a short stay in NH. We called UPS to ask if we could pick the package up at the warehouse the day before but they said B & N didn't allow that. We talked to B & N and finally decided that the best thing to do was to refuse them, which we did. We then went and purchased Nooks at a store. It's been almost a month now and we still don't have the refund for the ones that were shipped. We know they were received by the B & N warehouse almost a month ago. When we call the customer service number they say there's nothing we can do, that eventually we will get the credit. Meanwhile, we have an extra $400 on my credit card. It's so ridiculous!!!! I'm so sorry we didn't go with Amazon.

    Wanted to read more 10/9/11 5:38PM
  • Over the past several months, Barnes and Noble has really slipped with respect to customer service. They repeatedly keep sending every other online order to my old address in another city and then blame me for it! When I told them that I have spent thousands of dollars with them and need the books sent immediately, they basically told me to shove it! I will definitely be ordering from Amazon.com from now on!

    Chloeweeks 10/7/11 8:33PM
  • I have spoke with two different CSR from the Phillipines and no one can help me. The problem they say I am having is because I need to live in the United States which I do but you can't seem to talk with anyone that knows what they are doing or is from the United States.

    Anonymous 10/7/11 8:01PM
  • Simply horrible customer service. Years ago they were good... orders always shipped on time. Last two times have been ridiculous. First, 3.5 weeks go by and nothing. I contact them about it, they tell me to wait longer... finally after a month I get my package. Currently... 5 weeks and I haven't gotten my package. They tell me they can't track the shipment because I'm in Canada, and they provide a tracking number that doesn't work with UPS CA/US, FedEX, and Canada Post. WTF! Should have learned my lesson from the last experience... still waiting...

    Anonymous 10/6/11 1:13PM
  • I ordered a geometry textbook for my daughter that she wound up not needing. It should have been an easy return, but here were the issues:

    1. They only gave us 14 days for a return. We were riding the line, trying to determine whether her teacher would require it or not.

    2. The website says "take it back to any store." What they don't tell you is that the store will only give you in-store credit. It does say to call the store for details, but who does that!? If you tell me I can take it back, I assume if it's in perfect condition, within the allotted timeframe, and with a receipt, that I can "return" it, not get in-store credit.

    3. When I shipped it back, they told me to send to via a traceable method. Good thing I listened. Basically, they "lost" my return in their warehouse, and they needed my UPS tracking number in order to "find" it. Trying to be patient, I waited two weeks after it was delivered before I called to find out where my refund was. It was a huge hassle, and right now, though they admit they have my book, I still haven't seen the refund on my credit card.

    I'm DONE with BN - taking my business to Amazon.

    Geckogal 9/28/11 8:10AM
  • Please save yourself the headache and frustration of trying to call and get through for ANY resolve with B&N. Don't purchase from them. I purchased a NookColor, then decided to (obviously) buy some Nook books for reading. Well, B&N started way overcharging my Mastercard. When I called to ask them what on EARTH was going on with incorrect purchases, they basically said there was NOTHING they could do about it, short of me waiting a month and then faxing them (long distance from California to New Jersey) my Mastercard statements. All of this after waiting for over two hours to speak to a supervisor with their customer service. They offered no--and I mean NO--concessions for my troubles, even though they DID acknowledge they had "some issues with purchases on their web site." Niiice. I have now packaged the Nook Color and am promptly shipping it back to them. Kindle, here I come!

    MatrixTech 9/20/11 12:58AM
  • From my recent encounter with Barnes & Noble, their policy to replace a defective Nook Color is to provide a pre-owned unit instead of replacing with a new item. After agreeing to replace with a new Nook Color, I received a pre owned unit the 2nd time. Cannot talk directly to a customer support at corporate office, only by e-mail. Customer support lines, which I think are out of the country, have a bad connection making it more impossible to understand them.

    umrfrank 9/19/11 1:09PM
  • Nook reader. A superior piece of hardware but horrible customer service.
    Customer Service agents do not understand the product, are unable to comprehend problems, do not have the authority to resolve problems, transfer calls inappropriately, and make promises they have no intention of fulfilling in order to end the call.

    A new Kindle Owner 9/17/11 11:10AM
  • Mike Minoughan's the manager at the Sugar House branch in Salt Lake City enacting the "WE CAN'T" policy turned me off to B&N and on to amazon.com.

    Their "We Can't" policy just let go another potentially valuable customer. Being a college student and majoring in English would seem to be the ideal market for Barnes and Nobles. Since I am both, Barnes and Noble shouldn't worry about a measly $17.00 screen protector for their new nook (which didn't perform to my desired requirements but they returned anyway). They said they couldn't return the $17.00 protectors since the product is a consumerable product and cannot be put back on the shelf to be sold. (Example of B&N's self interest and lacking of customer's interest). I asked a customer service associate to return it; I was turned away. She called the Manager of the Store, Mike Minoughan, and he gave me the same speal, "We Can't". Which really came off as "We Won't" since I pushed it a little further with no avail. Being firm on his conviction, I let him know this exchange was at the loss of my future business, and anybody I reference away from B&N. Like I said, as I Major in English and pursue my career in the writing and reading field, my business should be of value since I am always feeding my love of the written language with everything that B&N has to offer me. Too bad it was over something so trivial, eh B&N?

    The You Could've Experience 9/14/11 6:20PM
  • Ordered ecard, received order confirmation same day. never received the actual gift certificate. No response from email I sent to customer service. No one answers the customer service 800 number. Did Barnes and Noble close down and not tell anyone?

    InthedarkswitchingtoiBooks 9/14/11 8:42AM
  • I am so dissappointed with bn, I have been trying to get a replacement nook color for almost 2 months now. Every sales representative I have spoken with basically has lied to me. My first complaint was The second week of august and it is now september the 13th. I have spoken with numerous reps and supervisors.
    I really thought barnes and noble had a better repore than thi. If I had known you all sucked at service like this I would have never bought a nook color from barnes and noble in the first place. No one should have to get as upset as i have with any company at all. Every time I have to talk to one of these people my pressure is so high when I finish because I am so upset. I litterally hate the fact that I purched the nookcolor from barnes and noble.

    To be very frank, I will never make a digital purchase from barnes and noble ever again.

    MICHELLE ANDERSON

    michelle anderson 9/13/11 6:13AM
  • I ordered a book on last tuesday evening and paid for express shipping which indicated the book would arrive in 1-3 days (which I assummed would be friday or saturday at the latest). The book had not arrived by sunday evening so I decided to look up the tracking information and call to discuss this with customer service. Customer service indicated that the 1-3 days did not include an additional day needed prior to shipping. They also indicated that saturday is not a valid business day for shipping (which I disagree with since most shipping companies do deliver on saturdays). I was told that the book would arrive on monday. Well it did not and by the time I tried to call customer service they were closed for the day. There really is no excuse for this kind of service. I know not to buy from barnes and noble anymore.

    upset customer 9/12/11 9:13PM
  • I am a Barnes & Noble member and I NEVER get sent any coupons. They told me it's because my e-mail address ends with ".gov". I work for the Federal Government. Not some special secret service just Social Security. I've got e-mails from every place else including restaurants & department stores, even Borders (they were always sending me coupons)! I've called & complained time & time again but it does NO GOOD! I am fed up w/ this!

    Anonymous 9/9/11 8:24AM
  • Barnes and Noble is awful. I bought a Nook with them which stopped working and, despite having an extended warrantee in addition to the regular one, they don't replace the Nook with a new one -- instead, they send you a factory repaired one. Buy Kindle instead!

    Rebecca 9/7/11 1:15PM
  • placed my order 25th august 2011. but until now it still written unable to process order and they haven't ship my package yet

    Anonymous 9/7/11 5:24AM
  • I am ending my 30-plus year relationship as a Barnes and Noble Customer. I ordered 3 textbooks on the 21st of August from Barnes and Noble. On the 22nd I received an email from Barnes and Noble that the product was shipped on the 21st. No tracking number and no shipping status available on the 30th of August, 31st of August and 2nd of September. Finally at the end of the 2nd of September, I receive an email from Barnes and Noble indicating a tracking number has been assigned and that the textbook will arrive sometime between 5 September and 19 September. Let's see a full month for an instock book being delivered to Virginia. Nothing like having a 10 week graduate level course impacted due to not having the textbook ontime due to misrepresentation of actual shipping time by Barnes and Noble. This experience has made me a Books-A-Million and Amazon.com customer.

    30plusYearBarnes&NobleCustomer 9/2/11 6:24PM
  • I ordered a Nook online for my daughter's birthday on a Monday to ship 3 day select. Her Birthday was on Thursday, so that should work. I received an email on Monday saying that the order had shipped out. On Friday, I still had not received it (after her birthday), so I clicked on the tracking information. It said the label was printed and that was it, so I called ups and they stated they never received the package for shipping. This is bad enough, but what happened when I tried to call customer service was even worse. I waited on hold 10 minutes, a nice man came on and asked me all of my information and then told me that it shipped, i said it didn't , he transferred me to someone else. I told this man the whole story - which took 12 minutes and then he said he couldn't help me and had to transfer me, then I was disconnected. I then called back and waited on hold 10 minutes, was disconnected without ever talking to anyone. Called back AGAIN, on hold for 7 minutes and finally talked to a man who told me it shipped - i said "it didn't" please give me a refund.

    As a consequence of this : My daughter did not receive her gift on her birthday, even though I ordered special shipping so that I would have it on time. I lost 1 hour of time from work. I became frustrated and upset. I now have to drive an hour away on a Friday evening before a holiday weekend and will have to deal with traffic (make that 2 hours away!) to purchase one today so that I can give my daughter her gift a day late. It looks to my daughter like I did not value her birthday enough to make sure I got her gift on time.

    PennyLaneC 9/2/11 4:39PM
  • Horrible experience with this company.

    Katrina Kelly 9/2/11 12:22PM
  • I visited Barnes and Noble on Concord Pike, Wilmington Delaware about a week ago looking for an african american fictional book. I looked all over the store until I gave up and asked an customer service person. She told me that all those books are behind the counter, I asked why! Why are those books behind the counter, if one doesn't know the name of the book we can't even browse? I felt that this is some sort of discrimination, I understand some of the content is not for kids, but alot of fictional adult books are on the show room floor. The customer service rep couldn't even answer why the books are behind the counter.Could you please explain to me why?

    Anonymous 9/1/11 3:48PM
  • After browsing around, I found that the textbook I wanted was on sales at B&N and so I placed the order with them online. I even qualified for express shipping. My shipping address was correctly entered and the order was process and shipped by within 1-2 days.

    I was excited that I will save $30 from not having to buy the textbook from the campus bookstore. Then, I found out that the package was handed over to the post office per sender's request. Then, I was surprised to find out that the post office couldn't make the delivery for 'incorrect address' and ultimately the package was returned to B&N. There is no way the address is undeliverable.

    I emailed B&N about the problem but they said once the package is shipped, they no longer have control, which can be understandable. But then if I still want the book, I will now have to either place a new order or wait until the package is returned then they will reship it back out. They did not offer to send the package overnight and I was declined when I asked. If it was a book for leisure then I wouldn't mind the extra week but its a class textbook that I need to read ASAP.

    I've also contacted UPS but to no surprise, they both put the blame on one another which didn't really resolved anything. From the tracking, it appeared that B&N made a printing error on my address but without the actual package to confirm it, I may never know for sure.

    So in the end, I'm still waiting for the refund to be credited to my account so I can go but the book on campus.

    By wanting to save $30, I've lost two weeks going into 3 of reading and I am now officially behind on my class.

    The customer service made me feel like it was my fault for placing the order with B&N in the first place. So much for their service.

    Anonymous 9/1/11 2:23PM
  • B&N.Com on line has terrible customer service! They shipped my package to the wrong address..one that is not even on file on my account or on my billing card and even though UPS said they could correct it they said they could not and now I can't get them to adjust my bill even though they are sending it to an entirely different CITY. BARNES AND NOBLE ONLINE SERVICE IS THE WORST I HAVE EVER DEALT WITH!!!!

    SIMPLYB 8/31/11 9:47AM
  • I have been a loyal customer of B&N's for 13 years. Well now I must say this experience will need to come to an end.

    Today, at the location where I usually shop in Clark, New Jersey I picked up a few books to read and I put a couple under the chair. Due to the high volume of customers the only chair that was available at the time was one with a couple of magazines on the chair, so I put the mags under the chair.

    A girl who works at B&N with tatoos on both lower parts of her legs (this is not an indictment against people with tatoos, I'm just giving a physical description in hopes that a manager of sorts will see this post, and they were pretty, mind you) was collecting books and mags that other people weren't reading. She swooped down to pick up my books that I had laid on the underneath deck of the chair. I informed her I was still reading those and the magazines on the floor were the ones she needed to pick up. Well this tart responds snidely by remarking, "Well, how am i supposed to know that?" She showed her bravery in this by saying it while turning her cheek away from me and leaving it as a "last comment". Lately this kind of attitude has been displayed by the women working in said store when approached by me.

    Word of advice to Barnes and Nobles: If youo're going to employ the B**** Brigade to work in your stores, at least get some who have the guts to behave like full-on ones. This way the dance on your proverbial grave from filing Chapter 11 won't need to be delayed any longer than it has to. You don't deserve the business you get if you are too damn cheap to hire proper people and not outcasts & losers. If you really care about helping the poor and endangered go interview some monkeys as it seems they most likely can relate to the HR department better than people can.

    eagleharbinger 8/30/11 4:19PM
  • BN.com sucks. no customer service at all. no response from customer service. no way to cancel the so-called free membership. don't buy anything from this sucker!!!!!

    allan 8/27/11 9:41AM
  • Worst company ever. Due to "billing issues," my account was charged for a book that never downloaded properly until 4 months after the fact. The promised refund was never issued. When I called tech support, I spent 2 hours on the phone, was transferred to 8 different people, and finally, no refund was made. Horrible company. Barnes and nobles has the WORST tech support, worst customer service ever, and should honestly just go out of business like Borders did.

    LilithofEden 8/25/11 2:00PM
  • B&N doesn't have a Customer service at all, Their customer service is terrible. They have accepted orders for Touchpad and hold the money in credit card, after a day they cancelled the order saying there is no stock, How can they accept order without stock, It is completely a SCAM.. I would have bought elsewhere if they showed as No-stock and dont accept orders.

    I called customer service, no answer. I mailed them for the reason for cancellation, no reply till now. I don't buy anything from here and never recommend this site for anything.

    Dallas 8/24/11 10:21PM
  • I didn't even get an email notifying me that they had cancelled my order for a Touchpad. Customer service not even taking calls today.

    pbourassa 8/24/11 5:29AM
  • I ordered a HP TouchPad when they were being cleared out. The website ordering system let me complete my order and pay. The next day, I received an email telling me that the HP TouchPad was out of stock. I called and got through the customer service and they told me that my order was still valid and when I complained about the email, she acknowledged that the system hadn't been updated. Also, I informed her that my co-worker ordered the same product 3 hours later and they didn't receive an cancellation notice. She told me that they do not fulfill orders on first in, first out, but some other undefined process. Inventory/ordering systems should not allow a purchase to take place if they do not have the item in stock. The WORST experience, stay away from B&N!!

    Mr. Fix it 8/24/11 5:25AM
  • I ordered a HP TouchPad when they were being cleared out. The website ordering system let me complete my order and pay. A few hours later I received an email telling me that the HP TouchPad was out of stock. I sent an email asking why the order was completed even though they had none in stock, I have not received a response yet. Inventory/ordering systems should not allow a purchase to take place if they do not have the item in stock. The WORST experience, stay away from B&N clearance sales!!!

    Anonymous 8/23/11 3:51PM
  • Barnes and Noble has the worst customer service I have evr Experienced. Customer service is just never available and there is no way for a customer to wait in que. You have to keep calling back. I have tried called since yesterday morning probably 60 times. No Answer what so ever and not to mention I paid for expedite shipping and they have not even started the shipping process after 24 hrs. Worst Service.

    Anonymous 8/23/11 10:18AM
  • I had a rented a textbook from Barnes and Noble on 8/8.I had to use it to prepare for an exam I was taking on 8/16. I had paid to expedite delivery. The website stated that the order was received and processed and would arrive in 2-3 business days).

    It is now the 12th and still no delivery. Contacted BN customer service, OH! good news it is on its way! The book never arrived until the 17th!! (did I mention the test was on the 16th).

    Way to go Barnes and Noble! With your wonderful customer service and efficient delivery/processing system you are well on your way to be another "Borders."

    I will never use this company again.

    THANKS! FAILED THE TEST 8/23/11 8:30AM
  • These guys does not even have a phone system that keeps you in the queue for longer than 30 seconds. So basically, you are left to keep dialling over and over and over and over...

    vincent_voltaire 8/22/11 12:57PM
  • My GOD these guys are the worst. I decided to rent three textbooks from BN. BIG MISTAKE. When I noticed that the address to be shipped was incorrect, I attempted to cancel my order immediately (meaning before they were shipped) online by clicking the remove order button. After it didn't work multiple times, I called BN. They told me that after ordering a rental it was impossible to cancel the order EVEN THOUGH THE BOOKS HAD NOT EVEN LEFT THE STORE and they told me to just wait and if it didn't reach me I'd be refunded. Looking back a couple days later, I found that one part of my order was canceled because they didn't have the book... I will NEVER rent, and probably never purchase, from BN ever again.

    Anonymous 8/22/11 6:46AM
  • I ordered a couple of B&N gift cards with my American Express points. They were due in a few days, so I went to the B&N web site to see what I might buy.

    Rather quickly, I discovered very nice pricing on the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and the forthcoming Star Wars set, both in blu-ray. I could purchase both, and still have some money left over.

    On Wednesday, 8/17 I went to their website to order the discs, with gift cards in hand. Imagine my surprise to see that each of them had gone up $20 in price. Now, I would have to chip in some to get them both.

    I called customer service, and to my surprise rang through rather quickly. After laying out my problem, I was told that the prices I saw were never offered. After speaking to a supervisor, I was left with the feeling that I must have imagined them.

    A very brief internet search revealed that those prices had in fact, been offered on the 15th.

    I also emailed B&N customer service, and first got a rather nice reply, asking for further clarification. When I provided that information, I got a rather terse email saying that they reserve the right to change prices at any time.

    I did not know that blu-ray disc prices were volatile like say those of gasoline.

    No attempt was ever made to reach a middle ground with me.

    Although I am not fond of Amazon, and like to shop at local stores, I plan to avoid B&N if at all possible.

    MrMalaprop52 8/20/11 12:16PM
  • The manager Mark, at Barnes and Noble Shreveport, brusquely approached my table and announced me that he needed to talk to me about something I had done "the other night." I consented. He swung a chair around, sat with his arms crossed on my table
    and proceeded to "dress me down" for taking (2) straws without purchasing a drink then. He imperiously informed me that it was caught on camera and that corporate could ban me for it. He ordered me thereafter to get a straw only if I purchased a drink, and then only ONE straw. At no time was he friendly, polite, appreciative of cooperation- nothing. I was shocked, as were the two men nearby who couldn't help but overhear. When I complained of this in E-mail to "Irma" at Customer Service, she cooly replied that the store wished to maintain the highest integrity and address even the perception of consumer inappropriateness, and that the manager had acted appropriately. The corporation's integrity is already shot to dust if 2 straws are more important than a long-standing customer and card carrying member!

    Anonymous 8/18/11 2:08PM
  • I ordered a magazine through Barnes and Noble and only ever received one 2 monthly edition for the whole subscription. I have talked to them and they are rude and have also been shouted at by them, the customer service is shoddy to say the least and they need a course at charm school, it needs sorting badly - they are out of control. The matter is still not resolved 12 months later and they say its between me and the publishers who also are rude. I paid B & N not the publishers so my contract is with them. They are incompetent.

    Jan 8/15/11 9:17AM
  • To Renee on 06/21/2011 - I had the same experience in March - my gift card should have $7.99 on it, but has zero - I wonder if they have stolen 8 dollars from everyone.

    Also, be warned - you can't use a gift card without having a valid credit card on their site. They charged me $10.99 on a gift card for a book that they won't allow me to download.

    Anonymous 8/14/11 11:28AM
  • Two days ago, I was charging my Nook Color on my kitchen counter. One minute the light was yellow and charging, the next minute, there was no light, and on closer inspection, it looked like where the cord connects to the adapter (the part with the light) had exploded!). I called my local Barnes & Noble store, and a very nice woman told me to "bring it in, and we'll give you a 'new' one." I thought to myself, "great." So I gathered up my purse, keys, sunglasses, burnt-out cord, and off I went to B&N. When I got there, there was a rather rude young man behind the Nook counter who told me he couldn't give me a new cord because he didn't have one, BUT I could "BUY" a car charger. I asked him why I would want to buy any charger when my Nook was still under warranty? He then told me I would probably have to mail "the whole thing" in. At this point I'm sure my blood pressure was up. I could feel my skin flush. I'm sure I was red. I asked him calmly, "what about all of my books?" Oh they'll put all of those back on for you." I asked, "What about all of my emails, my facebook contacts?" "Oh," he says, "I don't know about those...". Buy this point, I was fit to be tied. Then he say to me, "Well, You could always take one of these brochures and call them(?) a question was implied. I said, fine, I'll do that. I left the store, wondering why the nice lady I had spoken to several hours earlier hadn't checked to see if they had one available to give to me, and save me from this KNOW NOTHING. I get home and call the 800 number. I get INDIA. It is not a good connection. It is a man who's English is less than good. After multiple attempts, I understand that he wants my contact information, and he understands what it is. This takes about ten minutes, I explain to him what my problem is, and I think to myself, "OK, a cord will be on the way." Wishful thinking. He says, "OK, now I have to transfer you to someone else." I'm irritated. I told him EVERYTHING, but OK. I get transferred to an Indian women. Much better connection, MUCH better English. She asks me ALL OF THE EXACT INFORMATION THE MAN DID!!!! ALL OF MY CONTACT INFORMATION, AND WHAT THE PROBLEM IS!!! THIS TAKES TEN MINUTES, TOO, DESPITE THE GOOD CONNECTION AND THE EXCELLANT ENGLISH, BECAUSE SHE PUTS ME ON HOLD MULTIPLE TIMES!!! I am very irritated because all of this time, I have been getting ready for my golf league. I'm thinking this should have been no more than a five minute phone call. Finally, I'm thinking we're done. She gets all of the information. (all of the SAME information!) I think to myself, "OK, my cord is on the way!" By the way, my golf partner has pulled up in the driveway... I'm thinking, we'll be done, and I'll be out the door any second.. Then she says, "OK, now I have to transfer you to someone else." WHAT?!?! Is she kidding?!?!?! AM I ON CANDID CAMERA?!?! I TELL HER NO! YOU CANNOT TRANSFER ME! I HAVE TO LEAVE! MY RIDE IS IN THE DRIVEWAY! SHE TELLS ME, YOU CANNOT HANG UP! WE ARE NOT DONE! I tell her, I have to hang up, I will call back tomorrow. Click! Obviously, my cord is NOT in the mail. This is so frustrating on SO many levels. 1.The woman at the store should have checked to see if a cord was available. 2. The young man at the store should have been unemployed. 3. At least THREE Americans could have had those telephone jobs--AND DONE THEM BETTER!!!!!

    DMCRN 8/12/11 10:57AM
  • Do not ever ever order used books from B&N. I guarantee your order will be cancelled. They do it nearly every time. Terrible terrible service and it continues to happen to customers....These people should not be in business....let's just hope.

    Anonymous 8/10/11 12:11PM
  • I've shopped ar Barnes and Noble for many years, beginning at a middle-in-the-block store about Fifteenth Street in New York, if I remember the approximate address. Maybe it was a corner. Or maybe it was the old Strand. Anyhow...
    Tonight is the last time I will shop with you on-line, however, meaning probably never again.
    There is no personal comment concerning the B&N people who from time to time have made an effort to help me - they have all been polite, mostly helpful. I'm sure they are all honorable people who do their jobs as well as they can, but...
    It is now 2130 EST and it has taken me TWO SOLID HOURS, not counting the time for this comment, to place an order.
    I wanted to order one book from asmong your used books, a department not listed in your departmental menu, but by the time I was forced to view Nook (lousy name) books ad infinitum, wade through verious corrections to my account, and swamps of best sellers, technical items,and other unwanted stuff, all created, I suppose in the name of salesmanship, I was weary and disappointed.
    I plugged ahead, refusing to be beaten, until I got in an order for a new copy of Amanda Foreman's "A World on Fire". But never again.
    Maybe I'm not so good at a computer, but I should be able to order a wanted book in fifteen or twenty minutes not forced to spend hours. I've done it with you.
    Don't I remember ordering books on line from B&N less than ten years ago when all I had to do was type the name of the book and author into a search field, and it would come right up, without my heing forced to survey a quantity of unwanted items like best sellers, before completing a simple order in less than half an hour? Not tonight.
    Not au revoir, but good bye.

    Anonymous 8/7/11 7:20PM
  • Barnes and Noble Customer service? It should be called Barnes and Noble lack of service, non-service, bad service, you name it. I called to return a broken Nook Color and was told to take it to a store and they would repair it. Got to the store and the clerk laughed and said, "the people they have in customer service are a joke". He then contacted customer service on his special line and they promised to send a new Nook Color. Two weeks later the UPS tracking number website indicates they sent it to the wrong address. Idiots. I'm now on hold to talk to the same customer service that has screwed up every thing I've tried to get done so far. Buy a Nook Color? At your own risk!!!

    PaulR 8/1/11 4:52PM
  • I am extremelly disappointed in the whole buying experience at BN website. First let me tell you that they do not accept that we add books to their orders, even with within hours. I had to CANCEL my entire order to be able to add an item. I then get off the phone with the impression my order was cancelled, re-ordered _everything_ plus the other book I wanted and to my dismay get an email shortly after placing the second order stating my first order was not cancelled. Ugh!
    After that, I was stupid enought to buy a third time from them, some Harry Potter magazines and when I go to their link to track my order, FIVE days after placing it all I get is the crappy DHL web site only stating that they were notified to pick up the packaged FIVE days ago!!! OMG, could they have a worst service? I then call the customer service, they were unhelpful and bordering being aggressive with me, to the point of saying that once the book is out of their warehouses it was not their responsibility when the books will arrive and neither to give me tracking information!!!
    Funny, I thought if I bought from them IT WAS THEIR RESPONSIBLIBITY TO MAKE SURE I get my books, from the minute I place my order, until they get to my doorstep, and is it too much to ask to get a tiny bit of tracking information?
    PLEASE DO NOT BUY FROM BN.com, UNLESS YOU DON'T CARE WHEN AND HOW YOUR BOOKS ARRIVE AND DON'T MIND IF THEY DUPLICE YOUR ORDERS!
    I am appalled a company this big could be in such bad shape. Back to amazon.com I go!!!

    Worst customer experience in yea 8/1/11 4:06PM
  • Forget about trying to contact them through 1-800-The-Book. I've tried for two days without any success!!!!

    da Dude 8/1/11 8:17AM
  • Ok..... so this is a post of pure & utter frustration at BARNES N NOBLE!! I must admit I NEVER really liked this company- I only tolerated it. I would much rather prefer going to Border's but NOOOOOW I have to deal with Barnes N HORRIBLE!!



    Every one that I have ever been to in the Atlanta area the service SUUUUCKKKS!!!

    They NEVER have the books that I am looking for- but they ALWAYS try to coerce me into ordering it.. UGH DUH.....most people come to the bookstore to see the actual book that they are thinking about purchasing PRIOR to doing so! So why in the world would I want to waste money on ordering a book that may or may not serve my needs??
    The folks that you ask for assistance always seem like they know NOTHING about what you are talking about...they LOVE serving you with a BLANK STARE!!! DUUUUUUHHHH
    They dont even allow us computer users to plug into other areas especially nowadays. You would think that they would be MORE partial to being even friendlier because their competition aka Borders has gone out of business...but NOOOOOO... they have become even bigger JERKS!! (& trust me when I tell you that I'm being EXTREMELY NICE!!)



    UGH- for instance the location @ Camp Creek Marketplace in Atlanta just put LOCKS...yes I said LOCKS on their outlets!!! REALLY??? So, If I am doing research & using my computer- before I used to be able to find a spot in the store- almost anywhere- & plug into a tower. Or my favorite spot was over by the cookbook section. Today I walked into the store expecting NO less; & what am I greeted by? The ole "Come here....Bend over...you know, grab your ankles, I have something SPECIAL for you Mr/Mrs computer user...we as a large corporation DON'T value your business- hence why we have removed your access to the electricity!-MUAHWAH (sinister laugh)"

    Listen Mr. CEO of Barnes and HORRIBLE, Barnes and IGNOBLE - just in case you DON'T know what that means let me share with you the definition......
    .....you need to keep in mind that we are ALSO consumers! If you are not computer friendly to us computerphiles YOU WILL inevitably lose business & I know in your world money is KING! So, unless you wish to end up on the auction block like Borders in the next year or two, get your act together & give us what we demand & what we need. Better service, Better book selections, & OUTLETS!!!

    Signed,

    PISSED OFF!!!

    disgustedinatlanta 7/31/11 12:07PM
  • I expected my order to be delivered to my office yesterday but it didn’t happen. I went to the UPS website to track my package this morning and it showed that it was delivered at 2:46pm yesterday and signed by CICI. I called UPS and told them there was no package delivered to our office yesterday and there is no one from that address with that name but I was told that they can’t start an investigation unless it is requested by the shipper. They advised me to contact BarnesandNoble.com and ask them to request UPS to investigate.

    After talking to UPS, I asked our receptionist to call the company at the back of our building to see if they got my package as had happened in the past. They told us that the UPS driver brought some packages to them yesterday and there were a few of them which belong to us, so they told the UPS driver to go back to the front of the building for the right recipients. However, no UPS driver ever came to our office yesterday.

    So I called the BarnesandNoble.com Customer Service this morning. I believe my call was answered by someone in the Philippines. The lady was very polite and apologetic. However, it doesn’t seem that she is competent to handle the issue. I told her my order didn’t arrive, I also told her my phone call with UPS and how we found out the UPS driver brought our packages to the other company at the back of the building. She apologized for my inconvenience and put me on hold. After a couple of minutes, she told me that their system shows that my order was shipped, delivered and signed by someone already. I explained to her that’s the reason why I called them as I need their help to request UPS to start the investigation. Then she put me on hold again, came back and repeated the same script about how sorry she felt for my inconvenience but according to their procedure/policy, that there is nothing that she can do about it as the order was shipped, delivered and signed by someone already. She asked me what else I want so I told her I want to get my order. It’s either they request UPS to start an investigation and track down the package or send me another copy of the book. She started the same reply again to apologize for my inconvenience but according to procedure/policy that there is nothing she can do…

    At the end, she said she would put down a note, I asked her what is that note for? She said it is for her supervisor. I have no idea what it would lead me. I really don’t care where and who from the customer service will answer my call. What really matters is if the person is capable to handle the issue or not.

    I understand the issue was caused by the UPS driver. All I wanted from the Customer Service at BarnesandNoble.com was to send a request to UPS to start an investigation as UPS would only initial the investigation per the shipper’s request. However, it looks like I was expecting too much from the Customer Service at BarnesandNoble.com. With this kind of customer service experience, I don’t think I will ever purchase anything from BarnesandNoble.com again and I will pass these around to people that I know and warn them about it.

    By the way, after talking to the Customer Service at BarnesandNoble.com, I really felt I was caught in between UPS and BarnesandNoble.com, so I decided to go to our next door business neighbor and see if they received our packages. True enough, our packages were with them.

    With all the legwork that I had to do and the kind of customer service experience I had with BarnesandNoble.com, is it a happy ending? I don’t think so.

    fw1989 7/29/11 1:26PM
  • Worst online retailer I've ever dealt with. I ordered $400+ worth of stuff Nov 2010, xmas shopping mostly, but 1/2 of the order was cancelled over a month later without warning or explanation! I just ordered $250 "IN STOCK" items on Jul 12, 2011. Yet now on the 26th they sent me an email saying my order is "delayed". Pathetic. I couldn't even cancel the order until now. All my inquiries were ignored... only stock email replies suggesting I re-order the stuff. (So they think I will re-order my stuff a week before xmas when I got screwed around since early Nov?) WARNING - NEVER BUY ANYTHING FROM B&N!

    still waiting for my order 7/27/11 8:47AM
  • I established an account with B & N on my new Ipad and downloaded the app. What I didn't notice was that when I typed in the @ that it seperated my email name into two words instead of one. Because of this I since learnded from their tech support caused the book download to be 7 pages of error messages. I took this issue to their customer service since I had been charged the download fee on my credit card. After more than an hour on the phone with customer service and tech support, I thought I had the issue resolved and they gave be a ref # and said they would issue a refund to my credit card.
    When I called back today because I had not received a refund, they said the matter had been referred to a higher level and they decided no refund.

    So even though they acknowledge that I did not get my download and the fault was a glicth in their Ipad app, they refuse to give me a refund.

    Do business with some other company!!!!!

    AggieMike 7/25/11 11:28AM
  • I am a long time customer of Barnes and Noble. I purchased a lot of books here and 3 months ago i even bought a Nook Color. This afternoon around pass 6pm, i returned to look for the Picasso book that i really like to purchase. I went to art section aroound and found it below the shelves. Bec. the book was heavy plus my grocery bag, i decided to seat near the shellf where it was located. After probably 1 minute a baldy , lightly bearded sales guy, white, around mid 50's approached me and told me that i can seat on the other side of the hallway. And narrated that i might blocked some customers who wants to look at the shelves. I said yes i will. Though i find it weird bec. for how many years i have been to this store, B and N staff doesnt care about where the customers seat on the floor or near the shelves. And i looked around and nobody was even around. Bec. the book was heavy, i decided just to look more of (4) pages and plan to leave when the baldy guy approeached me with a rough tone and said "Did you hear what i've told you?" , i said with a calm voice.. "Yes i am leaving now". He looked at me like he is going eat me alive. "You are not suppose to put that book on the floor" he continue. And i told him "Why do have to be nasty, can you be nice to the customer?" And he answered me like this lookig at me from head to toe.. "By the way do you know how much is that book that you are holding?" This sentence really made me so mad. This sales man doesn't know how many books i bought in that store. I even purchased a Nook Color last 2 months ago. I felt so humiliated and embarrass. Maybe bec. of my skin color, that i am a Filipina and doesnt look a resident from Park Avenue, that he had treated me like that.
    I complained to the customer service and immediately called the manager named Jovy (im not sure of his name) he is nice and apologized after hearing my complain. I told him that i am an artist and wanted to buy the book but changed my mind. This incident is very traumatic. I wonder how many customers have victimized by this mean, nasty and racist sales guy. I don't know if still wanted to go or purchase in your bookstore.

    Filipina Artist 7/21/11 6:21PM
  • I returned the Nook on May 10th, and still waiting for a refund. The customer service first said I'd have to wait because the refund processing takes from 2 to 4 business weeks, and they confirmed they received the device. That was over a month ago. I called them 2 days ago, and now they're asking for the post office tracking number, which I threw away when got the confirmartion from B&N that they have recived the Nook. A colleague of mine is going through the same ordeal. All this looks like a scheme. Nobody expected this from B&N. Terrible.

    Eugene L. 7/18/11 9:19AM
  • I purchased a Nook Color for my wife's birthday and am sorry I bought the thing. After finally getting registered, we discovered that the touch screen malfunctioned. I went back to the store and was told that I would have to contact Customer Support in order to get a replacement device. Upon contact, I was asked the usual identity questions (name, address, etc.) and the last 4 digits of the credit card I used for registration. I was then transfered to Tech Support and connected to someone with a foreign accent who wanted a credit card number (in case I didn't return the faulty Nook withing 14 days) I told the rep that I was going to be out of town and that my credit card was already on file. Sorry, but you have to return the device within 14 days to avoid being charged. With that I hung up. I then tried to get results with B&N's Online chat site. I thought I was going to get results until the idiot I was chatting with asked me to enter my credit card number on an unsecure Web site. No way is that going to happen so I called Customer Support one more time and told the Customer Support rep I would give her my number. OK..Now the replacement device comes and it's a "Previously Owned" Nook. I paid for a new device and that's what I want. My wife called the following week while I was out of town and got nowhere. If B&N wants to play these cheap games, I can play too. They can either give me a new replacement or book credit for the difference in price or I will tell my story to any potential Nook buyer I can find. I will cost B&N plenty before I'm through and I will make them wish they had treated this customer fairly.

    UglyAngel 7/17/11 7:02PM
  • I've had 2 shipments in a row not show up in the time frame expected. Both of them birthday presents that did not show up in time. Tried to contact customer service 3 times, and finally got back a very generic form letter letting me know they were looking on ways to improve service and "my problem", indicating nobody even read my e-mail. Went to their facebook page to complain, and see that no resolution to problems is their m. o. Will never shop here again.

    notbucket24 7/16/11 8:47PM
  • I bought a Nook. It is NOT user friendly at all. Do not buy. I am going to try to return, but based on other comments, I may never see the money returned.

    Jeri 7/16/11 3:52PM
  • i ordered a few books online with a B&N gift card, on july 6. it is now july 13, and i am leaving for a family vacation tomorrow. i was hoping that my books would get here by now, and i am very dissapointed.

    claudia 7/13/11 1:14AM
  • I was given a B&N gift card and used it to order a book. I put in the order on 8 July expecting delivery by 14 July--the sort of service that is routine with Amazon. But no, the book will arrive too late for me to get it. B&N says it will refund the amount to my gift card and to my credit card (with which I paid for shipping). But I've now wasted not only the time it took to put in the order but also twenty minutes on phone (including five minutes on hold with cheesy saxaphone music), speaking with B&N and UPS. Amazon has spoiled me for B&N; its shipping and customer service are infinitely better.

    Axwall 7/12/11 10:28AM
  • I call the Union Square Barnes and Nobles location in Manhattan at 9:40am, knowing that there are sales staff on the floor opening the store before it opens at 10:00am. After waiting several minutes to actually reach a person, I ask "Hi, I was wondering if you can check to see if there was a magazine in stock." The male clerk goes, "Call back at 10:00am when the store opens." I respond, "It opens in 20 minutes, can you check and put it on hold for me so I can be there at 10:00am?" And he continues to say, "Yea call back at 10:00am." And proceeds to hang up on me. Well guess what, I took my business to Borders at Penn Plaza where they open up at 8:00am and put my magazine on hold! Such a jerk.

    jjack918 7/7/11 6:47AM
  • When I purchased my Nook, I also purchased an extended warranty. My original Nook repeatedly crashed or froze, and it was replaced not by another new Nook but by a Refurbished Nook. The refurbished Nook is now not able to hold a charge for more than a few minutes so I have to have the battery replaced.
    Why did you not replace my new Nook with another NEW Nook. I disagree and am not happy with the new policy to replace new with refurbished. Why did I even bother to purchase the extended warranty?

    Anonymous 7/1/11 4:37PM
  • Over 3 months waiting for a Nook refund.
    I have explained the situation to at least five different customer reps and no one was able to help - they keep saying I need the device serial number which I do not have since I returned the device.... Extremely ineffective.

    sfuccio 6/27/11 4:22PM
  • Since I wrote the 1st time they have kindly put my 8.14 back on my gift card. Not on 6/22/11 but on 6/24/11. On top of all that the book that I could have got on the 22 will not be delivered until the 28th. I'm going to pick up the book at Walmart tomorrow and take the book back when I get it. It is not worth the trouble.

    Ren 6/25/11 1:00PM
  • Kids Club was a bad experience. I don't like the way, B and N promises kids discounts and doesn't honor their promises. We signed up and assumed that the card would get us the discounts. Went to the store on their birthday and were told that all offers would only be emailed. Kids were disappointed but B and N stuck to their rules: we told them we got no emails: they checked the card and said "now its working, now you will get them." One month later still no emails with rewards from B and N, still only nice store employees offering apologies but they stick to their rules: if Kids are disappointed, too bad: they will only honor rewards they email.!

    dissatisfied customer 6/25/11 7:01AM
  • We changed the credit card in our account,now we can not read any of our books purchased earlier with another card. After many phone calls and wasted time problem is still not fixed. I am disgusted and frustrated with Barnes and Noble at this point. We have decided to now purchase our ebooks directly from the publishers from now on.

    polgara 6/23/11 8:30PM
  • B&N has the worst customer service of any online ordering company I have delt with. I thought getting a book cheaper on line was a good deal and worth waiting the extra day or so. Never again! I recieved a gift card and have heard several different stories on why my gift card that should have 8.00 left on it has a balance of 0.00 on it. It's sad because they do have several books I would order if they wouldn't screw people. I guess it's Borders from now on.

    Renee 6/21/11 8:40AM
  • Just bought Color Nook for a BD and have been unable to connect to wireless encrypted network. this is the ONLY item of 8 other wireless items that has a problem. have talked to BN, Internet provider, router manufacturer. most have no idea what to do to fix the problem without performing 'abnormal' actions such as removing the encryption, DUH or putting another non-encryted router on my existing router, DUH again. I'm almost ready to take it back for a refund and never do business with BN again for anything. BN knows of this problem but refuses to address it.. totally unacceptable

    gr8dane 6/20/11 5:54PM
  • Still waiting since last March for my refund for a defective Nook Color Reader. Last check is in the mail email was May 25 th. still waiting. Are you going broke like Borders?? or just hoping I'll give up bugging you
    Jan Smith
    Ref Order # 191420316

    Anonymous 6/17/11 6:10AM
  • Seems a small thing but really, with all the choices I have when buying a book this seems like an idiotic policy. Came in with my daughter to browse and read. We brought a couple of sandwiches with us and were informed that "no outside food was allowed in the store." When I consider the amount of money I have spent at B&N over the years to be made to feel so unwelcome as well as discouraging me to come into the store just seems dumb. We do buy often from their food and drink offerings as well as books but believe me we will be staying away in the future.

    Sally 6/16/11 10:49AM
  • In November I ordered a Nook as a gift. The person I bought it for wasn't comfortable using it so I called BN to return it. I got an authorization number and returned it within their time period.

    Six months later I am still fighting to get my refund. I can't call customer service any long because they can't access my files since my case was "escalated to upper management." Upper management is still "reviewing my case". There is no way to contact them except by email, and they are not responding to my questions. They admit I did everything correctly on my end, but offer no reason why the refund is still being held up.

    I have kept all my original invoices, return authorization emails from BN, tracking and delivery info from UPS, and documented the countless conversations I have had with customer service.

    It is at a standstill while I keep sending emails asking for some kind of answer. No response, no response.

    bcterp2 6/6/11 10:11AM
  • Terrible, terrible, terrible. I've had to call 5 times over as many weeks to track a replacement for a defective Nook. Still Nook-less with no clear evidence of when I will recieve it.

    auntiegem 6/4/11 2:49PM
  • I've had the same terrible experience as many others. I am due a refund on a nook I purchased as a gift for my mother. 6 weeks and 5 hours of phone calls later I have not received my refund. They have tried every trick in the book - claiming I didn't return the product on time, claiming they didn't receive the product, they have managed to lose my account info and my email address. Fortunately I got delivery confirmation through USPS so they can't claim they don't have it. We will not be buying any more Nooks. I had initially decided to get the Nook Color for Mom but now we are buying something off Amazon.

    Another swindled Barnes and Nobe 6/4/11 11:02AM
  • I purchased a NookBook colored I had it less than 6 months. I had no problem when I first got it download Christian fiction book no problem, then the last two monthes. I now can't get my wifi to stay on so of course I can't download anything. My understanding there has been a problem with the 1.2 1,I realize there is problemwith new thing, I call your tech support, which I was very unhappy because I was told to read what you have download. I have been in retail for over 40 years, and with help like that I am suprised you're in business. with that attitude I won't be in your store, I work in a bookstore,and would not tell a customer use what you have. I wanted to see if there was a software I could get to correct this problem.I like my nook, and have told others it was really nice. well that was before this afternoon.I can not believe a tech support would tell someone that wants help to fix the problem, well just read what you've download. I appreciated the help I did not get. Thank you for your cooperation
    Sincerly Linda Goley

    Anonymous 5/27/11 6:32PM
  • Have tried for months to try to get my online
    library updated after many months and phone calls and talking with supervisor about wrong credit card information was corrected. Anybody tied to contact corporate?

    sm2pam 5/25/11 7:10AM
  • Very disappointed in Barnes and Noble. Awful customer service. I tried every point of contact - web-chat, 800 number, and even my local store. Nobody would help me. What kind of a company cares so little about their customers? I will not be back.

    lisaro150 5/18/11 2:16PM
  • Not only is a credit card required for any NEW purchases, but if you remove your credit card from the account, your PREVIOUS PURCHASES will no longer be retrievable either ! They actually block your old e- books that were purchased months ago, prompting you to download them (even though you already have ) and then telling you they cannot be downloaded due to a “B&N error”. There is no error about it – when I called they told me the account wouldn’t work without my credit card and said “When any account information is removed the device doesn’t work”. They said it was only for books not downloaded yet but these had been downloaded and we were in the middle of reading them. No matter what questions I asked he just kept repeating that they needed my credit card number and then I could read my old e-books.
    Also, the e-books cost as much or more than a real book and you only have them for “as long as they are providing the service” (Make sure you read the fine print in Terms of Agreement) AND they are not refundable at all. Once you (or anyone else using your nook) presses purchase you’re stuck with the bill.
    Lastly, the service is really bad – lots of waiting, requesting lots of irrelevant information and then mindless robotic repetition of what they’re told to say. It isn’t a dialogue by any stretch of the imagination and there is no problem resolution – IT’S YOUR PROBLEM.
    I would not recommend the nook.

    Anonymous 5/17/11 10:16AM
  • I returned the Nook Color after a week because I did not like the way it performed. I complied with getting the "Return Authorization Number". As per UPS (I have their written statement) it was received by B+N on 3/9/11. I have not received a refund yet. I have called more than 8-10 times and the reps tell me different stories. They alway end by saying they will "kick it upstairs" or they can't understand why I have not been refunded or I should expect a refund in about one week only to find that a week later, B+N has failed to do what it promised. Today another story emerged: the receiving dept has not scanned it in yet so therefore it appears that it has not been received. It has been 2 months and no direct answer can be obtained. I have made complaints to the Attorney Generals Office in 2 states, since I strongly feel cases like these need to be investigated so that the public can be protected from the abuses like the ones being commiited by B+N. As per rating B+N... as far as i am concerned it fails miserable in all aspects. I always strongly urge my collegues, friends and neighbors to think twice before purchasing from B+N due to their poor practices. I have heard similar horror stories from them. I speculate that with their poor performance and with how multi access methods for reading material are developing... their days in business are numbered. I will continue my efforts to getting my money back: involving the media and getting a lawyer because now it becomes a question of "what is right".

    Sonia 5/13/11 3:04PM
  • Returned a Nook I ordered online 3 months ago, still no refund! Worst customer service ever. You spend for ever sending emails and talking to reps on the phone getting no satisfaction.
    DO NOT ORDER ONLINE FROM THIS COMPANY!

    SANTA46 5/13/11 8:59AM
  • What a nightmare. I am trying to understand how Borders is closing half their stores and yet Barnes and Noble continues.
    The only thing they seem to be able to do quickly and efficiently is run your card and take your money.

    For the second time I have tried the online store as I could not deal with the attitudes I encounter at the actual retail store. They have no idea where my parcel is and don't seem to care. It's been "sitting" according to the tracking number, in the same place for 4 days. It's been 6 business days which is their guarantee. They told me to call back in a couple of weeks if I still don't get it. But they sure are going to keep my money until then aren't they? So that I can't go get them from somewhere else. Then what? When it doesn't show up I get to wait another 2 weeks?
    Barnes and Noble= they don't know and they don't care.
    Someone almost got me a Nook for my birthday... thank goodness they didn't.. I can't imagine being held hostage by Barnes and Noble books only.
    I plan on buying from ANYWHERE but here and that includes maybe just not getting books I may want. If Barnes and Noble is the only place I can get the book... I will send a note to the author letting them know why they are not making a sale with me.

    nomorebnn 5/6/11 10:55AM
  • OMGSH! I paid $20 to become a member like back in Dec. I made a recent purchase that I needed by last Friday (4/29) so I put the order in on the Saturday before. It shipped on that Monday. I am a member so I get Express Shipping, right? WRONG! I contacted them and they told me that it was sent through normal shipping then when I told them that I had clicked Express Shipping they said I didn't. Hmmm...really? Then why does my shipping confirmation AND my order confirmation say I did? I am completely fed up, because now the books are useless to me and I still haven't gotten them! It was a $3 difference between B&N and Amazon...I wish I would've chose Amazon!

    emcecile 5/1/11 9:13PM
  • unbelievable experience. Spent an hour with a guy who refused to listen, was so bound by a nonsensical policy, refused to let me speak to a supervisor, refused to let me speak without interrupting, put me on hold for 15 minutes, and finally did what he wanted to do even if it made no sense. I got off the phone feeling like I had been mowed over by a lawnmower

    dbt 4/24/11 2:20PM
  • Don't fall for the free shipping offer! They send the items via the cheapest means possible which is good for them and HORRIBLE for the customer. I received a shipping notice over two weeks ago and still no delivery. I contacted Barnes and Noble customer service and they said it wasn't their problem.

    Anonymous 4/23/11 7:49AM
  • I VISITED BARNES AND NOBLE HERE IN HYANNIS, AND I HAVE HAD A DIFFICULT EXPERIENCE WITH ONE INDIVIDUAL:THE VIDEO AND CD DEPARTMENT MANAGER NAMED DANIEL.HE IS THE RUDEST PERSON I MET WHO WORKS AT THAT LOCATION.TO ALL WHO READ THIS, DO NOT GO THERE WHEN HE IS THERE!NOW EVERYONE ELSE WHO WORKS AT THAT LOCATION, IS VERY NICE AND VERY HELPFUL.SOMEONE SHOULD FIRE DANIEL FOR THAT AND HE HARRASES WITH THE PHONE CALLS TO ME BY CALLING ME EVERYDAY BEFORE THE EXPIRATION DATE ON THE SPECIAL ORDER. HE SHOULD BE FIRED FOR HIS RUDENESS TOWARDS CUSTOMERS!!!

    FAIRYQUEEN 4/21/11 7:10PM
  • I TRIED TO ORDER A BOOK FROM BARNES AND NOBLE AND FOUND OUT IT WAS TO BE DOWNLOADED ONLY. I WAS NOT ABLE TO DOWNLOAD IT. I INFORMED THEM 5 TIMES AND EXPLAINED THE SITUATION. THEY KEPT RESPONDING WITH THE SAME MESSAGE...TO DOWN LOAD THE BOOK I ORDERED. I EXPLAINED TO THEM 1. I COULD NOT DOWNLOAD IT AND 2. I WANTED AN ACTUAL BOOK NOT THE DOWNLOAD. AGAIN THEY DO NOT RESPOND. VERY UNPROFESSIONAL AND REALLY DON'T CARE ABOUT THE CUSTOMER

    Anonymous 4/8/11 6:34PM
  • you people just making the situation more difficult.what you give is what you will get.try to be nice

    shameonyou66 4/6/11 1:12PM
  • Don't return more than one item per box. They will claim that they only received one item and it will always be the cheaper item. After 2 weeks of calls, I have filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and my credit card company. The investigation at the warehouse for the lost merchandise took 8 days instead of thr promised 48 hours. By that time, the merchandise was gone and they refuse to refund my $51. Will not purchase online or in the store again out of principal.

    Janna 4/4/11 2:08PM
  • My children bought me the Nook for Christmas. It was obsolete before I opened it. Had to wait weeks for it to update itself to 5.1.

    Now it does not support the magazines it sells!!! Only nook color can read magazines. No plans on updating the software.

    Don't buy this.

    leesa 3/29/11 10:36AM
  • Purchased a Nook Color on December 10, 2010. Power pack stopped charging the Nook within 35 days. Called B&N customer service on February 26 and was promised they would send a new power pack. Received a message on March 10 saying they didn't have any power packs and would send one when they get it. Have now called them 4 times and been told each time they would send one. They gave us a USPS tracking number that was bogus. Will never buy anything from B&N again.

    llahsram 3/26/11 11:05AM
  • I ordered my book on 2/22/11 it is now 3/25/11 and I still have not received my book. My credit card was charged and now I am getting the run around about my refund. I have spoken with 3 different people regarding this issue and one of these people is a supervisor. I still have not received my refund as they promised and I am getting ready to really give them you know what. I will not take this lightly as I work very hard for my money and do not want to just throw it away.

    wiccanwoman2007 3/25/11 3:34PM
  • I ordered a textbook through the Barnes and Noble marketplace site and never received the book. My class is over now and I had no book to complete the class. Trying to get a refund is impossible. They took their money immediately from my credit card however getting a refund back for a book I never received is impossible. I am not happy with their customer service and think that they need to be trained in customer service techniques all over again.

    wiccanwoman2007 3/25/11 3:27PM
  • I have been trying to retrieve my password for two days. I forgot my password and the link they send me to reset - Says the system is temporarly not in service. This is constant. i just want to reset my password and cannot order any books on-line for my nook without a password. The Customer service for Barnes & Noble is worse than Best Buy and that's saying something. I also was told to wait for 24 hours - this is after being told the same thing 2 days ago. Time to find a new E-Reader.

    Anonymous 3/17/11 7:09AM
  • This has to be the worst customer service EVER. I ordered a blu-ray on 2/08/2011 from one of their "authorized sellers". I never received it. So I emailed the company on 2/21/2011. No reply from them so I emailed B&N and they told me to wait until 2/28/2011 to see if it arrives. Nope. So I emailed the company again and still no reply. Then back to B&N they told me to give them until 3/9/2011. Well still no replay or refund. So I just emailed B&N again they told me as soon as the "authorized seller" receives my "RETURN" they will offer me a full refund. But like I said I NEVER RECEIVED THE BLU-RAY!!!! And trying to do this over the phone is totally USELESS.

    Suenell 3/10/11 4:49PM
  • Count yourself lucky for not ordering a Nook. I have already made 6 calls lasting up to 50 minutes to get B&N to honor the extended warranty I purchased with my Nook. After the 2nd phone call I was told to call back in 48 hours to make sure the warranty shows on their system. Well it's been over two weeks and 4 calls later and I am still getting the same response. What a shame...I am trying to support an American company and I am treated like garbage. At this point, I don't even care about the Nook anymore. I am very tempted to file a small claims court suit though. Shame on you B&N. Never again you will see a penny from me!

    Anonymous 3/10/11 2:04PM
  • Barnes and Noble's "customer service" is horrible. They will not offer any help. I entered a gift card amount into my online account and applied that amount to a purchase. I was charged the full amount for the purchase and the gift card was removed from my account. They basically called me a liar, and said that their was no way that their perfect computer systems could make any mistake. I wished I had not purchased a Nook. It is to late to take it back.

    Anonymous 3/10/11 10:46AM
  • I ordered online and after the item was backordered, I finally received the wrong book. I sent it back and they were going to send me the correct book. After a couple of weeks, they e-mailed me and said that they were cancelling the order and would issue a refund. About a week later, I received another shipment and, indeed, they had sent the wrong book again! I called their customer service (if that is an appropriate title) and they couldn't find the order although I gave them the order number off the packing list. Bottom line, they are going to issue a pickup and issue credit. I don't think that I will bet the ranch on either of those things happening.....

    Rich 3/9/11 11:23AM
  • hours on the phone, multiple call backs needlessly-- each time it's like starting over. This for a $4 discrepancy. It's painful. Never again, only went to B&N because I had a gift card. Back to Amazon, they do it right.

    Anonymous 3/4/11 7:34AM
  • All I can say is think twice before you place an order on the Barnes and Noble website. I placed an order that consisted of 3 calendars, 4 textbooks and 2 British Comedy videos. After submitting the order, I NEVER received any type of confirmation by email at all. I waited about a week and then finally called the customer service number. I must have called this number 8-9 times before I FINALLY received my order; 3 WEEKS LATER! Every time I called the customer service number, I was on hold for at least 30 minutes, most of the time I would just hang up and call back. Really, 30 minutes + hold time??? Talk about great customer service. When I finally spoke to an actual person (the 9th time I called), I was lied to about where my packages were. I also spoke to a very short tempered agent and was thinking about why I put myself in this frustrating position. Because of me and other customers, these rude agents have a JOB. We do provide them a paycheck! So why do we get treated like crap? Instead of getting 1 box with all of the stuff I ordered (it stated all items were IN STOCK), I received 4 boxes with all of my items in them, shipped separately. As one can clearly see, when you are rated as TERRIBLE and have almost 200 complaints, maybe you should look into hiring more people for your customer service phone positions and maybe look at learning how to treat people the way you want to be treated. I will never shop here again. I am also SOOOOO grateful that I never ordered a NOOK... I feel sorry for all the people out there who did.

    Anonymous 3/4/11 6:39AM
  • First of all the store i go to ,their cs is bar none the best.B&N telephone cs is beyond horrible.Here is my story i bought a nook color back in Jan of 2011 it had some bugs an i took it back no problem,well i had bought a ebook ,they guy at the store said no refund on it well OK out $10.00,well couple of days ago i went out and bought an other one figuring they worked out the bugs ,i called customer service to see if i could transfer over the ebook to my new unit they said yes but they could not find it under my email address,after several tries and on hold they said they could not find it.My problem is they go by email address and not by name on the account,it made me mad so anyone can use my email address to order book and i could get billed for it,it sound kind of shady i am sending it back and i am going back to paper backs.

    sammy 3/4/11 4:55AM
  • Beware of the crazies at 18th & 5th NYC Barnes & Noble - I ordered a textbook & had a cute young thing write (in red) on top of sales slip "Bring back in 3 days". I thought the return policy was 7 days - after making several customer phone call inquiries (2 - wait time 20 minutes each) I was reassured by a manager (I was disconnected only about 5 times by idiot clerks) that the return time was indeed 7 days (I had the flu and couldn't get to the store in 3, the book was not what I wanted). Got another idiot named Roger who started an argument when I asked for the manager ("Managers are too busy to talk with you") Really? I'm only a customer, right? This guy, who sounds like he's got cotton in his mouth or is on drugs with a foreign accent, also berated me later on when I got so paranoid (who wouldn't be - after all the misinformation?) I called one last time to make absolutely sure that the book was returnable in a week. He started arguing with me that I had spoken with him (he sounded like he was either more sober or less cotton-mouthed - maybe he WAS doing drugs, because the first time I spoke to him he was near incoherent, and this time he snapped: "Look, I talked to you before - there's a lot of new clerks in the store who don't know what's going on." (I'll say, hey, she wrote instructions in red on the slip - sounds more like she was hostile or delusional to write the wrong information in red so it couldn't be missed). B&N should check Roger for drug usage no less bad manners to a customer several times over - he was so befuddled the first time I called I couldn't understand his speech. I don't know what's happened to B&N - used to be a good store - now a lot of crazies, hostile clerks and obviously plainly incompetent ones. STAY AWAY.

    nOT AVAILABLE 3/1/11 8:47PM
  • Spent over 15 hours over 1.5 weeks talking to over 20 customer service representatives and 3 supervisors.

    pissed 3/1/11 6:20PM
  • Several of the comments in this section are actually about customer service in store. And yes, when you are buying in the store it's usually a very positive experience. However, dealing with the online entity of Barnes and Noble is most frustrating and rightly deserves all of the 293 negative comments that have been posted. They might as well dump the website...it's as useless as their online customer service.

    paisley13 3/1/11 2:54PM
  • I agree that the local store is wonderful. But I've never in my 60 years seen such terrible customer service with an online entity. I definitely will not order any books online....my silly little problem is that I can't even get them to send me my $#%&^ membership card! They were Johnny on the Spot to deduct my $25 membership dues after the trial period though. They responded once to an email about this and stated that it had been sent (I never received it), and they would issue another one but it will have a different account number (they neglected to tell me what that member number would be), and I still haven't received it either after 30+ days.

    paisley13 3/1/11 2:44PM
  • I love Barnes & Noble stores. However, Barnes & Noble ONLINE seems to be a completely unrecognizable company. The online and telephone customer service is inexcusably poor. I have been instructed by my employer to never order from Barnes & Noble online again (that's how seriously our latest order has been mismanaged).

    Today I informed the customer service representative of the instructions I had received to discontinue using B&N online as one of our company's preferred vendors. This easily represents a lost of 100s of thousands of dollars per year for B&N. To which the rep responded, "I'm sorry to hear that. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

    Anonymous 2/24/11 12:38PM
  • I was also hung up on when I was finally transferred a lady who could supposedly help me with my order. She couldn't hear me and then hung up. >.>

    MidnightMelody 2/24/11 8:48AM
  • ugh!! I should've reviewed B&N before I ordered! I ordered a Nook almost two weeks ago. I still haven't gotten it and the "Tracking" link they gave me still says UPS hasn't even received my order. I really hope they haven't taken out the $212.00 yet out of my account. I want to cancel my order and try and get it somewhere else. I'm especially worried now because I've seen these other comments where people have actually gotten their Nook and are having issues with it and can't get any kind of customer support for it.

    MidnightMelody 2/24/11 8:45AM
  • This is in regards to experiences with bn.com and not necessarily the stores:
    I find that the website is very unclear as to what qualifies for free shipping--the front page says "Spend $25 for Free Shipping" and has a link for "more details". When it comes down to it, it should say "Spend $25 on items other than magazine subscriptions, excluded products, items sold on this site but from other merchants, and excluding gift cards". It would have been $57.00 for a $27.11 purchase when "free shipping" was calculated. I couldn't find a single way to get answers as to why until I read all the find print in the "more details" link.

    tastinggreen 2/23/11 4:13PM
  • I am still waiting for 2 DVDs ordered during their Fall 2010 Criterion sale. I have sent numerous emails to Customer Service with no responses and have yet to reach a live person after waiting for nearly an hour (before the phone disconnected on their side). Of course, both items are listed as 'Able to ship within 24 hours'. I manage a Customer Service team for a software company and we could never get away with this terrible service - our customers would send us into bankruptcy!

    Hey Barnes and Noble, how about shipping me those DVDs you are waiting to ship to someone else within 24 hours to me and fill my now nearly ancient order?!

    maintcoder 2/18/11 11:41PM
  • Beware placing orders to BN.com using iPad. I completed an order on which I used a gift card, saw the displayed completed invoice after having gone through PayPal. Couldn't print the receipt. Two days later I got email saying I still had something in my cart. I have written letters, submitted info through their "contact us" forms, made phone calls (spoke with 3 customer service people today...one of whom simply hung up mid-sentence). BN customer service said that the Apple iPad was unreliable as a device on which to place an order. I personally find that hard to believe--and I believe that BN is simply covering their poor-service backside--but I think that Apple might be interested in knowing that this is the BN stance. Bottom line: I have no book, no longer have the gift card, and no longer have much respect for BN.

    Season 2/16/11 4:37PM
  • worst service ever!! love the local book stores, they are the best!. However, NEVER buy anything from them online, buy instead in Amazon or Ebay, they have an excellent costumer service. BN Costume " service" is HORRIBLE and the shipping service is even worst! I Bought a book 1/31/2011, and it said the will deliver it 3 days after the ship it, but what you do not know is how long they are going to take before they ship it, it can take more than two weeks!!, I have not gotten my books yet, I understand that it takes some time before they ship it, but 3 days!! that would never happen in Amazon or Ebay or apple store. Bottom line, do not buy online in BN, go instead to their book stores, they are great!

    Jaime Malma 2/15/11 3:19PM
  • I had a terrible experience online. I ordered books for my school library using a gift card. I faxed the required tax exempt form twice a few days ago. They charged me tax, saying they didn't get the form or some nonsense. When I called a customer rep in Tallahassee, she was rude and condescending. As I was taking down an email, I said "b-o-o-k-s...is that what you said?" She replied, that usually is how you spell books. I see why they are having problems. No more online B&N for me.

    bkatz 2/14/11 10:24PM
  • Worst customer service ever. Obviously don't care about keeping customers happy. Only care about how they can get you to cancel an order so that shipping costs have to be added. Claim that they can't release part of an order-it has to be held until the back-ordered item is available even if that means one of your items sells out and you can no longer get it.

    multimom 2/14/11 6:34PM
  • I would love to add to this. Here is my story and my most recent message sent to customer service.

    This will be my 3rd email and I have already made 3 phone calls. In Jan I ordered some used books with a gift card. One book was not able to be filled (Lost City of Z). Another book (Choasbound) was listed as scheduled to ship 21 Jan. It said this 2 days ago (today is the 14th of Feb), weeks after the 21st! I called and stated that I have received this book and would like my funds refunded into my gift card from the cancelled portion of my purchase. The last 2 times I called they said they would release the funds because the seller had not updated B&B. That has been with the gift card dept for almost 2 weeks now. There are a lot of people out of jobs right now, if you need more in your depts., hire more. Me and my wife buy a lot of books from B&B, feel free to check our rewards card history. This is the worst run around I have ever been given making online purchases. I really expected more from B&B. It’s no wonder you have no way to rate B&B, only the sellers.

    Oh and BTW, I got an email a couple of days ago, apparently the book I already have is currently on its way! Good job B&B, way to track the order I got several weeks ago.

    -My $$ is now a hostage to big business

    Shane 2/14/11 7:11AM
  • I Will be shopping at the Christian book store from now on. Barnes and noble has horrible customer service. A store rep offered to place an order for us after we found the item wasn't in stock. We paid in the store nearly two weeks later no product. I called inquiring about it and the customer service rep was reading the email that was was sent to me.?. I told her I can see that but where is our product? I was actually told that it not Barnes and nobles fault (w.t.heck)? I replied ma'am I don't care who's fault it is I just want my audio books so what are my options, could you to cancel the order stop shipment and we come into the store to get the items? I was told no. How about We purchase the items in the store for the same price we paid and return the product that was shipped when/if it is received? I was told No it will be a higher price, finally I asked for a refund and was still told no once if ever I receive the items I can bring them back then. I was told to wait another couple of weeks and then they can probably re ship the order. Shipped with Argix Direct, then passes through the US Postal Service for final delivery. The Postal Service website has indicated that they had received electronic information concerning this package but have not yet received the package itself. I was told by barnes and noble that i cannot receive a refund until my package arrived. 2/12/11

    LavishLyfe 2/12/11 12:59PM
  • 2/2/11 - tried to purchase e-books from B&N... the books were purchased and charged to my account but when I tried to download them, kept getting error message. On Monday, 2/7/11, called customer service and after 57 minutes and several attempts to fix the problem, I was given the choice of a replacement Nook and had to give my c/c number in case I didn't send back the defective one. Today, 2/11/11, I received my "new" Nook and found it to be a "certified pre-owned" Nook. Called customer service and after 37 minutes, i was told they don't issue "new" Nook replacements until the FOURTH time i returned a defective one. Asked for a refund and was told that my "customer remorse period" had expired after 30 days! I told him that the only remorse I had was that it wouldn't work and ask for a supervisor She gave me a TOTALLY different answer, they didn't send a new one because they didn't have one in the warehouse? Apparently, my one year warranty on the replacement starts today (again, different than what I was told originally) but decided to give it a try.
    Charged the replacement Nook, registered it and successfully connected to my wireless device... tried to download the book again and got the same error message. Called customer service, went through the same steps I had on Monday with the original Nook, and this time, I was told to wait 24 hours until they could update something on their end.
    This was a gift from my Mom and she TRIED to talk me into a Kindle or I-pad but I liked the "lend" feature on the Nook so that's the one I chose... REGRETS. All I want is to return BOTH defective devices and get my Mom's money back... I'll let you know in 24 hours if I'm successful. I doubt it, but I'll try!

    dawnie922 2/11/11 6:57PM
  • After three emails and three calls no satisfaction from customer service. During my last call the customer service supervisor refused to even pick up the call. I was being polite and patient and after waiting over 15 minutes on the phone the "supervisor" would not even entertain my request. B&N does not care, that's the bottom line and why they have over 175 negatives...small wonder!!! GO ELSEWHERE, Borders, Amazon, anyone would be 100% better!!!!

    buyelsewhere 2/11/11 2:13PM
  • On Thursday (yesterday), 2/10/2011, I decided to go browse at the children's book section on the second floor of the Inner Harbor B&N, only to find that there was a book signing event by Mr. Michael Oher. No offense to Mr. Oher or the Ravens, but I am a Canadian and I love Hockey. I don’t understand football, and could care less about which football player was signing a book. All I wanted was to browse books of interest to me.

    There were no ropes or curtains or temporary separator poles or anything of the sort directing where other paying customers may shop. Upon approaching the children's books section (which was very far away from the book signing), I was immediately stopped by someone dressed in plain clothes, he claimed to be security, and asked me to leave. I asked whether these children's books were being sold, or does B&N halt all its other businesses just for an event? Then perhaps there should have been a sign demonstrating such. The "security" scoffed and spat in a menacing manner, "fine, but if you TOUCH ANYTHING ELSE..." Here is where I was provoked. I came looking for books, I told him I wanted to buy a book, but he threatened that there were going to be consequences if I "touched anything else"

    Poor logic aside, what else could I have touched beside books? At that point, I left the altercation and decided not to further pursue my shopping goals, and get a cup of coffee instead. I sat down at a table in the coffee shop near the elevator, at this point, the store manager "Willie" came with security and said, "I understand that there was an issue with my security, I am going to have to ask you to leave."

    I asked "explain to me why I have to leave?" Willie responded, "because you are disturbing the peace". I asked him how I was disturbing the peace by sitting quietly at a coffee shop far away from the event, and he responded sternly by saying once again that I have to leave. Never once did I raise my voice to anyone, and all I wanted was to browse some books, but I was refused service adamantly simply because I was not aware of a special event? Is this how all Barnes and Noble operate? Though the bread and butter of your institution, but when there is a special event, all paying customers who are not participating in the event will just have be "escorted out"?

    Never before in my life have I been more humiliated. I understand that there was an event, and that the hired security would pitifully embellish what little power and authority endowed upon them by the facility, However, I am ABSOLUTELY APPALLED by how the manager “Willie” handled the situation with such ferocious bigotry and discrimination. As a Canadian, I have always thought of Barnes and Noble as one of the commercial cultural literary icon with great services and trained staff. I could never have imagined being "kicked out" of a facility that I used to adore and trust, and all because I went browsing at an open to all customers section near a book signing event? I have completely lost faith in this company and its customer service. I don't expect any sort of satisfactory response from B&N since this is probably an isolated dispute. Though I expected so much more from B&N's employee training, especially one of Managerial position. How exactly did someone like that get to be a manager? How is he allowed to treat customers like this? I understand that the event brings in publicity and revenues, but only temporarily. You must understand that it is the majority paying customers that help support this company. Unless B&N is only about book signings by quasi-celebrities, then perhaps all other patrons should leave and never come back.

    Do yours managers have a right to refuse service to a customer who was not disturbing the peace but browsing near an event, or sitting quietly for a cup of coffee? Not like I will ever set foot in another Barnes and Nobles ever again, and I realize I won't be able to persuade all my friends, classmates and colleagues at Johns Hopkins and University of Maryland to stop shopping at Barnes and Noble of Inner Harbor, however I think your loyal patrons deserve some sort of notice that an event means other shoppers better clear the way, otherwise service will be refused and they will be escorted out.

    I am considering taking legal actions against the Inner Harbor Barnes and Noble for refusing service with no just cause. Just to show “Willie” that he cannot treat some human beings as lesser “without consequences”.

    Extremely unprofessional staff.

    Anonymous 2/11/11 6:27AM
  • I bought my daughter a Nook for Christmas along with a gift card so that she could download a few books to read. I entered the gift card the website along with my default credit card info. To my surprise, all charges went straight to my credit card. Since the website said that the card had been entered I threw the card away.
    Have been trying to contact them for a month and a half now. Finally getting through today.
    Had to call three different numbers and talked to six people. Finally got through to someone that said if I could produce a receipt for the card that they would refund it. When I told them that I had it in front of me and was ready to give them the information they said that they could not do anything for me any longer.
    Both the customer service rep and the supervisor were absolutely rude. I will never deal with B&N again.

    Anonymous 2/10/11 1:06PM
  • I ordered 2 items at the same time on the Barnes & Noble website, with expedited shipping. One of the items arrived within 2 days. More than a week later we have still not received the other item. It was apparently shipped with Argix Direct, which then passes it off to the US Postal Service for final delivery. Argix Direct's website is updated with a delay of more than 48 hours. Today, the Postal Service website finally indicated that they had received electronic information concerning this package but have not yet received the package itself. I called Barnes & Noble customer service twice to try and sort things out. Both times, I was on hold for over 20 minutes, and when I finally did speak to a representative, they were rude, argumentative, and very unhelpful. I finally canceled the order this evening and requested a refund, which will take 1 to 2 business cycles to appear on my credit card statement. Needless to say, I will never buy anything from Barnes & Noble again!

    sdgrl5 2/9/11 3:51PM
  • I am very disapointed with the customer service provided by Barnes & Noble. I place an order using a gift card. The order form asked for a shipping address offering a box to check if that address could not be serviced by UPS. I have packages shipped to my wtreet address & mail sent to a PO Box. I entered the street address - they sent the package through the mail, so it was sent back as undeliverable. It has been 3 weeks. Service is telling me I must wait for it to return when they will provide a refund. Since it was a gift card, I must ist call them (with a long hold time) to get a new card issued, the start from scratch with the order. So far it has taken more than 2x as long for the package to be returned (still not there) as it took to get here (undelivered). E-mails to service garner robo replies with no personal consideration. Talking to the representatives is the same with memorized retorts and zero personal interaction. Even though they know the items were not delivered, they will not reprocess the order. I may never get the items that were meant to be a gift from a family member.

    Anonymous 2/8/11 8:11PM
  • Horrible service. I am currently on my 5th phone call with them and the problem has not been solved. Waited on customer service for 20-25 minutes.

    monirob 2/8/11 5:39PM
  • I ordered two school books from B&N on 01/03/11 am still currently waiting for receipt over a month later. I have yet to receive an email response from their customer service department and the tracking information is currently unavailable? DO NOT ORDER FROM B&N.com.

    Anonymous 2/8/11 3:20AM
  • I have yet to actually get thtough to them. Emails get a generic response and suggest searching FAQs or calling the toll-free number. Call wait times seem to exceed 45 minutes (the longest I actually waited before giving up)

    Anonymous 2/7/11 8:08PM
  • I ordered a NookColor on Jan. 1st. Received it on the 4th and it didn't work. Returned it immediately for a replacement. Instead, I was told they were on back order. I recently asked for a refund but haven't received it yet. Their response to e-mails is a boilerplate letter. Their customer service phone system is dreadful. If anyone is interested in getting a reader, go elsewhere, i.e., Apple, Amazon.com., etc.

    blueford21 2/7/11 10:49AM
  • bought book 1/3/2011
    "shipped" 1/5/2011

    Still haven't received it (2/5/2011)

    They don't answer their e-mails,
    I have been calling the 800-843-2665 number non stop and NEVER have I been able to speak to a representative.

    They stole my 150$

    effbn 2/5/11 7:27PM
  • Never again will I do ANY business with this unethical company. On Sunday, 1/31, placed an order for 5 copies of a book. Placed it with B&N because Amazon did not have enough copies...B&N website led me to believe they did. Needed the books quickly, so agreed to pay the premium for the 1-2 day shipping.

    On Monday morning received an e-mail stating the order was delayed until 2/18. Called at 8am to cancel the order. Sat on hold for about 20 minutes. Told customer rep to cancel the order...would find another way to get the books. Was told request put in, would receive e-mail confirmation in 1-2 hours.

    At 11am called back. Sat on hold for 1/2 hour waiting for customer service rep. Explained had not received confirmation of cancellation...was told had put in another request to cancel and would receive confirmation in 1-2 hours.

    At 3pm checked my e-mail...received an e-mail at 1pm from B&N saying they had shipped 1 copy...and charged me more for shipping than the book cost. Immediately called back...sat on hold over 20 minutes...explained situation to customer rep, and she said she couldn't do anything. Asked for supervisor. On hold for another 15 minutes. Explained to supervisor that I would refuse the shipment, and wanted the entire order canceled. She said she would send me return label, and would watch the account to make sure the rest is not shipped. Should receive a confirmation of cancellation.

    Book came on Tuesday, 2/1, and I refused delivery.

    On Friday 2/4, still had not received cancellation confirmation, nor the return label...but I did receive an advertisement from B&N wanting me to open a "Bill Me Later" account (with a 20% interest rate, too). Called back...on hold for 20 minutes waiting for customer rep. Asked why order was not canceled...she said she didn't know. Insisted on talking with supervisor. Waited another 15 minutes for THAT supervisor. She explained that the order was "stuck"...it showed customer had canceled, but the warehouse had not canceled the order (I keep getting "it's the system" type of explanations). She explained that orders come from various warehouses, and some warehouses REFUSE TO CANCEL ORDERS. Explained to her that I had disputed the charge on my AMEX card, and had put a merchant block on the account...nothing from B&N can be charged to my account. Also explained that I was in the process of putting in complaint on this website, and filing complaint with BBB.

    Bottom line: What was done to me is, in my mind, completely unethical. Never will I do business with Barnes & Noble again, either on-line or in one of the stores.

    Frustrated 2/4/11 5:16PM
  • Where do I begin....

    Okay so I rented a textbook off of barnesandnobles.com for my Criminal Justice class, as I thought I would have no issues, boy was I wrong. When the 3 month rental was up and I was ready to return the book, I looked online for the shipping label to mail it back (which was no where to be found.) I called customer service to see where it was, or if I could just have the address. I called about 2 weeks ago and had one "mailed out to me" so they say. Two weeks go by still no shipping label to be found. I already ordered one extension from when they did this to me the first time.

    When I didn't recieve the shipping label I called back of course. There response to me not getting the label was "You never called 2 weeks ago, you called 3 days ago but thats all we have in our call history." I called 2 weeks ago, not 3 days ago!! At this point I was extremely angry, this call center was really making all of this up. I spoke with a "Supervisor" Wendy (or so she claimed.) She said "There's nothing I can do, the price of that book will automatically be deducted from your checking account." I asked for another extension because thats only $13.05 rather then paying the full price of the book for their negligence. She said I could only have one extension for a rented text book. Lies!

    In other words, I am the one suffering because the customer service doesn't know how to do their job, or even save a phone record for that matter. I was infuriated! So I called back spoke with a Mike, very nice guy and he told me he would make sure a shipping label was issued out, and to put another extension on! "I thought you could only have one?" I said, he said "No you can have up to 3."

    Who in there right mind would hire a supervisor who is that dumb? I hope this Wendy gets better training because she should not be sitting where she is with NO KNOWLEDGE whatsoever. So basically, I'm being charged because their customer service is absoloutely ridiculos. Whomever is reading this, I highly recommend not ordering text books from bn.com or atleast renting them. Don't dial customer service cause they'll give you incorrect information and then make something up.

    I work in a call center and if I ever spoke to any of my clients the way this Wendy spoke to me I would lose my job in an instant. I will never rent off them again.

    Angry and annoyed client,
    Nicole

    NShadowsx 2/4/11 6:23AM
  • Spent an hour on hold over three calls and the two service reps kept putting me on hold and never gave me a final fix, kept blaming everything on their sub-contractor LaserShip. I don't think they have "high call volume" I think they have too few service reps!

    bkbook 2/2/11 4:34PM
  • Returned NOOK with WIFI + 3G November 22, 2010 for complete refund after 3 days of usage. Today is February 2, 2011. Still awaiting refund. All emails to customer service advise to call customer service to resolve. No answers by EMAIL, just referrals to call a number that never answers.

    Anonymous 2/2/11 2:49PM
  • I agree with all that is said. No response to emails or phone. They don't care and it shows. I go else where. I used to spend $100-200 per month on books, not with them any more. Never ever again.

    neezee 2/2/11 1:09PM
  • Horrible, horrible, HORRIBLE customer service! Since 12/27, they've been holding funds on my gift card. I've only been able to use $15.01 off a $25 card to purchase to purchase ebooks. I've called 15 times in the past month to resolve this and have been told "we are experiencing computer problems. Call back tomorrow." or three times that "a form will be submitted to release the funds within 24-48" or "my supervisor isn't working today so call back tomorrow at 10am to speak with her". I've been on hold anywhere from 20-45 minutes before even speaking to someone. When I called again last Friday, a supervisor told me that it now takes 7-10 days for the submitted forms to process. Which is laughable since it's been three weeks already. I got tired of calling & waiting to speak to a customer service rep so I sent an email. The 1st email was a canned response that didn't address the problem. I sent another email and the response was that I'd need to call the customer service line. The gift card was pre-paid so how in the world do they justify holding the funds? Unbelievable!

    Anonymous 2/1/11 11:37AM
  • BN.com has some of the worst customer service I have ever dealt with. I was on hold for 30 minutes for starters and then on the phone for another 15 minutes, just to find out why my order which was supposed to ship express kept being delayed. On top of that, the phone reception was absolutely horrible (and it wasn't on my end!) I eventually was dropped from the call because the rep could not hear me. Extremely frustrating and I will certainly not be order from them again!

    Anonymous 1/31/11 1:46PM
  • Called 5 times during the week, Each time I was on hold for at least 20 minutes. Always experiencing "high call volumes". The representatives I talked to were useless.

    Anonymous 1/31/11 10:06AM
  • I ordered books for my nephews for Christmas and paid with 2 gift cards and the balance with a credit card. There was an issue with the credit card, so the order was cancelled.
    Here are my problems resolving this order:
    1) I noticed they hadn't shipped, but couldn't contact customer service (or fix it online) until I received an email.
    2) I didn't receive the "call us" email until after Christmas. It went to my junk email filter.
    3) Their calling hour window is very short. I waited up to an hour a few times before hanging up.
    4) I called them on Dec. 29th. After a long process, I was assured they would send out the gift cards. It would take 10 days.
    5) On January 12th (another long wait to reach someone), I called again. The cards hadn't been sent. That person said they would make sure they were sent.
    7) Also on the 12th, I sent an email (responding to a "can't reach someone by phone? Fill this out..." on their website. B&N responded by saying please call the phone number...
    6) Today, January 29th, I waited 18 min. to contact customer service and then "Laura" disconnected me. I have called again and have been on the phone 18 so far... wish me luck?
    They are corrupt and incompetent! Shoppers beware!

    Jill 1/29/11 12:40PM
  • I have tried for over a month to get an order. Then I tried to cancel this and order a new item. My orginal purchase was on a gift card-and now the card is tied up with the initial order that they do not have the technology to cancel. 25 minutes at a time on hold. 15 emails. Customer service just hung up on me!

    babsy 1/29/11 12:27PM
  • I have decided to add to my last comment. The wait on the phone to talk to a rep is incredible I could have been able to talk to the Pope faster. All they told me were lies. I am also demanding they post a giant sign outside their stores BEWARE ALL WHO ENTER HERE YOU WILL BE FLEECED OF YOUR MONEY And your lucky if you don't go blind trying read a book on there E-reader

    john 1/29/11 9:58AM
  • I ordered a gift card for my son-law. I never got it ,they will not give me credit. I demand they take the charge off my credit card. I also demand they change the name of the store to Crooks & Robbers This has been my worse buying experience in 6 decades. It is astonishing to me they are still in business.

    johnh 1/29/11 9:38AM
  • I ordered a book and two cds on November 28th. The book shipped the next day but the two cds were backordered. It is now January 27th and after repeated promises to credit my gift card back they still haven't done so. The similar stores about very long waits on the telephone and hit and miss responses to emails is the same with me. Today I've filed a complaint with the New York State Attorney General's office. It is only $19.65 but it is obvious that this company is doing this deliberately hoping people just give up and ladies and gentlemen that just isn't right.

    Hiker John 1/27/11 2:12PM
  • I received a Nook for Christmas and was very pleased with the reader itself. However, I had not ordered/downloaded books since December 31st and according to my account info on their website, all of my orders had been completed. Imagine my surprise when, as late as January 16th charges for books were still coming out from my required attached debit card. After finally reaching a customer service representative after waiting almost 30 minutes due to "high call volume"-and I can see why, I was told that the billing was backlogged from Christmas due to the huge, unexpected popularity of the wonderful Nook Color and the gift cards people bought to go with the nooks they gave as gifts. They were aware enough of the popularity to have more Nook Colors made in order to fill their orders, but surprisingly, they didn't think to upgrade the billing software or hire enough customer service reps to handle the book orders and billing. What a colossal mess for a company which is supposed to be one of the biggest and best in the business!! And since you cannot download books to your Nook w/o attaching a credit or debit card, they have free access to your acct. I am so very disappointed in this company that, however great there hardware might be, it isn't worth the hassle. I will give my Nook away and get a Kindle or Ipad. My father got a Kindle for Christmas and the difference in customer service is like night and day and they do not require that you atttach a credit/debit card to your account. I will never usr barnes and Noble again and will certainly not ever advise a friend to do so.

    Anonymous 1/26/11 11:45AM
  • Been rying to get a replacement charger for my Nook color for almost one month. After five calls to customer service, and hours wasted on hold I might add, I still have no satisfaction. They said it would be shipped overnight,didn't get it. They said it would be arriving in one week, didn't get it. They said it wwould arrive this past Monday...never got it. Now they are looking into why I did not get it. Tried to talk to a supervisor twice and I was told the sup was too busy to talk to me. Then I was told I would get an email yesterday from the supervisor, no email. I am back on the phone and ready to call the CEO. Never again Barnes and Noble.

    Anonymous 1/26/11 8:00AM
  • I purchase many books and other items at local bookstores, and most recently have moved most of my business to Borders. Their membership program, aside from being free to join, is customer-friendly and easy to navigate.

    I decided this week to give Barnes and Noble another chance, and I am now sorry I did. I intended to purchase a book online, and decided I would join the Barnes and Noble membership program. After joining online, I found out that I would not be able to use my membership for 24 hours until my number was in the system.

    I decided to return the order with the membership. I contacted Customer Service and after a great deal of time, the representative told me that the membership was “returned.” This did NOT happen.

    I went to a local store (Manhattan Beach, California) and purchased a book, as well as another membership, hoping I could THEN use that membership online.

    I spent HOURS on the phone yesterday with Customer Service offices and THEN had to call the Manhattan Beach store, and was given nothing but the run-around. I am STILL unable to register my membership account online. I have spoken to COUNTLESS representatives on the phone, and at the store.

    Because I am unable to register my account online, I never received the ADVERTISED $50 in coupons, as well.

    I am thoroughly disgusted with Barnes and Noble. I have now spent HOURS dealing with a situation that should have been handled seamlessly…a situation that, I am sure, Borders WOULD HAVE handled seamlessly.

    Is this the kind of “service” they are selling?

    I am sticking with Borders and Amazon.

    Down with Barnes and Noble! The worst!

    Anonymous 1/26/11 6:07AM
  • Worst over the phone customer service

    Osu buckeye 1/25/11 7:51PM
  • My experience with B & N. I purchased a downloadable Sparknotes on Jan 4. I was to receive my download in 5 minutes - stated on the page where you buy the download. The next day I emailed B&N to tell them that I had not got my download. I got a generic email response that they are too overwhelmed to respond to emails. The next day the same w/ same response. Five days later I called to cancel my order and waited 55 minutes on hold. I was told that they couldn't cancel my order, but if I didn't download it, I wouldn't be charged. Finally on Jan 19, I got the email with the download, I replied that I had already read the sparknotes online, and I was not going to download it, please cancel the pending Paypal charge. I got the same generic email response that they are to busy to respond to emails. It's only for 4.45, but it's the principle. I'm now disputing the charge with PayPal. Will not deal with B & N again. Stick with Amazon and Borders.

    Anonymous 1/24/11 4:46PM
  • Shameful/appaulingly bad online service. Local store is great. I ordered a book online to arrive by Christmas. It was shipped to the wrong address. I reordered as it was a gift. Neither order ever arrived! I was charged in full for both orders. Now they will only refund the price of the book...not the shipping even though I never received either book. Online customer service reps were not helpful and wait time to speak with a rep was over 30 minutes or more. Avoid B&N online completely.

    AS 1/24/11 2:23PM
  • Attempt to find a study guide at local Barnes & Noble was disastrous. The medical book section was in total disarray. I asked one of the floor people for help, we searched for 15 minutes with no luck. I came back a week later to find the problem had not been corrected. I went home and used Amazon. This was at the B&N in Deptford N.J.

    dtyler 1/24/11 1:42PM
  • I thought perhaps that I had just had a very bad experience and then I read the comments below. The customer service is simply awful, the wait times completely off the charts, the problems do not get fixed and when you finally get a person they repeat the same robotic gibberish over and over. It is like they are doing you a favor and you should feel sorry for them not having enough people on hand to help with the problems. The biggest insult is when they are trying to sell product while you are on hold. Really??? Great idea, wait to buy one until someone with good back up comes out with one!!

    Anonymous 1/22/11 8:53AM
  • The most crappy service I have ever got in my life...I hate them

    they told me they will deliver it by Thursday and that it usually ship within 24 hours..they are liars, it was shipped after three days, and needs another 4 days of UPS... do not trust them.
    On telephone, i kept waiting for 30 minutes for some one to reply to me, and then they did not solve any problems...sucks..
    DO NOT BUY ANY THING FROM B AND N

    Michigan 1/21/11 8:51PM
  • Absolutely no customer support for the Nook device. Unfortunately I purchased 5 Nook Color as gifts at B&N in Westport Ct. Every Nook has download issues and each person I gifted has spent hours on hold with B&N support. As I write this I am on hold with B&N because I've been charged for a book I did not purchased but is now a part of my library.
    When I call customer service I am thrown into an endless loop that keeps prompting me to "hold on my call will be answered shortly. Please have your email address and order # ready."
    At the store they have a script they spout which includes blaming my credit card, my understanding of ebook purchasing, etc. We have driven back to B&N a total of 5 times for help. No one has yet suggested that there is a software issue or insufficient customer support for the Nook.
    Barnes and Noble is in deep denial about this and quick to blame the customer. I am still on hold and I've given the same comments on 4 other sites during this wait. Good luck to future buyers.

    nonookten 1/21/11 9:52AM
  • I ordered a textbook on January 12th and later found out that its scheduled ship date was February 2nd. This made me want to cancel my order altogether, but I found that the website wouldn't let me do this. I sent an email and received only a form letter. I called the customer service line, and after holding for quite a while, I spoke to a representative who made excuses instead of making the change.

    Baller McGee 1/20/11 3:35PM
  • I am experiencing pretty much the same problems as everyone else.

    I received a NOOK for Christmas. When I went to use it, I found that it was difficult to use capital letters so I went in and changed my password to small letters. I received an email notifying me that the password had been changed and that, if I had done so, no response from me was necessary. On 1/13/2011, I received a gift card of $40 for my birthday. When I went in to save the gift card to my account I was asked for my email and password, even though I was signed in already. I entered the information and was told that it did not match and existing customer! I tried 2 more times and was told my account was locked due to failed log in and to try resetting my password. I did this and received an email telling me it was necessary to reset my password again. I went in to do this and answered the secret question. I then received another email telling me that my password had been reset and that if it had been done by me, no action was necessary. I then went into the site to use my $40 and was told my account was locked and to call customer service. Yada yada...I'm still sitting here without access to my account and the money in it. I'm furious! Today, I was able to access my account so thought the problem had been solved. Dumb me! I tried to order a book. It appeared on the orders, showed the charge but then a few minutes later was cancelled! What is the problem with these people? I am so sorry that I even started doing business with them. I am afraid that my daugher and I are both out $40.

    LilLady 1/20/11 9:55AM
  • We ordered a Nook online and received an email stating it was shipped but we never received it. They told us a new one would be shipped overnight but then received an email stating it would be shipped two weeks later. We now want to cancel the order but the customer service line hung up on me and the email receives a canned response.

    Anonymous 1/20/11 7:40AM
  • I ordered 3 textbooks from the website on Jan 11th via express shipping. It is now Jan 19th and I have only received 1 book so far. All books were shipped after specified shipping date. I've never heard of anything taking 2 weeks via express shipping. Ridiculous!!!!!!!!!

    byoutful 1/19/11 7:16PM
  • barnes and noble have the most horrible customer service ever. i waited for one hour and thirty seven minutes and twenty-six seconds. the lady just hung me up the second time I called!!!!

    dontcare 1/19/11 3:58PM
  • I am really dissatisfied and upset about my experience at Barnes and Nobles. When I e-mailed Barnes and Nobles about my complaints, all they did was e-mail me the same e-mail message. When I called to Barnes and Noble Customer Service, they had me wait for fifty-five minutes and thirty seven seconds plus the customer service they have was horrible. The agent didn't answer all my questions; In addition, the agent kept interrupting me when I wanted to ask her some questions. My order took over one week and a half to get to my destination. In addition, when I received my order, all but one book are in a bad condition. The books were ripped, soaked in water, folded, bent. If Barnes and Nobles don't do something about this, I can guarantee that I will NEVER order from Barnes and Noble ANYMORE.

    Sofie 1/19/11 3:29PM
  • I usually love this store, and the brick-and-mortar store is a nice place to browse (the customers are often rude, but I've found the employees to be nice). But my recent order online has really soured me.

    Do NOT pre-order online. Do NOT use a gift card, because they will TAKE your money and not return it. I placed an order with a gift card worth $50 that included a pre-order. The pre-order was canceled (by me) and the amount was never credited back to my gift card.

    Don't bother sending emails. I've sent 4 and eventually stopped this past weekend because it's useless. Three weeks and not a single d*mn response - except the automated "We're too busy so look at our help page!" email.

    Calling? I've called 4 times, and the first two times I was on hold for well over half an hour each. The third time, it was 15-20 minutes. The most recent time I got lucky - 10 minutes!!!

    The reps were nice enough, but could do nothing but put in requests for a refund.

    A refund briefly showed up, only to be pulled right before I went to use the card (it was just hours after the refund showed up, and the rep had no idea why funds were pulled).

    If it were only a dollar or two, I would let it go. But this is over $10.

    Today, another "request" was placed but I was told that I have to wait another 72 hours for it to go through. Unfortunately, the rep was so darn nice I couldn't blow off any steam (not that I would actually do that, having worked in customer service myself). So, 3 more days to wait.

    In the meantime, I'm organizing my information (I have been keeping track of dates, times, names) so I can lodge a formal complaint with the BBB and state Attorney General.

    My experience is with a gift card...but when I realized how into STEALING this company was, I removed my credit card information from the website.

    I bought my sister a Nook last year for her birthday, and thank goodness she has yet to have the problems some of the people here have been having. She does love it, but I'm now soured on the company. I'm not boycotting just yet, but Amazon and Borders are better alternatives (particularly Amazon) if I actually want to avoid having my money stolen.

    Go to the brick-and-mortar store if you must shop this place.

    zoodue 1/19/11 1:48PM
  • I purchased an mp3 book from Barnes and Noble and was sent confirmation of the purchase and an explanation that the download link would come within 5 minutes. No download link came.

    I emailed Barnes and Noble customer service on January 9th. Their response was:

    "We are experiencing unusually high email volume, and want to assure you
    that your concerns are always very important to us.

    We invite you to have a look at our Help Desk by clicking on this link:

    http://www.barnesandnoble.com/help/help.asp"

    Again on January 15 I emailed support and their response was:

    "Dear Customer,

    Thank you for contacting us.

    Based on the situation you described, we feel that the difficulties you
    are experiencing would be resolved best by contacting us by phone.

    Currently the hold time to speak with a representative in India is 62 minutes.

    I have called customer service (digital) on January 8, January 9, January 12 and January 17. This was their response each time.

    On January 8 - "you will see the link within 24 hours"
    On January 9 - " There has been some computer issues so give it a few additional days"
    On January 12 - " I have sent in a ticket to tech support to resolve this issue"
    On January 17 - "a download link will be sent to you within 4 hours"

    The last time I spoke with a service rep I requested this order be cancelled but he assured me that I would get my book within 4 hours. It has been 3 more days and I still have not received the link to download the mp3 item I purchased and "PAID FOR". I have checked the spam messages and I do receive all other email from them. I do not understand why I can not get this book?

    Grlfriday 1/19/11 1:27PM
  • Barnes and Noble online automated customer service is horrible. I called today to find out the status of my order since it was to be shipped on 1/17. I realize that was a holiday, however, the automated system said that it had not been shipped yet. So I waited for someone to pickup beginning at 2:49 (I'm using a handsfree set)now at 3:24pm I'm still stuck in the phone loop. When I do get an operator ( if I continue to wait) I will be cancelling this order. Horrible service.

    I need my book for class 1/19/11 1:26PM
  • I was given a gift card for barnesandnoble.com. I purchased an e-book for mp3. I was supposed to receive a link within 30 minutes to download the book. Received acknowledgment of the order, but no link. Called customer service. They said they were having problems and it could take 24 hours, maybe even 48. I called after 48 nhours. Automated system said it could be 4 days. I then spoke to someone live, who said they couldn't find my order. So then I just called back again. Due to "high volume," the system asked me to call again later.
    What kind of service is this? I could have gotten my download from amazon in minutes. I'm NEVER buying from barnesandnoble.com again!

    ex-B&Noble.com customer 1/18/11 8:05PM
  • On 1/16/2011 I tried to purchase a book. The book showed up on my Nook, however, when I tried to open the book I got a message "This item cannot be downloaded. There might be a problem with the payment. Please contact Customer Service." Well, I called Customer Service and was told by Jason that I would have to wait at least an hour for the book to go through the system. - Total phone time 45 minutes.
    Checked my credit card and there was nothing wrong with it.
    Decided later in the day to try again. Was able to purchase a book without any problems (same credit card).
    Called back to Customer Service - spoke with Cheryl, a supervisor who was suppose to transfer me to digital support. Waited about 20 minutes only to be hung up on.
    Called digital support back only to wait another 30 minutes. Hung up on again.
    Tried again. Went to sleep waiting! 30 minutes later I was hung up on the 3rd time.
    1/17/2011 - Called Customer Service, spoke with Debra. Was told there was a problem with their system and she didn't know how long it would take to fix it. Refused to let me speak to a supervisor.
    Called Digital Support, spoke with Victoria. She told 3 lies in a matter of minutes. 1st lie - my credit card was denied by bank (I had checked my credit card and the charge was there)
    2nd lie - Said she would cancel the order.
    3rd lie - She could not see the order in the system.
    Spoke with supervisor Brian. Advised that he would personally cancel they order out of their system but it would take 12 to 24 hours.
    Tonight, order is still in system. Called Digital Support and spoke with Angel. He promised he would have the order canceled in 1 to 2 hours. Still waiting.
    And the rudeness of the reps is unreal.
    I think the next step is Small Claims Court and they can have their nook and all the books.

    FrustratedinWV 1/18/11 7:24PM
  • Horrible customer service. Unable to download a purchased Nook book when they claimed that the payment was denied. But they deducted the payment from my gift card per my instructions. After being on hold for 45 minutes, she couldn't see why it wasn't available and said that she figured it would be available soon. When I reminded her that ebook were supposed to be available immediately, she said, "Oh yeah. I'll have to transfer you to our electronic division." On hold for another 15 minutes. Battery on my phone died. I hung up.

    Dianne 1/18/11 4:45PM
  • I attempted to purchase an eGift card from barnesandnoble.com. Their website states eGift cards are emailed within seconds after the order is placed. My order has been "pending" for the past 6 hours. I tried to email customer service, and received an automated response that they are receiving a large number of emails and that I should check out the help page. When I called their 800 support line, I wasn't even given to option to speak to a representative. I finally got through, but have spent the past 45 minutes on hold. Worst customer service I have ever experienced.

    harley 1/18/11 4:06PM
  • I want my books i pay for!!
    I'm a first time online buyer on BnN

    I bought 2 books on January 12, 2011 and right now its January 18, 2011 and i still didn't get my books

    I even put express shipping
    website told me i would receive my books in 1-3 business days
    it's been 5 days and i still didn't get my books

    I want my Books!!...I need my Books!!

    Anonymous 1/18/11 12:14PM
  • Don't they have any customer service reps.. tried many times, long hold times and finally lost patience and disconnected..

    IT SUCKS, Puzzled to understand the rationale behind this for such a big company..

    bnSucks 1/18/11 11:31AM
  • this company is a joke! i purchased a giftcard yesterday so i could download a book that i was only able to find on barnes and noble. well i bought the book and attempted download. attempted is operative word. it stated it could not download security file due to technical difficulties....so i called barnes and noble waited on hold for quite sometime, spoke to someone who barely understood me, gave order number and was told my credit card was not valid! i explained i never used my credit card i used a gift card. i was informed that until i updated my credit card i would not be able to download the book i purchased even though they did show i had the necessary funds available on gift card!! this is downright illogical!! what is the point of offering giftcards if a credit card is required anyway? so i gave my cc info and was able to download book....but records show money was not taken off gift card!!! so now i have been on hold for an hour trying to fix this....i hate b&n and will purchase ebooks from kindle from now on!!!!

    frustratedinarkansas 1/18/11 10:03AM
  • Great! I read this too late! Im having the same exact problems as all of you with the shipping!! Well, im contacting the BBB

    UNHAPPY! 1/17/11 9:15PM
  • this company must only have 3 people working for the customer service department. I spend 45min on hold the other day and finally got someone who then directed me to another department which promptly hung up upon transfer. I sen a email still have not received a response to my request/compliant.

    Jim 1/17/11 10:31AM
  • Both Borders and B&N are on the way out. When they opened their first stores, Borders was responsible for the closing of thousands of independent book shops around the country. Now they are pretty much irrelevant. Barnes & Noble, which has been around since the late 19th century, is on the way out too. Stores are closing left and right. They were hoping that the nook and nookcolor would bring them back into the market, but they can't even support their own device. For example, they are always late in charging your credit (or debit) card when you purchase a nook book: they will usually wait about a week to do so. With Amazon's Kindle, the purchase is immediate. You click, they take the money, you download your book. Done. You don't wake up to find books missing. I've had a Kindle for 2 years and never have I needed to get on the phone to customer service. I've had a nook color for just about a month and I've had to call "customer service" (what a misnomer) 4 times already.
    I don't mind throwing my nook color out and just sticking with the Kindle. The nook and nook color was a nice idea, but Barnes & Noble just isn't equipped with the necessary hardware, software, or computer personnel to support their device.

    NoMoreB&N 1/16/11 11:04PM
  • I received a Nook as a gift, as it DID NOT read PDF's I returned it. I have the mail reciept, have been on the phone twice with cutomer service each time over an hour. My husband is now on the phone with them. We have been told twice we would be getting a refund for the returned merchandise. Now my husband is being told they can't find the information on the return.

    I think it's time we all call the Better Business Bureau!

    Joyce 1/15/11 5:07PM
  • So exicted to use my nook. So disappointed that it will not work. After 1 hour on hold today I was told by the girl who barely spoke English that I needed to wait 24-48 hours to see if "something" gets reset. This is after mutiple tries of useless resets (if you have ever done the factory reset you will know how annoying it is to keep doing it). I just get an annoying message saying "unable to complete the operation. Please call 1-800-the book."

    So upset when her only advise was to wait 2 days and try again. What kind of nonsense is this. I gave them the benefit of the doubt right after Chrismtas with increased traffic when I could never get a human being on the line but it is almost a month later and I should be able to use my gift!!!!!

    nonook 1/15/11 4:23PM
  • I own 2 nooks and call for help 3 times I've been lied 2x and put on hold up to 2 hours. They can't even keep their book keeping up current. I order a ebook and it took 2 weeks to get billed for it. Today I order a book and it didn't download and the guy I talk with said he could help me on the phone????? What kind of server is this company up holding, not very good!!!!

    ilove2nit 1/15/11 11:12AM
  • Spent over 5 hours of my life the last 2 weeks dealing with their customer service. My daughter purchased a nook and the charger had bare wires sticking out of it and it didn't work at all. Spent an hour on hold waiting to even talk to someone the first time. They said they'd send a new cord. Never came. Called again. Spent another hour on hold. Miss English as a third language sent the ac adapter block, with no cord. Called a third time. Nother hour spent. Still don't have a cord. Nice $300 paperweight. Sheeeeesh. Then, I get a gift card, but my daughter scratched a little too hard and we can't read the pin. I got on yesterday to hold for cs, and spent almost an hour, then it suddenly switched to a message that they were closed. Been holding for a little over an hour now, and still now answer. I am so tempted to return the whole works and buy a Kindle.

    mrsw227 1/15/11 10:01AM
  • I reieved a Nook Colour for Christmas and we are Canadian staying in Florida for the winter. I registered and when I tried to purchase a book I was informed that Canadian credit cards do not work on the nook colour, you have to have an American credit card. So we contacted the customer sevice to asked what to do and the reply was impossible to understand so we wrote back another email to tell them that it made no sense and what should we do. Well we got no answer back, they completely ignored us. We had to return the nook back until we either get an American credit card or they make it available in Canada. They loose the business we will buy Kindle.

    noisezee 1/13/11 10:51PM
  • I returned a defective nook for repair or replacement.
    UPS got a signature on receipt on 11-30-10. We were told to expect it to be returned within 21 days. I've called twice - a total of 2 hrs & 12 minutes - to find out if it has been sent or when it will be sent. The customer service reps were ESL and difficult to understand. Got one supervisor who said he would check with his superiors and ask for expedited delivery - to get it released by the warehouse- and would call me back. No call, no nook, no service.

    crism1985 1/13/11 4:41PM
  • Was on hold for half an hour. Finally get through to a real person and she was RUDE, SHORT, and NOT HELPFUL!!! No help for resolving my issue with the Nook. No help trying to pay for my purchase. Sent an e-mail to Customer Service two days ago and still no reply. Trying to resolve an issue--they just don't want my money for e-books.

    cma963 1/12/11 7:14PM
  • Had my Nook Classic for 6 months and it was great. Then Saturday night it dumped all 80 of my books and returned to factory settings. The next morning, I turned it on and it did it again. This wasn't an isolated incident. At this point I was afraid to turn it off anymore. So I called, and they said "if it happens for a second time, then call us and we'll get you a replacement." I explained (again) that I it had happened indeed for a second time. Finally, the CSR gave me a "guaranteed fix" -her words, not mine. I asked her to stay on the line while I did the fix. After I did the fix, it didn't automatically turn on, so I switched it on and lo and behold, it started going back to factory settings again. Finally, she said they'd send a replacement tomorrow, gave me a tracking number in exchange for my credit card number. This was a lovely 1.5 hour call. Three days later, I check with UPS and although a label was created, no shipment was given to UPS. I call, again and have to explain that yes, I realise it's gonna take 3-5 days, but it hasn't even gotten to UPS yet! 40 minutes later, they still don't know what's going on and have to call down to the warehouse. They told me someone would call me or email me back today- and that's only because I insisted that somebody do so instead of having to explain the situation over again to someone else. Five hours later and still no phone call and i'm seriously beginning to wonder if I will hear back today even though I explained that I was heading out of town soon. All I want now is to get a working Nook so I can sell it on eBay and use the funds to buy a Kindle. There's just no way I'm giving B&N my business again. Update: I called again and was told that they can't do anything about it not having left the warehouse until it's been four days.... and even then, they can't just put another order for a replacement in the system because if there's a problem, they would have to wait another four days. Clearly B&N just weren't ready to step into the ereader market.

    Anonymous 1/12/11 7:04PM
  • I've been an Barnes and Noble customer for years and not had issues, but it seems like their customer service has completely collapsed in the last couple of months.

    Just got the same "your issue requires a call to us" response to an email that others who have commented here have received. The "issue" was that the site apparently can't process an order cancellation.

    I emailed back informing them that I'd heard ALL about the efficacy of a call to their "Customer Service" and that I wouldn't be putting myself through that, but would instead return the books when they arrive.

    Never again.

    Former Customer 1/12/11 11:18AM
  • Ordered a hard cover book and received a paperback after paying the hard cover price. Was on hold for over 30 minutes and gave up. No response to my e-mail. Thought I'd be safe ordering from a reputable company. Reputation is going down the tubes.

    Anonymous 1/12/11 9:40AM
  • they said they'd ship in 24 hours
    it was a lie

    they don't return emails except with irrelevant form letters. They don't answer questions.

    they don't answer the phone.

    adamf63 1/11/11 5:05PM
  • It would be really nice to think that the company had some pride and accountability and could look into the complaints

    I ordered and paid for books over a week ago. My order still has not shipped. No one answers the phone when calling customer service, and no response to emails sent.

    Barb 1/11/11 3:05PM
  • Ordered online, then tried to cancel. Could not. Was told to call back in an hour. That did not resolve my issue. Item took 5 days to ship and after I thought I canceled. Still waiting for my RMA and was told I can't return item to the store.

    4 phone calls, 40 min each call. Never again.

    ps2baseball 1/11/11 2:32PM
  • Do not order any downloadable items! Evidently they are having "difficulties." That would have been nice to know when I placed my order. I am a teacher and at 5:00 a.m. I ordered some material I wanted for class. This was January 5th -- It's January 11th -- and my order status is "pending" -- although it says my order will be available 60 minutes after purchase. I sent 3 e-mails and only received automated response. I called customer service today -- on hold for 20 minutes -- service agent was pleasant but had no information other than their system was experiencing difficulties. Dealing with Barnes and Noble is a waste of time. Go to Amazon.

    Jan629 1/11/11 11:09AM
  • Same day delivery in Manhattan is not reliable +++

    My order was placed at 7am on Friday 4 days ago. 2 days later, it was scheduled to be shipped today, but it is now 7:30 pm and the order has not been been shipped yet.

    When I talked to a customer representative on Friday evening, I learned that they had a backlog and my order would not make it in time; at that time, my order wasn't even scheduled to be shipped.
    As I needed the books urgently for a birthday present, I had to buy it in store. Yet, she couldn't cancel my order.

    Totally unreliable, and very bad customer service !!!

    Anonymous 1/10/11 5:39PM
  • I would rate their customer service if I could reach their customer service. I just read an article in a library journal that they had their best Christmas season ever because of the Nook - hire some people please....

    Longing for the good old days 1/10/11 5:32PM
  • Ordered a book for a christmas gift on Dec. 4th, they emailed indicated it was delayed. Contacted customer service, waited until my phone died, emailed - got a generic response indicating to check their web site. Received another email on Dec 25 indicating it was delayed again and had the option to cancel - went to web site and cancelled. Dec 30th - got email indicating my order was delayed agian and I needed to respond within 24hrs or my order would be cancelled- went to the web site and cancelled again. On Jan 6th, the book arrived - emailed customer support again -got same generic message back. Worst customer service ever. I will not buy from ever again.

    Anonymous 1/9/11 6:01PM
  • Worst customer service experience. I ordered something to be downloaded. Website says I should get email within 5 minutes with download link. Got nothing for a day. Called Customer Service and disconnected after 20 minutes on hold. Called again and on hold for 30 minutes. Finally got a rep and explained my situation. Rep said to hold on and would check status. Put on hold, then hung up. Still waiting. Ridiculous!

    crheath 1/9/11 12:28PM
  • Tried to download 3 free books and one purchased book with a gift card. Apparently my default credit card had the wrong exp date so the downloads, even though free, were denied. Corrected the credit card and still the books would not download. In my B&N library there was a message to call customer service. After 45 minutes on hold a rep answers the phone and has no handle on the english language. I explained the problem and all he said was could you repeat slower. No can you speak English! I'm usually not so critical but really. After 15 minutes he tells me they are very busy and call back in 24 hours! WTH..I asked what about the credit to my gift card since they can not seem to undo the tx or get the book to download? He says sorry please call back. I said bluntly never mind I'm on my way to buy a Kindle. The Nook is a great device but coupled with deplorable customer service it's not worth it for an avid book reader.

    nulyte 1/9/11 11:36AM
  • Worst experience ever. Playing dummy. Don't do what they promise.

    Anonymous 1/9/11 1:06AM
  • Was on hold for more then an hour to actually talk to someone, only to be forwarded to another department, in which I was on hold again. No one could seem to resolve my issue. My card was charged, but couldn't download my book. When I finally spoke to someone, they were helpful, but still could figure out why I wasn't able to download, my order had not be properly submitted, but they were quick to charge the card. Was told everything was righted and to wait 2 hours and check to see if it was available to download, still nothing. Emailed and called back only to get a person who spoke broken English, telling me to do the same thing the first guy did. Very frustrated with the whole situation. It would be nice if there was some kind of compensation for the aggravation, but I won't hold my breath. They finally cancelled my order and told me to repurchase it tomorrow.

    JaeLea 1/8/11 8:27PM
  • I ordered a textbook I need for class that begins on January 10th, on January 3rd. I immediately received confirmation that the order had been acknowledged. Four days later I there's a message in my inbox stating that my order had been delayed. Just wonderful. Later that same day (Friday the 7th) I receive yet another email telling me that my order had been canceled all together. To double check this I go to the "Order Status" page where it says that my textbook should be shipped by January 7th. At this point I just wanted the thing canceled, but where it normally says "Cancel" was something that said "Unable to Remove." This morning (the 8th) there was, once again, an email from B&N stating that my order is scheduled to ship, yet it still says the ship date is the 7th. Just called customer service, but there are no options to talk with an actual person. Account management simply regurgitates the information that I already know. I also sent an email last night, and have yet to receive a reply to that either. Obviously the book I need on Monday, that was supposed to be here within 1-3 days, isn't coming.

    Anonymous 1/8/11 5:46PM
  • I am from Greece and i ordered a book from them because they had it available in their stock and amazon didnt. I applied for first priority mail in order to had it shipped quickly.
    The book hasnt arrived at all and when i try to reach customer service (...) i found out the hard way that there is not any. They have only some customer service for their nook and no customer representatives at all. The international phone line is always busy.
    However hard i tried i couldnt find any representative. No live support.
    When i try to reach them via email i always get the same mail starting with the paradox "Dear valued customer" and in plain english it says to me to read the faq and if i get my answer ok. If not, well im on my own.
    I have never experienced worst customer support. Never. And never i will buy something from there again. Not until they hire some people and then show me how they much they "value" their customers.

    Unsatisfied 1/7/11 4:55AM
  • Absolutely non-existant customer service. Same issues as other posters with Nook freezing up. Customer service took 4 days to respond and simply said to call them. Tried to call and put on perpetual hold and was disconnecte by them after 45 minutes. Fortunately a store in employee was able to help me out.
    Second issue trying to cancel a subscription via their web site. Doesn't work. Again, phone call on hold for nearly an hour and automatically disconnected by them. At this point I am awaiting a response to e-mail sent to customer service. I the meantime I removed my cc info from my account hoping they can not continue to bill for something I have been trying to cancel for a month. Guess my next step is to contact the state attorney general office.......DON'T Buy a Nook

    NoNOOKe here 1/6/11 6:45PM
  • I was given the Nook as a gift in August. After a few months, the screen "froze". Called the customer service (3rd party provider) and hit a brick wall.. Very little support, turn off, unplug, take out battery, wait, yada yada yada! It worked..finally until the next time. Next time, they sent a new battery. That did not work so now the only other option is to replace. I was told it might be a new or referbuished unit. WHAT! Apparently that is Barnes & Nobles "terms". I asked what happens next if the next one breaks since this is a "known problem". Apparently B&N will continue to replace until the 1 year from the purchase date runs out, then I'm out of luck or I go buy something else. I thought B&N was better than that. How can I comfortably continue to purchase books for my digital Nook when it's only good for a year???

    The "customer service---less" group can only comment "not in my control...." What's the point in all the wonderful ads, graphics and fancy packaging when the product itself doesn't live up to it?

    VERY DISAPPOINTED 1/6/11 2:23PM
  • Ordered a DVD for my grandma for Christmas. It arrived timely, however when she got home there was no DVD in the package. I realize this is not B&N's fault, however I have em-mailed and called twice to remedy the situation. The E-mail reply was generic, and said to call customer service. The first time I called, I was on hold for 18 minutes before I hung up. Right now I am on hold...38 minutes so far.

    Anonymous 1/6/11 2:17PM
  • Ordered on 12/30/10, said it would ship on 12/31/10. Still no order. Status says that the estimated date is still 12/31 (uh, we are past that date). No response to email inquiry other than an email stating that they havent responded to our question yet. Waited on hold for 20 minutes and the line mysteriously disconnected when it sounded like someone picked up.

    Anon 1/6/11 11:49AM
  • We purchased a Nook last summer. Worked great no problems until November when the screen died on us. We were told to wait until they shipped a new nook to us. I use the word new as in never opened - factory sealed. Of course I was told it would take a few weeks so I waited until my wife prompted me to act. I called customer service and was told another story that I had to ship out my old nook first. After another two weeks of calls (with very long wait times) we got a replacement Nook. What a farce. It was used, not factory new as promised. After calling to complain many times, they promised us $15 gift card for our trouble and agrivation. Got the card today and it was for $10.

    These people lied to us, hung up on us and mislead us. I wished I never bought a nook Kindle and Amazon are sound much better to me right now. They have lost my busines and I bu a considerable number of book.

    Fred 1/5/11 11:02PM
  • Its a shame, after reading this site I have a bit of egg on my face. For the longest time I patronized B&N, and really had not problem. And here is where my problems begin. I ordered two, very expensive, books on the website and received a reasonable expected ship date. I felt this was awful ambitious of them but figured, that is what the said, so that is what I will get. Well I couldn't be more wrong! Like a number of people on here have stated, I received the "delayed" shipping email a few days later. This delay was communicated after the original ship date sent to me had come and gone. So I wait a few more days for an email saying my items shipped or any general info I can get... and nothing. I wrote 3 emails to their electronic complaints department with not a single response of other than the generic "Sorry we are busy" email. So I get to calling the 800 number and it rings for what seems to be half an hour. I finally get someone and the say oh it shipped 1/3/10. Well that is interesting, since I never received an email letting me know or anything. She assures me that it was shipped from their Ingram PA location. Well I thought it was interesting that it shipped from roughly Pittsburgh but it has not gotten to me in Philadelphia in 2 days. She said its in transit and I should see it soon. I hang up but later realize that I never got a tracking number. I then call back and wait the eternity to talk to someone and then get told that it has not shipped. So I ask why I was told earlier in the day it shipped from your Ingram PA location. The gentleman than says to me "oh yeah it did ship and yop from Ingram". Being that I realized I led him into his lie, I ask for a tracking number. He says hold on and takes a few minutes. He then states to me "I looked up this number on DHL and it states its not valid but its right". "They must not have updated their system yet". When I go to the USPS website and the DHL website I am told its an invalid number. Furthermore he gave me too many digits. Im not and idiot and wrote the number down and repeated back to this guy. I have a bad feeling they just give out bogus numbers. Either way I went online shortly after this and canceled the order, as the email says I have the right do do. Well After reading all of these reviews lets just say I don't have high hopes. I am disgusted by B&N current practices and will cheer the day this thief of a company goes bankrupt. Amazon, which I use time to time, just got another customer for life.

    Jason I 1/5/11 4:05PM
  • I have had the worst experience with Barnes and Noble. I order some gifts before Christmas with a gift card. It was declined and I have been trying to resolve this ever since without success. My $50 gift card now shows a $0 balance and I cannot use it on-line or in stores. What a rip off! They blame it on high call volume and they are slow to process recharging a gift card that was never used!! I will never do business with them again.

    Anonymous 1/5/11 12:40PM
  • I advise anyone thinking of shopping online with this company to think again. I ordered an item that was supposedly in stock and their website tells you that a confirmation e-mail will be sent to your e-mail address usually with 60 minutes. This did not happen. 2 days later item still not shipped, rang customer services only to be told item was not in stock but item would ship that same day, as now back in stock. Item did not ship and the day after i checked my order status and found that the order had been cancelled. Shortly after this i received a cancellation e-mail from them saying that order had been cancelled by customer. UNTRUE. I then like a fool re-ordered 12/29/10 and again item showing in stock. e-mail received advising item would be shipped on 12/30/10. WRONG!! 12/31/10 Now received an e-mail saying shipping delayed, no reason just shipping delayed. To get it so wrong once is poor, to get it so wrong twice is inexcusable in my opinion. Furher to this I have now received an e-mail 1/5/11 asking me to give them a 30 day extension to fufil my order. I have now cancelled item and also membership with Barnes & Noble. I have been shopping online for 20 years now and don't recall encountering incompetance like this. So ordering online with this company is up to you. Do so at your own peril and frustration.

    Tony Ed 1/5/11 11:44AM
  • Barns and Noble is the worse place to rent a book. I was charged $11.20 to extend my rental the first time and I was fine with that, because The book was shipped right after the fifth day of extension to ensure time for NO late charges. But Yesterday I found out they charged me again another $11.20 because they haven't received the book yet. I called up customer service to ask them what's going on. the RUDE lady informed me that it was MY fault for renewing the book twice, and there was nothing they could do about it because they don't have the book still. Later she found out that THEY charged me the additional fee because they couldn't find my order at the warehouse, which she later said they were understaffed for the number of books coming into the warehouse. well lady, ITS NOT MY FAULT BN CHOOSE UPS as a CARRIER nor is it my fault BN doesn't have the manpower to process their shipments. STOP CHARGING INNOCENT PEOPLE FOR YOUR MISTAKES BN! This has been the WORST service I've ever experienced in my life.

    JessMe 1/5/11 10:23AM
  • Since Dec. 30, I have had no luck getting an issue resolved regarding the purchase of a download for my Nook. I have invested two hours of my time spead across three phone calls, speaking to CSR's who cannot help me. This has been my worst customer service experince, and that is saying a lot as my job is dealing with dial tone companies and cable companies, industries noted for poor customer service. I find B&N's customer service awful, and feel that they do not want to, know how to, or are simply unable to resolve my problem.

    bilmit55 1/5/11 6:40AM
  • Can't cancel an order online -- cancel request is just ignored.
    Spent over an our waiting for customer service to answer the phone.
    No response to email.
    Never again.

    Anonymous 1/4/11 3:32PM
  • Worst customer service ever. I bought a Nook Color and after almost 2 weeks of trying to get it to synch to my library I brought it back to the store to return it. The associate gave me the customer service number to call which I did from the store. After over 10 minutes on hold I was connected with someone. He spent the first 5 minutes of the call trying to decipher my email address (it's my name) and the next 5 trying to track down a Nook Color because he could not remember what the menus were. After about 10 minutes of fumbling around having me refresh over and over, the in store associate stepped in and called customer service. He was able to get the problem resolved for me.

    Over a week ago my 2 purchased books disapeared from my online Nook library and from my device. I waited on hold with customer service for 20 minutes and then decided to email them. After a weeks of no response I called them. The wait time was fairly short this time. The associate told me that I had deleted the books which I had not done. He put me on hold for some time and came back to tell me that they were going to undelete them for me and that I should see them back in about 24 hours. He then told me that I may need to unregister and reregister my device to fix the problem.

    I would not recommend buying any digital products from Barnes and Noble. They are clearly understaffed to handle technical problems and their staff seems to have little knowledge of the product. In addition English seems to be a barrier when dealing with them.

    If I wasn't past my 14 day return period I would be returning the product.

    lizanne77 1/4/11 2:16PM
  • This company has the WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE ever. I have a nook, and have bought about 10 to 12 books in the past 60 to 90 days. I tried to purchase a book and got a wierd message on my nook. When I called them, they would not answer the phone. I was put on "indefinite hold" and could not contact them. The following day, I stopped in at my local store and the store manager called them. He explained the problem and they wanted to talk to me. I spoke to them and they said, "You cannot buy a book if you are overseas". HA! HA! I said, "I'm standing here in your friggin' store!" Having no answer and no solution, the guy HUNG UP ON ME! What a farce. I am never buying another book from them and I'm disposing of my nook in the TRASH.

    HS 1/4/11 11:21AM
  • the absolute worst customer service in america i was put on hold for 50 minutes then hung up on and put on hold when i called back for another 25 minutes

    shame on you we will never do business with you again

    Anonymous 1/3/11 7:41PM
  • I had to return the Nook in mid november as it received a Software error. They emailed me the address to ship it to and said it would take 3 weeks to get replaced. It is now January 3rd and still no Nook. I have called twice aduring this time and both reps told me the same, that it would be shipped very soon and I would have it later in the week...This is disgusting customer service for a firm this size. I cannot stress enough to everyone to avoid them as they obviously make up stories to get you off the phone. Go buy the Kindle instead!!!!

    MikeCO 1/3/11 5:05PM
  • Why is it impossible to get in touch with customer service in any way, shape or form? I received an email from them that I needed to provide a new payment method, but after trying to remedy the problem for two hours both online and over the phone I have received no help. This is some of the worst customer service I have ever dealt with. I'm not buying anything from their website anymore

    Anonymous 1/3/11 1:51PM
  • I have sent the service department more than 5 e-mails and all they do is stall instead of respond

    JRINC 1/3/11 11:16AM
  • i placed my second order with b and n, the first went well, the second, is terrable, at least i have one simple question, but bn doesnt reply on my question, but sends an automatic mail and asks me to caal.Hearing that i have to wait very long, and calling international, i refuse to call them.
    I have worse customar service in my country, but this is much worse.Als o i cant cancel my order,
    so i just have to wait till some one thinks ever about the order,very sad, after this order never more

    ccb 12/31/10 5:24PM
  • After 4 days of trying to get through to a customer service rep and Finally getting through on 31 DEC 2010 (after spending 2 hours on hold), the issue with registration isn't resolved. This is by far the worst customer service I've seen in my 60 years of age. Given the direction of the management I don't see a future for this Co. GET WITH IT this is a service driven economy. Based on what I have bean exposed to. This Nook Color Book I purchased will be my last major purchase from this Co. Larry

    LARRY 12/31/10 2:45PM
  • So far I have been unable to reach the customer support department for the nook. This whole week the hold times have been extremely long -- how long? I don't know because after waiting for 5 to 10 min. the system hangs up on me. After 4 tries I gave up. I will try again today December 31, 2010.

    DB 12/31/10 1:10PM
  • This is the slowest website I've ever experienced! Then I was notified that they couldn't accept my gift card and that they could charge my credit card for the entire amount. I didn't go any further. Amazon.com is GREAT to deal with! This is a joke!

    RobinS 12/30/10 4:29PM
  • What a mess!! I ordered a game from them and they shipped it a couple of days later. I used a $15 gift card and used my debit card for the remaining balance. They charged my debit card for the ENTIRE purchase! I called customer service and they said it would all be fixed in a chargeback. They did the chargeback for the WRONG AMOUNT. They instead took the $15 out of my account and tried to say that I used the gift card for the remaining balance. Heck no! I am done with them. They are absolutely horrible and seem to just take your money by whatever means necessary!

    Nique 12/30/10 4:43AM
  • I contacted BN six times over the past 18 days to resolve a problem that could have been fixed prior to becoming a problem. BN shipped my items to an old address. When I received the shipping notification I immediately called them to have the pkg shipped to the right address. Even though the packages HAD NOT YET SHIPPED from BN's warehouse, they told me they couldn't change the address and that the shipments would have to be delivered (to the wrong address) and then re-routed to me. Needless to say I never got any of my packages, but BN got their money. Done with fighting with them, letting Visa deal with them instead. Will never EVER shop there again. It's too bad, I once liked them.

    InTheWoods 12/29/10 2:22PM
  • On the 14th of December I ordered a Nook for my daughter for Christmas. Patiently I waited for it to arrive. On the 24th it didn't come in the mail. I went to a store and they said I had to call online support. Upon doing that they said it was lost in transit and they would send another right away to which I said no this is for Christmas, can't you get me a credit at the store so I can get it there? No he said and that he could refund my purchase (which takes 5 to 7 days). I agreed and assumed they were refunding my purchase and set about getting a nook in a store the day before Christmas - none of the wifi only models were available in all of the city so I had to get the wifi 3g ($50 more.) On the 27th, the "lost in transit" nook arrived in the mail. Trying to do the right thing, I called their support asking if they were in fact crediting my account and if so what were my options with the one that came in the mail. I suggested they could either stop the credit of my account and I would keep it or I could return it to the store. The english comprehension of the rep. I talked to was minimal and over an hour of trying, they just didn't get it so I hung up. My wife just called today and got the same useless response. This has been a joke. I have incurred nsf fees because of the delay in crediting my account and also had to pay $50 more for a feature we won't use. Added up that's $8 more than the cost of the nook in the first place. I will never buy from their online store again and am considering boycotting their physical stores. Even with all of this, they told my wife this morning that we had to pay for shipping to send the "lost in transit" nook back to them. Yeah, right.

    BaffledInRichmond 12/29/10 11:36AM
  • Awful experience. I bank with Chase who lists B&N as a store to earn extra points through. So for the holidays I placed several orders. My order was sent express delivery and the status has been listed as billing information Received since December 17th.

    I have emailed Customer Service for explanations and have had no response. I've called their customer service number and waited for someone to pick up for over a half an hour.

    I’ll continue to wait for my order since I can’t reach anyone to resolve this. What a disappointment.

    I will not ever shop through B&N again.

    BandN_NeverAgain 12/28/10 1:15PM
  • I recieved a NOOK for Christmas. Excited to purchase some new eBooks, I logged on to Barnes and Noble.com. After ordering 5 eBooks, they were expected to be emailed to me, so I could download them within an hour. This was yesterday, December 27th at 2pm. It is now December 28 at 2:45. So much for one hour. It's been 24. I called the first time after waiting 3 hours. They said it wasn't normal, but their servers were down due to all the traffic for the holidays. I called again, after waiting 10 hours, and they said the same thing, after being on hold for 22:34. Such a shame. They even pointed out that this happened last year. Um, I'm sorry, but you would think a company that wanted to uphold a decent reputation would take care of this the first time it happened, and not just hope it won't. I am so frustrated. It's like going to the mall, buying your items, and then you're told you should have them in an hour. Okay. Then 3 hours go by. Then more, and more. Ridiculous. And then there are no refunds! What is this?! So I buy the items, never get them, and I can't get my money back? No. I have no motivation for buying their books any longer. Barnes and Noble, get. it. together.

    smh B&N 12/28/10 12:53PM
  • ok i see all the comments on here and know now im not the only one..i ordered a book on the 24th then another one on the 26th well the one on the 24th was suposed to be express shipping ..i know nothing ships on the holidays and stuff but its been 4 days ..the one i ordered on the 26th i got standard shipping and they gave me a tracking number..a tracking number that doenst work at all ...i ordered a sims 3 game from amazon and almost 30 minutes after ordering it said it was shipped and will be here on the 28th or 29th i ordered this on the 27th...i still havent heard anything about my first order from the barnes and nobles..i too will never use barnes and nobles ever again for the terrible shipping

    jeepegirl97 12/28/10 9:37AM
  • I believe that I'm about to be in the same boat as you all. I ordered a game from B&N.com using a gift card. It has been over 2 days and it still has not shipped. I paid a little extra for express shipping as well. I'm not sure what is going on but I plan on contacting them if it has not shipped by the end of the day. I would assume that "ships within 24 hrs" means that it would be on my way to me within 24 hrs of placing my order.

    Also, something very weird I noticed is that they said I would have the expected shipping date 60 minutes after placing my order...guess what? I haven't gotten that either.

    msmusicmaker 12/28/10 2:07AM
  • Just waited on hold for 24:31, the hold music ended the phone rang 6 times and then the dreaded DIAL TONE. On hold for 25 minutes only to be hung up on. I contacted the local store to see if they might be able to help. They just directed me to the same 800 243 2665 number. Well I am at the 17 minute mark and still no answer. My guess is that once I get to 24:31 the phone will ring and hang up again. If so, this Nook that I received as a xmas present is going back and replaced with a Kindel.

    t Bone 12/27/10 4:59PM
  • Also don't believe their claim that eGift Certificates are sent immediately. Once you order, they tell you that they'll tell you in an hour when it will be available. Four hours later, I'm still waiting. Emails to their customer service function get no answer.

    daveh 12/27/10 1:57PM
  • in a recent visit to my local Barnes and Noble, I was 'called out' by 3-managers in front of other customers in the cafe. I had brought Christmas cupcakes to give out to people that had recently offered me food treats. The food that they shared was not bought at the cafe, and neither was mine. Mine was home-made. I was screamed at by one manager as two others stood there also, but said NOTHING!!!! I explained later that I was JUST reciprocating what had been so generously offered and accepted by me. And I extend this gesture the day-after Christmas.
    Then it was as if I had done something REALLY horrible!!!! And all I did was to pass out a few cupcakes to a select few.
    I really felt that my actions DID NOT warrant the absolute OVER reaction on their part. Their SCREAMING at me in the cafe IN FRONT of other customers was really very embassing AND humilitating!!!! The one manager screamed that I was not to pass out any more cupcakes and not to bring any outside food to the cafe, and that IF I did that I would be forever BANNED frome the store, and ALL of this was said in FRONT of all the other customers that were in the cafe.
    The handling of this situation was appalable!!! Store managers at this location have a very strong attitude of arrogance and indifference. No one their in a management position could see their fault in this situation, only other customers thought it was handled rather poorly. And one last thought, NO WHERE in the store, on any door, or wall is there any post that outside food is prohibited!!!!!

    donna 12/27/10 10:42AM
  • I own a nook an dhave been very happy.
    I purchased a second nook--certified pre-owned nook. I returned it unopened within 3 days--my eleven year old son changed his mind. Barnes and Noble received it December 9 per UPS tracking. It has not been entered into their system so they will not refund my money. $179.66. "supervisors" can see that the item was received in the warehouse but they are unable to process. I have renamed customer service "customer obfuscation and larceny department"

    Anonymous 12/27/10 8:14AM
  • I ordered a DVD collection from B&N on November 30. Several days later, I received an email that the shipment was delayed, and then another notice that it shipped on December 7. It hadn't arrived by December 18. I then sent two emails asking B&N to check on the shipment (which hadn't moved in a week); I received no response to the first, and a generic response to the second. I called, and after getting the runaround from one of B&N's customer service robots, it was agreed that the order was lost in transit and would be reshipped to our place in Vermont. I asked for email verification of the reorder, didn't receive anything, and when I called to confirm this found out that the robot hadn't reordered the merchandise. This time I spoke with a supervisor who assured me that the DVDs would be shipped out in time for Christmas. So, today's the 27th and UPS tracking says that billing info has been received and B&N's automated service says it hasn't been shipped. B&N's robot says the order HAS been shipped. I'll believe it when I see it. Unfortunately the merchandise was purchased on a gift card - so I'm compelled to use it. B&N has the least responsive and rudest customer service department I've ever dealt with, and satisfaction is NOT guaranteed. I won't do business with them again.

    pparson 12/27/10 6:25AM
  • Today is December 26. Yesterday I received a Christmas present of a book I already have. This book was bought in the last week and is in brand new perfect condition. They will not exchange it. I understand their return policy, but for god sakes, it is the day after Xmas. Do they think I have hung on to this book for months just to exchange it the day after Xmas. Bah humbug--do NOT buy presents at Barnes and Noble unless you want to give gift receipts as part of the gift. Most people find that somewhat crass.

    electra7777 12/26/10 12:37PM
  • I also ordered an item from B & N on the 15th of Dec, using the "free" shipping with a promise of 2-6 days and get it before xmas.I was disappointed. Called them and got the run around that it was the post office's fault not there's.Well I called post office and have been using them regularly this xmas season. They said it was not shipped using the proper shipping method from that company.I believe this because all the other packages using USPS came on time and as promised. I am reading all these comments a little too late. For a company known to be in trouble financially ,this is not the way to go about regaining your foothold in the marketplace. I will never shop here again and will pass along to my friends,family,associates, and whoever willing to listen to a tale of poor service and a company that lies and cheats.I just hope I get my 3 items I ordered or at least my money back.And DO Not send them an email.I sent 2 and all I got was a mass email in reply to my complaint and it had absolutely nothing to do with my order or complaint. It was abnout the NOOK, which is a cheap imitation of the amazon Kindle which I have.I would never buy a Nook.All in all B & N deserves to fail as a company.Amazon and ebay shippers are the best. They deliver on their promises,polite and go overboard to make you a return customer.Booo to you B & N!!! A very DISATISFIED customer in Texas

    Texas Mom of Six 12/24/10 5:42PM
  • Barnesandnoble.com is a complete rip off and a joke. For a company this size they should be ashamed for the most disgusting bait and switch tactics and non-existent customer service. I never order from barnesandnoble.com because I am a huge Amazon.com fan, however, on Saturday December 18th I was looking on Amazon for a particular game my young daughter wanted for Christmas and Amazon was out of stock. While checking my email, I noticed a email from Barnesandnoble.com promoting a 20% coupon and an order by 12/20 with $25 or more and get 1-3 day express shipping for free promo (the other requirement was that all items need to have a ship within 24 hour designation.) I decided to go the site and look for the game for my daughter, and surely they had it in stock and it was marked in stock and will ship within 24 hours. I found 3 other items that were all designated in stock and will ship within 24 hours. I met the $25+ requirement and selected express shipping for free. After the order was placed, I decided to cancel one of the items, and encountered a horrendous online process, the site makes it nearly impossible to cancel items and doesn't confirm the cancellation and simply tells you that you will get an email in an hour. I waited for hours and no confirmation email. I called the customer service number to confirm that the item was canceled, the first agent told me that she can't see anything about my order and to call back. I call back a few hours later, the agent sounded like she was eating and could care less, she told she can's see anything with my order and just wait and call back again. On Monday 12/20, I finally got an email to confirm that the one item was canceled and the other three items are being prepared to be shipped 12/20 and cannot be canceled. I thought to myself 1-3 day express shipping, I should get my package no later than 12/23, so I waited patiently, keeping an eye out for a tracking number. No tracking number were sent and I just assumed that they are honoring their promise of express delivery. So today 12/23, I looked for my package and it never arrived, called the customer service number and after waiting 30 minutes got this woman that was extremely rude and put me on hold for another 15 minutes to tell me that my items were in stock and sitting in their warehouse and on hold for no apparent reason, she told the warehouse to release the items, I started to ask the agent, when will I get the package, I still expect it before Christmas as Barnesandnoble.com had promised, she started to stutter that I will get it soon, and then she said that I will get an email tomorrow not the item, I started to say that you have to overnight it to me, and this agent just hung up the phone on me! I dialed the number again, and waited another 30 minutes, this second agent took another 20 minutes to tell me the same story that she doesn't know why my order just sat in the warehouse. I insisted that she tell the warehouse to overnight it, she just kept saying there is nothing she can do, she will put in a request but no guarantees, she said to look out for a tracking number some time in the near future. After all that, I just checked my email and here is the email I got from this stinking store for each item, no tracking numbers nut this message:

    'We apologize, but due to an unexpected delay, we are unable to ship the item(s) listed below in the time frame we stated in our previous email. We anticipate that your item(s) will be shipped within the next 1-5 business days."

    I googled barnesandnoble.com, apparently they have been pulling the same express shipping promise scam since 2005, I see postings from people getting this same email after placing orders for free express shipping meeting all requirments.

    Everyone reading this, please do not give your business to Barnes and Noble. I know I will never spend my hard earn money on them ever again. Not only will my daughter not get the game she wanted for Christmas, I have to go and try to find another present somewhere else on Christmas eve.

    Unhappy with B&N.com 12/23/10 7:49PM
  • Leads you in circles, very frustrating! Gives you a link to check on your order but when you go there, you have to sign in with not just your email and order number but with your password, etc. Which originally when I ordered said that sign up was 'optional' but wasn't. You sign in they say it was shipped and you can click on the link to track it but the tracking number is non-existant!
    I won't be doing this again.

    Anonymous 12/23/10 6:27PM
  • I cannot believe that I got sucked into Barnes and Noble's "order befor this date and get it by Christmas." I placed an order and received an email stating that the books that I ordered would not ship until January 2011! I tried to go back in and cancel my order so that I could just go to the store to purchase and guess what? I cannot cancel my order. The order will not ship until mid January, but they have already charged my credit card! Who does that! I have tried to call several times and cannot get through. Now the telephone number is saying that they cannot process any additional calls at this time. What the heck?

    zdw 12/20/10 9:38AM
  • Happy to add to decreasing their ratings: these are some of the most ignorant customer service reps I have ever had the misfortune of dealing with (and whats more shameful is that their call center is in the USA). I had placed an order using the wrong credit card, and immediately noticed this and cancelled it via their web form. Just to be sure I called Cust service and the rep assured me that it had been/was being cancelled though I didn't immediately receive an email, and go ahead and place a new order on the correct credit card. This is all within 15 mins of placing the initial order.

    The following morning I got an email saying this original order was ready to be shipped... so I called again and this time a woman assured me that she saw the cancellation in the system and I would be notified within a day or two of the cancellation.

    I'm sure you see where this is going so : Later this afternoon I get an email saying the item has shipped. I call a third time and am told that there is nothing they can do about it, and now both orders are on their way. I have my call escalated to a 'manager' who told me that my first two calls hadn't even been logged (no repercussions for those two dolts) even though she saw that a rep had put a cancellation through within 15 mins of having placed the order.

    To sum up: terrible customer service and management, an awful system of tracking order related customer service inquiries, and me left with a giant hole in my christmas buying funds because of these inept, apathetic, ineffectual jerks.

    B&N excels at charging your credit card, and wasting your time. I believe I'll take both nook colors back so they can eat their $500+ dollars and incur all the shipping costs I can put on them.

    This is my first and only transaction with this company (other than purchasing a few books form them in the past: no more).

    TickedAtXMas 12/17/10 5:47PM
  • Barnes and Noble is terrible in delivery, the track number they sent out was invalid, and no specific information about the status even you phoned in, and they just asked you to call again. I would say, once is enough, will never trust B&N and buy stuffs from them.

    Anonymous 12/16/10 5:11PM
  • I am going to write a letter to Barnes & Noble (service@barnesandnoble.com), but I would also like to post my opinions about this company here on this website.

    For the past few years, the atmosphere and overall customer service at the B&N stores has been terrible. In particular, I have experienced this at a local B&N in Golden/Lakewood, Colorado.

    Their return policies have become increasingly rigid over the past few years. As a book lover, I would never dream of using a book store as a "library." And as someone who has previously worked in book stores and retail stores, I also understand the need to guard against customers who take advantage of liberal store return policies.

    But when I purchase a holiday gift, receive a regular and gift receipt, and then change my mind about the item and return it, it is frustrating (and humiliating) to have to find something else in the store at that precise moment (it's not store credit that you receive; it must be an "immediate" exchange) in order to satisfy B&N's stringent "no return, no store credit, only instance exchange" policy - unless, of course, the item is purchased specifically after Thanksgiving day and before the new year. Early holiday shoppers: forget about it!

    I have also seen the customer service and general store atmosphere deteriorate at B&N over the past few years. I don't believe that the store sales people have been trained in any type of customer service. When the sales staff are approached (regardless of the reason), they respond to customers with mechanical, unauthentic responses and blank stares.

    I love books and I love book stores, but I do not plan to set foot in another B&N store if I can help it. They seem to lack passion for the products they are selling, and they seem to lack appreciation for their customers.

    Signed,
    Completely Frustrated with B&N

    AnonymousColorado 12/15/10 12:21PM
  • My Nook developed a crack where you "turn the page". I got all the necessary return authorization and a month later I still don't have a replacement. Phone calls yield different answers depending on who you talk to. If and when I receive my replacement I will be very tempted to smash to into tiny pieces and go buy a Kindle, B&N....YOU SUCK

    ABFine 12/14/10 6:24PM
  • It is almost impossible to reach this company to check on anything, and their answers are less than satisfactory. I will NEVER try to order anything online from them again EVER.

    I don't know what this is 12/11/10 3:52PM
  • I have been using the B&N ereader on my BlackBerry for over a year. Recently I encountered problems downloading books. Customer Service blamed my phone, not so according to the my BlackBerry provider. I was denied a refund even though I could not download the book.
    The customer service is unknowledgable and I am pretty sure they are not even located in the United States, thus taking jobs away from people here that need them.
    Sorry Barnes and Noble I just purchesed a Kindle! Won't be using any of your services again.

    Anonymous 12/11/10 6:55AM
  • Let's see...I got a coupon and decided with the membership discount and a gift card to buy a book on Wednesday...At the end of the order it said thanks, blah blah blah...NO confirmation email so today I called to ask what the status was and was told that the order did not take...So I went back online and tried to order and got an error that the coupon wasnt' good? So I called again and for the next 47 minutes had to have the coupon reactivated and then the customer service rep walked me through to make sure the coupon worked and skipped over the gift card, so there we sat waiting for the order to appear in their system some 35 minutes later...Funny how during that time the charge appeared on my Chase debit card? And I was assured that after we re-entered the order for a 3rd time that it was the ONLY active order and that I would not see any charges on my debit card...Well? SUPRISE!! There are three charges from Barnes and Noble for this! I can hardly wait until tomorrow to start screaming at a CSR over this screw up! And this isn't the first time! Their online ordering systems doesn't allow you a grace period to cancel the order, it takes and you're screwed!

    And as for fast shipping? For memebers who get the free shipping it's hit or miss! I had a CD that took 11 days to arrive and it wasn't out of stock and there weren't any holidays!

    If it weren't for the fact that the stores now charge any where from one or two dollars more to almost 10 dollars more? I wouldn't bother with ordering online from B&N...If they continue with this piss poor online service they have now? I will be going full time to Amazon!

    IpsoFacto3 12/10/10 11:05PM
  • I will never *NEVER* order ANYTHING or buy ANYTHING from Barnes and Noble or barnesandnoble.com ever *EVER* AGAIN! The shipping time is an outright lie and ridiculous. For a company as large as they are to have as many issues and NO solutions is an outrage. The only thing I can say positive about them is the Customer Service Rep I got was polite. He was not knowledgeable by any means and offered no real solution but he did at least attempt to help me. The wait time was long and I spent more time holding than solving anything. I attribute all of this to poor quality in management and over all procedures of the company and not the CSR himself. I have learned my lesson and will shop at Amazon.com from now on.

    concernedpatron123 12/9/10 5:13PM
  • worst online order service i have ever encountered!!! placed an order on nov 10 for 2 books, and 3 cds. books arrived 5 days later. 1 cd arrived after 14 days (although shipment was supposed to be all 3 cds). called customer service and was told to give it several days. called again 5 days later and they said the order would be reshipped. i asked if they could overnight the shipment since it had been 20 days since ordered and was told (after several minutes of holding) "yes"...only to receive an email the next day that stated "can't do that." now i had a tracking number for 5 days that shows nothing. seriously? all my future orders will be from anyone but B&N!!!!

    Amazon.comROCKS 12/8/10 8:37PM
  • I have experienced multiple delays and inconveniences when I purchased a few books online making this ordeal quite a hassle.
    I hope Barnes and Noble can alter these there shipping method to make buying online a more enjoyable experience.Improvement is a necessity to make Barnes and Noble a more prosperous and successful store.

    none 12/8/10 3:05PM
  • I have been a B & N member for a while now. Recently, I became a B & N Kids member online. Yet, the Kids club membership does not link to my regular B & N membership. I have sent them 3 emails, trying to resolve this issue; that is, link my Kids Club membership with my B & N membership. However, they keep responding with unrelated answers (Asking me the order number and the store that I bought items!! WTH??) I think the people who answer comments/questions either don't read the messages and give some automated answers, or don't understand English??

    Dodo 12/7/10 6:28PM
  • Holy cow this is insane. I had the nook for pc loaded onto my computer and close to 159 books on it. It froze again and I was forced to uninstall it and reinstall. After doing this a code 010 keeps poping up over and over agian. I calles the 1- 800 number and Brian answered. he was nice and tries to help but I could tell he had no idea what was happening?!?! He didnt even know what code 010 meant ... So now I am stuck with all these ebooks and no way to read them ..yay me

    ugh thanks for nothing 12/7/10 2:51PM
  • I couldn't just comment. I had to write out a full letter. Of course I don't know where to send it yet, so I'll put it here for now.
    ---
    Dear Barnes and Noble,

    The only reason why I would continue to buy from a physical store, which on most accounts is more expensive, is for atmosphere and comfort. I would actually prefer to buy books and related products at a store, even at a greater price, in order to support the economy and community.
    In the past few years, however, Barnes and Noble has appeared to become more bureaucratic and stale, akin to Wal-Mart. This takes away every reason I have to shop in person. I have no delusions about the insignificance of this letter to the Corporate engine, but I hope it reaches someone's eyes and makes some sort of impression. I'd like to talk about past and more recent experiences in Barnes and Noble stores for comparison, so maybe someone out there with the means to change things, knows what at least this customer prefers.
    In the past, your book sellers have been knowledgeable, honest, sincere, and helpful in the most friendly way. When I didn't want to be bothered, they just let me browse without interruption, although I knew they were always nearby if I needed help. When I first came into a store, I could take a moment, browse through all the newly arrived books and best sellers while I let the day's stresses drain away. When I wanted help I knew I could catch someone's eye or go to Customer Service.
    Recently, your book sellers are purposely vague, disinterested, vapid, and helpful in the most sales oriented way. When I come into a store I am immediately pounced upon with a forced greeting (when it isn't forced, it's disgustingly empty of any true passion), and the stress of my day is compounded. I've been more likely to avoid any other book sellers like the plague, not be able to find my book, and leave quickly, irritated and with a bad taste in my mouth.
    There are a few book sellers I see who still have some passion, and don't sound like a drone babbling greetings and farewells, and who don't try to trick me into buying something that I may want later, but don't feel like it right now. There are a few who will honestly tell me if they don't think a product would work for what I'm wanting, and will point out the details of the product that both do and don't fit my lifestyle, even though it may lose them a sale. Honesty! This is what drives me to shop in person, locally. Even if it's a corporation, local people need those jobs, and I want to support that. But an experience like that is becoming more and more rare at Barnes and Noble. Electronic products are wonderful. I have no doubt that the printing market will have to share the fame with the digital market, but don't shoot yourselves in the foot by making customers not want to even come back to the store after they get ie: a Nook. The coupons and “more in store” is not enough. I don't care about that, and I seriously doubt I'm the only one.
    Be honest with me, and I'll be back. Be passionate about books and I'll be back. Please stop pouncing on me the instant I walk into a store. I feel like a walking wallet and all your whipped employees are allowed to see is a potential sale, and I seriously doubt it's of any fault of the employees. Something in your code of procedures or whatnot is stifling. I will buy so much more if I'm comfortable again in your stores. In the past, even an employee who was grouchy for some reason that day was sincere about the written word and the books I was looking for. Now, it looks like they're not even allowed to have a bad day. They look hollow.
    I hope you can understand that I'm not angry at Barnes and Noble. I just want the old Barnes back. I want the relaxation. I want to be able to take my time instead of feeling watched from the moment I step inside. I want an employee to be able to give me an honest smile and an easy, 'hi', or even just a nod, or nothing rather than the automated bureaucratic nightmare I get now.

    Sincerely, and hopefully,

    Concerned Customer.

    Anonymous 12/1/10 1:31PM
  • The WORST customer service ever!!!!!

    Beware the online service.

    NEVER AGAIN

    Anonymous 11/30/10 1:35PM
  • Absolutely the worst customer service I have ever come across. Barnes and Noble should read some of these comments. I never shop at a Barnes and Noble store based on the online service I just received on a recent order. Not only did they not resolve the problem which was their fault, they offer no solution to fix it. They could have easily replaced the order and reshipped it at their cost but refused. They intentionally hung up on me twice and then proceeded to transfer me to other departments in hopes I would give up. I will now shop for all my book needs on Amazon.com. Barnes and Noble should take a lesson on customer service from Nordstroms.

    lhunter5 11/26/10 1:50PM
  • For a company like Barnes & Noble I was very disappointed in the customer service of Digital Support.

    Anonymous 11/23/10 2:45PM
  • For my birthday, I bought two books from BarnesandNoble.com. After two weeks without delivery, the DHL tracking status stated that the package had "visible damage" and had been returned to the warehouse. When I sent an email inquiring about it, they said that I would receive a refund. That was over 2 MONTHS ago. I have sent follow-up emails, but all I get are stock, copy-and-paste answers that end up being nothing but lip service. Being a student, I can't afford to be ripped off like this. So much for a birthday present...

    vandoren 11/19/10 1:39PM
  • I had the same problem as others with delivery. The link B&N sent for tracking went to the DHL website but DHL didn't have any record of it. After sending to emails to B&N I finally called customer service. They said it was being sent by USPS and that the tracking number was for USPS. Not sure how I would know that when the link they gave me went to DHL. In addition, it was supposed to be 2-6 business days and I found out they just "shipped" within 2-6 days. So on day 6 they shipped to me in Washington State from New jersey. Wondering if I will ever receive. Will NEVER order from them. Amazon is much better.

    hink 11/19/10 9:09AM
  • I had an order of over $6,000 with them. It was THE worst customer service experience I have ever had. Expertise of call center staff, timeliness of delivery, and process for an order of this size is ridiculous.

    Call center folks essentially just read what's on the screen and refuse to transfer you to supervisors. (Ceddrica you know I talking about you!)

    I would never order anything from them again! I'll be sure to pass it on to people I come in contact with. Run, don't walk, from Barnes & Noble unless you're a glutton for punishment!

    VegasReader 11/14/10 4:44PM
  • This is the third time that I have ordered from B&N online. I am a member and live in NYC. Out of the 4 orders I have made 2 of them have been late several days when it should have been same day, and one of them was canceled. Completely horrible service, not sure I will renew my membership with B&N again. Amazon is by far more reliable.

    How can B&N be getting this so wrong? Who is running the show there, or is that the problem... no one is.

    jyavil 11/8/10 12:34PM
  • My daughter received 3 American Girl books for her birthday. Unfotunately, they were titles we already owned. The mom of the little girl who gave the gift told me the books were purchased during a "Buy 2, Get 1 FREE American Girl book" promotion. She gave me the gift receipt. We tried to exchange the books and were told we could only get 2 books for the 3 we were returning because the promotion was over. I've never heard of such nonsense. After much debating and feeling very belittled by multiple employees, I was told they would exchange 3 for 3 "just this one time." So frustrating. They have lost my business, which is unfortunate as I have gift cards but refuse to enter the store again. I sent an e-mail but of course got no response. Barnes & Noble clearly doesn't care about its customers.

    Anonymous 11/4/10 2:48PM
  • customer service is not satisfactory Ive have been a member awhile now and seem the some of the worker are stress and very unhappy and does not provide a good atmosphere Barnes and Noble Northgate Mall.

    IJLM 10/29/10 7:02PM
  • I purchased bookends (2 sets) at Barnes & Noble. I tried to return them to the same store location (unopened) 18 days after the purchase and was turned down flat. There is a 14 day return policy, which i could understand with a book, but bookends??? i was and still am furious. The manager or store rep that I spoke with that day could have cared less. I complained on the store website, and they sent me an auto response that they would refer my complaint to the store mgr. That was 2 weeks ago. Needless to say no one has contacted me. I won't be shopping there again, and am telling everyone I know, so that they won't get stuck with unwanted products too!

    atlanta reader 10/29/10 8:53AM
  • I rented a textbook for my grandson whose course was cancelled the first week in Sept. I realized the 21 day return policy but disputed the $91.23 charged for 130 day rental because within 10 days the rental price on-line was $64.73. I discussed this discrepancy with customer service and was assured that an adjustment would be made which I believed according to NYS law was appropriate. My account was never credited. Then after the course cancellation, on three occasions I spoke with customer service reps, Jackie, Calvin and Whitney. They were all polite and at the time of the conversations, I thought helpful. Whitney stated that if I returned the book early which was my intent all along there would be a prorate refund. The communication I had received never mentioned a pro-rate or I would have acted sooner (see customer service email Oct 11, 2010). All in all this transaction has been most frustrating. I will not rent from B & N in the future and I am very sorry to read all the other complaints about customer service. You have quality products but you have a problem in this department that needs fixiing!

    Anonymous 10/27/10 6:30AM
  • I am still in the midst of trying to return 1 item I purchased on BarnesandNoble.com. I have had many problems including phone staff not knowing what is happening with the return, the email staff not being able to read into the notes in the order status, and no one willing to put me through to a manager when I ask so that I can verbalize my concerns and get a straight answer. Truly disappointing knowledge of all staff.

    zenjai 10/26/10 12:30PM
  • Refused to take a return after just 1 month, a gift, a movie, returned unopened with a receipt. They refuse to take returns after 2 weeks, even for exchange or store credit.

    Anonymous 10/22/10 9:16PM
  • I tried to order a game through Barnes and Noble on line. I went through steps not once but twice and still did not get my order. After getting a stupid e-mail saying that this is a third party vendor and I need to discuss with them, that was that. Excuse me, I am buying it from Barnes and Noble website and not a third party vendor.

    I wrote the letter to the CEO and still have not heard anything. I would never use this service or retail store again.

    James 10/22/10 10:40AM
  • I purchased a nook in July 2010 along with a two year warranty. When I dropped it crashed and while they did replace this time my "two year($50.00)plan is now void. None of the store staff was aware of this and of course neither was I. The customer service line told me too bad. A warranty this expensive (relative to the purchase price) is a joke. I intend to return it and patronize Borders in the future

    Anonymous 10/17/10 6:34PM
  • I am on my 2nd refurbished Nook and still have the same issue of all non B&N data being lost, system reverting to version 1.2 and loosing all book marks, page that I was on, etc. Unable to charge unless attached to a computer, but as soon as you do that is dups everything! B&N refusses to replace it again - and I am now on day 3 of waiting for a manager to contact me from my original call as well as follow up calls. I will NEVER purchase anything from B&N again!

    DUPED 10/13/10 9:03AM
  • Awful and rude service. The starbucks girl, Kelly, tried to offer me a date...in very lewd manner. I declined and the next ting I knew security was there! Screw this place, no pun intended!

    none 9/28/10 8:16PM
  • I have never been successful getting through to the B&N customer service phone number. Right now I'm pretty pissed so I am continually re-dialing the number (it keeps hanging up on me after 1 min 15 seconds on hold) and if I do by some miracle get through, then boy do I have a lot of grievances to air. I want to love my nook, and when it works properly I do, but lately it has been continually resetting itself to factory default for no reason. I sent a long and detailed e-mail to B& N support (since I can't get through on the phone). They sent me instructions to try and fix the problem, but they did not work. They say that they cannot troubleshoot the problem over e-mail effectively. Well I can't get a hold of a person to talk to, so what am I supposed to do? This is beyond aggravating. For such a large company how is it possible that they just ignore their customers??? I am so not impressed.

    starfireplus 9/26/10 10:39AM
  • I love my Nook, but the customer service help is really bad! Put on hold for 10 minutes at a time, the rep consistently saying "my computer is slow" or "freezing up", lots of excuses. After 4 calls my problem has yet to be resolved. Do they make it difficult on purpose?

    ac 9/23/10 2:08PM
  • Trying to resolve an eBook purchase issue. Can't get it delivered to my eReader, and no matter how many times I email, they tell me to phone a number you can't EVER get through to.
    It rings three times and a message tells you that they "value your call" and to wait. This happens 3X before they just cut the call off.
    Terrible customer service. I am cancelling my card from their server and deleting the Nook App. Dissapponting as it was the best eReader on the market. But it's their own fault. Don't support their stuff.

    timebot 9/16/10 11:14AM
  • Not helpful. They lied to me and then continually disputed my version of events. I was hung up on, transferred back and forth, and I even had one person pretend they couldn't hear me. Do yourself a favor and stick to Amazon. Barnes and Noble is an awful company with awful prices and awful customer service.

    Slick Willy 9/10/10 8:28PM
  • After years of shopping online at Barnes and Noble I was a satisfied AND loyal customer. I used my membership to shop online and at the mall. Although I am not a big spender, I buy books regularly so I imagine they should perceive me a good customer.

    While placing an order this week I ended up spending an hour on the phone with an absolute idiot trying to get my membership renewed and receive the discount on an order.

    Long story short, I let her keep me on the phone that long (my fault) without solving my problem (her fault).

    I was over it until I received the following inane email from customer service after emailing them a complaint,

    Thank you for writing to us regarding your customer service experience.

    We reviewed your concerns regarding help you received when trying to
    acquire assistance renewing your membership. Your feedback is very
    important to us at Barnes & Noble.com and we appreciate your taking the
    time to send us your opinion. We assure you that we have reviewed the
    issues you have raised with the appropriate people on our Management
    Team to look into this training issue.

    Please accept our apology for any inconvenience this matter has caused
    you. We truly value your patronage; your online shopping experience is
    extremely important to us.

    Sincerely,

    Nikky

    --------------------------------------------
    If B&N "truly valued my patronage" they wouldn't have poured salt on the wound with this nonsense.

    usuallyhappycustomer 8/6/10 11:08AM

  • Sent this to company twice, no respoonse. Done shooping here!! My dime will support a company that actually cares about it's customers!!
    "I had sent your company a previous email this past week and had heard no response from it so I will assume that it did not transmit properly and will include the information again in this email. I was at your Valley View location in Roanoke, Va. on July 18,2010. When I went to use my discount card I was told it was not active. Your young man at the counter became somewhat rude when I explained that I had just recently renewed this. With no offer other than "would you like to renew today?" . I was given the customer service # by a fellow customer; not your sales associate. I was somewhat irate that the level of customer service and the attitude of your employee was such. I then sat down, drank my coffee and decided I could inquire at the customer service desk to correct an obvious error. Upon going to the service desk and explaining they did a name search for my membership, no results and they again gave me the telephone # to customer service. I am well aware that I can call a phone number but was under the impression that CUSTOMER SERVICE was just that. I was appalled that your employees were so nonchalant and completely unconcerned with anything other than going back to their conseveration. I have a young teenage daughter who will be getting a job soon and this is how to NOT treat customers. I will include the receipt info from my purchases at the end of this email. also if indeed I see no response from this I will assume that this level of service is a standard company wide and will take my business elsewhere. My sales receipt info is as follows, str 2294 reg 015 trn 7013 cshr loren amount $11.02 07/18/2010 at 4:42 pm
    my membership purchase info is as follows. str 2670 reg 007 trn 1353 cshr jacob h. $90.55 on 05/14/2010 6:39 pm.
    Sincerely,"

    tamih 8/4/10 6:25AM
  • I am VERY unhappy with B&N's return policy. ie, you are out of luck if you have misplaced your receipt. I can somewhat understand this policy in regard to books however, I cannot understand this policy in regards to journals. HOW RIDICULOUS! You can clearly see if the journal has been used. B&N has lost my respect and business.

    sandy 7/27/10 4:32PM
  • I am submitting my second complaint...being the above "put off"...I am still put off...I have since gone into the Saugus Ma. branch and was again accosted by blaring music...This store is absolutely user "un-friendly"...
    I would not recommend anyone who loves to read to frequent this store...the music is unbearably loud...they absolutely disregard the customer...and if they are not going to value this good customer ... this good customer is not going to value them.
    I was a quiet, polite frequent customer who spent thousands in the past three years and was met with an attitude ( and basically a refusal ) when requesting something reasonable. At this point I would not bother to ask them to lower the music...It is made to seem like a severe hardship to do so.
    There is no longer a thing called gracious customer service, only a self-serving service who deem to put up with "US", "the public".

    Put Off 7/15/10 6:41PM
  • The Nook stinks! I have yet to download a single book without glitches that involve calling customer service. Problems include a failure to download, incomplete downloads, server issues, and problems with their billing system. There is no customer support on weekends for many of these issues and calling any time on a weekday can have a 30 minute or longer wait time. You cannot download books outside the continental USA and many of the best and latest books are unavailable. Save your money.

    Anonymous 7/11/10 8:37AM
  • Nook complaint. I downloaded a book that turned out to be full of typos, clearly from an unedited digital conversion. Examples: "looking" displayed as "lxx)ing" and almost all captial "I"s displayed as the number 1. And the title of the book was mispelled on the heading of every page!

    When I complained, B&N refunded my money. But they never told me that they would be DELETING the book from my library. A partial credit for my purchase would have made me happy but I was told that such a thing was not possible.

    SD-Reader 7/2/10 3:42PM
  • Don't order online with Barnes and Noble. The shipping dates advertised on their website is misleading and the customer service department does not resolve any issues. They simply blame the customer.

    mona 6/28/10 12:49PM
  • I have been a loyal and very steady customer to
    Barnes & Noble for approximately three years and have from time to time run into a customer service attitude problem.
    Two days ago I politely requested that the in-house music please be lowered...it was absolutely blaring.
    After about twenty minutes I went back to the service desk to again ask that the music volume be lowered....Not only was it not lowered it seemed louder than before.I was and still am furious.I wonder what kind of customer is valued at this Saugus Massachusetts branch...apparently not one who spends a good deal of money on food, books and magazines...
    I now refuse to spend any more money in a place which views steady customers as mere nuisances.As far as I am concerned, the inmates are running the asylum and they have no loyalty to anyone but the inmates.
    I am incensed on priciple...I refuse to allow myself to be treated in such a manner...I was basically ignored. I will from now on use their branch to eye books I will purchase somewhere else. This is all I can do to rail against very poor customer service practice wherein the customer is always wrong.

    Put Out 6/27/10 6:27PM
  • Tell all your freinds and relatives to stay away from Barnes ans Un-noble. They will cheat you out of anything they can, sell you something you cannot use and will not refund your money. We will never ever ever shop at Barnes and un-noble again

    Gusnbec 6/27/10 10:48AM
  • Wow, I won't be ordering from B&N.com again. In fact, maybe I won't shop there at all anymore. I can't get refunded for items they didn't ship to me! It takes phone calls to customer service to get a refund and multiple ones at that. Looks like the company isn't doing too well.

    Linda 6/16/10 10:35AM
  • B&N online is terrible! I paid for express delivery of 3 items when I qualified for free delivery. I needed 2 right away knowing one wouldn't be released for 4 days. They held them all until release date today supposedly and when I complained they said I didn't choose to have more than one shipment. I never saw it on their form and told them so. I spoke to a manager even and said how all my Amazon business is perfect as they are very clear that your KNOW something will hold up your order if you want it in more than one ship. Longer story short, and also emailed complaint, I was made to be wrong and they swore it would be mailed out express delivery on the date of release today. It is after 2PM and it hasn't been processed and there is no way I will get it in 1 to 3 days. They are AWFUL. The manager should have pointed out their policy and form instead of insisting how wrong I was and then should have at least offered to refund express delivery charge since I will get it in 11 days IF it comes Monday and it won't! I have ordered a few times from them mainly because I have gift cards and every time if there isn't a problem with the order, there is with the item. They are not carefully packed and books always have some kind of dent or page problem, etc. They are a disgrace! CUSTOMERS BEWARE!

    Kanellio 6/5/10 11:19AM
  • Ordered two PDF downloads from Barnes and Noble, and when I followed the link to the downloads after I purchased them, only an error message appeared on the screen. I tried to download from other laptops as well - same thing, no downloads appeared. Calling 1-800-THE-BOOK is a ridiculous waste of time - no one answers and you are not placed in a holding queue, so after 3 tries to ring through you are disconnected. Very poor customer service to deal with issues...I just sent an email so I am hoping to get a response but I am not very optimistic.

    Anonymous 6/2/10 11:04AM
  • When shopping in Barnes and Nobel.com be aware that they are not responsible for books they can purchase through another party, yet they will charge you for books even if not delivered. I specified UPS delivery since we did not have mailThe company they ordered the book from said they delivered it but it was returned. I could pay shipping charges again if I want the book. B & N plays the innocent.

    Fiddle 6/1/10 11:29AM
  • I have just had the worst experienc with Barnes & Noble that I've ever had in my life. I had to B&N gift cards. I went onto their website to order e-books for my Sony e-reader. I ordered approximately $82.00 in e- books and couldn't open them on my computer. I contacted them and was told that they didn't support the Sony e-reader and the information is on their website. The only thing their website tells you if you download the e-apps you can use additional devices. Nowhere does it say it only supports the Nook. And, the problem of not being able to open them was not even the
    Sony e-nook issue. I contacted B&N and was treated very rudely from their customer service. Basically, it's not their issue because I downloaded them. I then talked to Digital tech support and was told that a $15.00 gift certificate was all that they could do. After several conversations explaining that their website was very misleading, I was told that I could get half of what I spent back and I would be called back the next day. After not receiving a call, I called back, but according to them only the person I talked to could help me and he wasn't. Well, he wasn't in the next two days either. Then, I finally got an honest representative who said this happened all the time with customers who own the Sony e-reader and that I should get a full refund. But, he wasn't a supervisor and apparently B&N supervisors didn't agree. The next day I got a call that said they would return the cost of 6 e-books to my gift card. I asked who handled consumer complaints for New York City. Of course, he told me I had to look that up. So, today in my e-mail were 9 returns to my gift card, which amounted to $70.54. I guess my threat to report them changed their mind a little. Not bad I guess, to only be out $12.00 or so after one week of total frustration, being treatly rudely & being lied to. I still plan to report them to whatever consumer complaint organization I can find in NY City.

    Anonymous 5/28/10 11:33AM
  • WOW. Shocked by appalling B&N customer service. It's all motivated by its own in-house needs and NOT by customer requirements.

    Impossible to find an e-mail for a specific location, all complaints go through some centralized location. And I'm not calling long distance on my dime.

    Customer service reps are morons who treat you like another B&N employee. I was overcharged at a store and yet customer service expects me to send and fax up to ten pieces of info instead of directing me to the location store manager. Bizarre.

    B&N will go under with in-house corporate thinking instead of modern, customer-centred attitude.

    Bad Experience 5/21/10 11:47AM
  • My law firm is currently investigating a potential class action concerning the Barnes & Noble Nook. for more information, please visit our website at www.nookclassactioninvestigation.com.

    plamont@mcjennlaw.com 5/19/10 12:36PM
  • Customer "service" is abysmal. I tried to use a coupon and two gift cards online, but my total kept displaying as the same amount (even though the deductions had been acknowledged, so it wasn't the coupon or cards that were the problem). I e-mailed customer "service," explaining the problem. Two days later, I got a reply advising that I should call for help. When I called, the phone rep was clueless. She transferred me to an automated line that had a five-minute spiel about "corporate gift cards." I again e-mailed customer "service" but this time asked for a supervisor callback. They blew off my request, instead sending a generic e-mail with instructions on how to process an order. I've had two more rounds of e-mails with them. Each time, I ask for a phone call from a supervisor; each time, I get a "reply" that looks like it was written by a robot. ... After I use the gift cards in an actual B&N store, I will place all future online orders with Amazon.

    Anonymous 5/13/10 8:56PM
  • Although I usually order from Amazon, I got a B&N gift card, and thought I'd order my brother's birthday present from them. For about $30, I got an email promise to deliver the book, gift wrapped, within three days - plenty of time, since the birthday was still 8 days off.

    Seven days later, I tried to call. The automated number 1-800-THE BOOK is a joke; it tells you that the operators are busy three times, and then hangs up on you. Call the local line - 201-559-3882 - and prepare to be lied to, starting with the agent's cheerful "I can help you" (they can't and won't) and ending with "a manager will call within two hours" (that won't happen, either). I did get an offer to refund the shipping portion of my order, which I thought was funny, since THEY HADN'T USED THE THREE DAY SHIPPING SERVICE I PAID FOR (in related news, Barnes and Noble is also not charging me for fixing my car, cooking my dinner, or any other services that they did not provide).

    My last call - with "Laurie" - ended with her saying how much B&N appreciates my business, echoing the line from their email, "We are glad we could be of service and look forward to your next visit". This, too, is a lie; I'm sure they would rather have not done business with me (since I get mad when you take my money, make promises, and then don't deliver), and I most certainly am sorry that I did business with them. Amazon works; why mess around with a firm that is repeatedly dishonest?

    mwonow 3/31/10 5:37PM
  • Ordered a book. It came over a month after I ordered. Was supposed to be 2 weeks maximum.

    The book was damaged.

    Tried calling customer service a million times. Never got in contact. Was told all lines are busy, call back later. Apparently they don't have a holding queue for you to wait. That's pretty poor.

    So I resorted to e-mailing. E-mail support takes forever to get back to you and when they do, they often don't understand your issue no matter how plain and logical you put it. Even children seem to have a better comprehension skill than Barnes and Noble employees do.

    So the reason I had to contact customer service was because they expect the customer to pay for shipping to ship back damaged items. It would cost me $25 to ship this book back. So I contacted them and told them I want them to pay for it. They agreed (after a few e-mails of not understanding what I was asking) and told me they would send a pre-paid shipping label. Well it never came. I complained again and they said they will send another one. It never showed up. I complained again and found out that they were lying and that they don't even send shipping labels to Canada.

    So then after a few e-mails of them not understanding what's going on (because they don't look back and read the prior e-mails, they will only read the immediate one you just send them) they told me that I can ship the book back, and send them a copy of the recipt as an e-mail attachment after the book has been received and I will be refunded that.

    So I e-mailed them back confirming what they just told me so there wouldn't be any misunderstandings once they get my book, such as them not refunding me because it has now been over 3 months since I got the book (due to such poor customer service)and they have a 14 day period where you can return. So I wanted to confirm that they acknowledge there will be no issues, and the response I got back was ANOTHER copy and paste e-mail telling me return instructions, as if they have no idea that we had already gone over this like 10 times with other agents.

    All in all, terrible. I can't even phone them to make sure the person understands because they just have no phone customer service. It's always busy. I've spent 3 months trying to contact them and I've never got through.

    I will never buy from Barnes and Noble ever again.

    Anonymous 3/30/10 10:58AM
  • I have been a member of barnes and noble for years and was just treated so unfairly by supervisor (who I waited 15 min to pick up). I ordered a book on compact disc on Monday and in between these three days the price has gone down $6. I still haven't received the book which is supposedly on the way but I called to ask if I could be credited for the difference. The answer is absolutely NOT. I was told that Barsnes and Noble can change price without notice and you are not eligible for a credit even if you haven't received the book yet. There genius thought was to return the merchandise and reorder the same item for the cheaper price. Does that make any sense at all? The manpower of taking the return, then processing the order all over again seems more reasonable to them then just issuing me a $6 credit. Poor customer service. Maybe they should start thinking outside the box and use some common sense. They have lost my business entirely. Only wish I had ordered from Amazon in the beginning. No wonder Barnes and Noble is headed for bankruptcy!

    e.whitney56 former customer 3/11/10 4:00PM
  • I wish I had read this forum before wasting my time with B&N! Just got off the phone (long distance, my dime) with a "supervisor" who only told me her name (Carol) when challenged. The lady told me all my problems stemmed from not reading their website with a fine toothed comb. Well either it ships in 4-6 days, or it doesn't, lady. I should've know their used book department has different rules, apparently. UPS said thru B&N tracking that the order arrived (after I left the States for Canada) and she says it's still in limbo. Where is it? She actually recommended I dispute it with my credit card, it has already been charged. I SO don't love paying for something that is in on-line hell. Your name is worse than slimy sludgy mud Barnes and Noble. Noble my rear end.

    formercustomer 2/19/10 9:42AM
  • I love it when they say you will be able to use gift cards with it. Only after purchasing do you find out you need to register it with a valid CC. Not what they advertised and I am not about to turn my grandoughter loose with my CC. Slow to answer E Mail and only say they are sorry and I can not return. Be very careful with these people, very deceptive advertising and should be forced to take returns.

    tec1246 2/13/10 4:54PM
  • I have been on the phone for over two hours with Barnes and Noble Customer Service trying to return a defective Nook and no one will answer. It is not a company I ever want to do business with.

    Songrtr 1/23/10 10:15AM
  • On December 12, I purchased three items from Barnes and Noble online because each item said 'usually ships within 24 hours.' When I got the confirmation email, it said they were scheduled to ship January 14. After at least four different phone calls over a week, to cancel the orders, they cancelled slowly one at a time except for the third one. On the final call, the rep said the place where it ships from probably just did not update their information, and it would cancel. It never did, and I just gave up, letting my recipient receive a duplicate Christmas gift and asking them to give it to me if they wouldn't mind - how cheesy. Because of this lack of customer service and no follow-up, I will never order from Barnes and Noble online again. I found the same merchandise on Amazon and they were prompt.

    saavyshopper 1/14/10 6:24PM
  • For the second time in as many months, Barnes & Noble has ruined a celebration for me. Both times, items were ordered as presents. All items showed they would ship within 24 hours, were in stock and qualified for "Fast & Free Three Day Shipping". The first time, the shipment arrived two weeks after I ordered. B & N Customer Service were not at all helpful or apologetic for the "lost in shipping" issue.
    This last time, I received an e-mail three days after the order was placed informing me that there was a "delay in shipping". It has now been five days since placing the order & it still has not shipped.
    BTW, I checked Amazon's prices on the same items (after ordering at B & N). They are $6.00 cheaper.
    Last order from me, Barnes & Noble!

    Walls222 12/30/09 1:43AM
  • I ordered a book on Dec 20 with an online coupon that expired at 11:59pm PT that evening. I placed my order at 8:07 PT. I was told first that the coupon expired at 11:50 ET when the coupon that i attached clearly stated PT. I was then told the coupon only applied to best-sellers- I then asked them to highlight where that statement was made which was followed by a reply that the discount could only be applied to an itme not already discounted. i then asked where THAT info was- the next reply said, sorry for your problem ordering online- next time try the phone- literally!

    Anonymous 12/29/09 12:49PM
  • Barnes and Nobles...unsatisfactory performance...If you try to cancel an on-line order watch out..these crooks have it rigged so you can't....using terms as 'sorry your order is in the shipping lane' and cannot be canceled...within two minutes it was in the shipping lane...so watch how you order on line. This is definitely crooked...one of the worst experiences of on-line shopping I ever experienced...they have lost one customer forever. It's all I can do to withhold the expletives I would like to use here.

    ibguitar 12/10/09 2:24PM
  • I ordered several DVDs weeks ago. They all qualified for free shipping because I joined their member benefit program. Most of these were Christmas presents and they all showed in stock and available in 24 hours. They are shipping bits and pieces of the order. This is especially weird because in many cases I ordered multiple copies of a single title. Now they can't even tell me which titles are delayed, why they are delayed, or how many of the gift titles I can expect to receive in time for Christmas. I will take my business to Amazon in the future. Their customer service is better.

    Anonymous 12/9/09 11:38AM
  • Although they were somewhat eager to help it seems like he didn't have the resources. When contacting about tax exempt status on an order the person wasn't sure about the difference between income tax and sales tax? then couldn't offer any documentation to say I would be credited. lame. I did try just pushing # and it seemed very effective at getting through in about 1 minute

    Anonymous 9/23/09 11:28AM
  • They have the worst customer service I have ever encountered. I was asked to call a number because the transaction did not go through. Everytime I called, I gets a voice recording asking me to wait because the custmer service was serving other people. Then after 3 repeat messages, I was hanged up leaving no choice to remain on the wait list? What kind of crappy service is this? I will avoid purchasing books from this store at all cost.

    Anonymous 7/24/09 10:39AM
  • My daughter ordered books online in response to their "Fast and Free Delivery of text books". The books came late, I could not get through to a live person for 4 days, only to be told by a supervisor that it isn't their fault if customer service representatives give the customers incorrect information! I am now waiting AGAIN for another supervisor to call me.
    I won't hold my breath, as it seems their big take on things are, we have your money, so what's the problem?!

    Deborah 1/7/09 5:00PM
  • active duty military in Iraq, spent $60.00 on books. i am a book club member as well. order was shipped on 31-july, and here we are 17-aug and no books. come to find out, lost in shipping. said a replacment will be resent!! we'll seeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. and the phone line is crazy, lots of wainting and being put on hold.

    Anonymous 8/17/08 7:09AM
  • The Customer service line, leaves alot to be desired. After being placed in the queue it eventually advises you that they can't process the call, and suggests calling later. I have called back 4 times with the same result. Poor service.... and I haven't spoken to a live person yet.

    StoryTeller101 7/24/08 11:02AM
  • Submit your comment >>
  • Very good tec support on my Nook Color #1 when we changed passwords and my #1 would not take our new password in spite of the fact that our #2Nook took it easily. Victor did a great job of understanding my problem in spite of the fact that I do not know all the technical terms to describe things. He was patient, encouraging and helpful. I was so impressed I talked with his supervisor "Danny" and told him what a good job Victor did.
    Thank you.

    Anonymous 2/21/12 6:55AM
  • I bought a small box of 25 Victorian cards labeled "Valentines Card. The sign was posted in back of and higher than the display saying Valentines cards. Well most of the cards were sweet and typical of Victorian cards BUT there was only one Valentine card in the lot. Travel, Missing You, Birthday cards but only one Valentine card. I feel disappointed. I bought the cards at Lloyd Center, in Portland, OR. I didn't pay much but that is not the point. I've been out of work for 22 months and can't afford replacement cards or more cards.

    Katherine Madrone 2/5/12 7:08PM
  • I can't complain about customer support because from calling for support to the support in the store, I feel like everyone has tried to give support...My problem is that there is not an app for weight watcher's so that I can get my program on the nook....some people I know have it but we can't figure it out...including the above mentioned support people...I've tried numberous times. please, please get an app for the nook....

    Robyn 1/29/12 3:44PM
  • I'm a new customer who had issues with applications not downloading on my nook color. The first time I contacted customer service, I got a young lady who provided a suggestion for the issue and sent me on my way,unfortunately what she suggested did not work. The second time I called I got the pleasure of speaking with ROLANDE! He was AWESOME!!! He was genuine, courteous, professional and PATIENT! At the end of the call my Nook was upgraded, my applications were downloading as they should and I was a Very Happy and now loyal customer. I work in the corporate world and undertsand the importance of great customer service. I have shared my experience with Family, Friends and Co-workers. In closing I'm grateful for the experience and I'm looking forward to my continued business with Barnes and Nobles.

    N'Gadie 1/17/12 4:49PM
  • im an international customer from taiwan, i dont know about this negative comments but my online purchase is a blast with barnes! very nice, very fast shipping process and very up to date! i got my book in no time and in a very cheaper price! so happy with Barnes!

    wushu chin 1/5/12 9:02PM
  • i had a very nice experience with BN, very fast response, very fast shipment and polite and courteous customer service!! 10/10 ++++ AAAA! will definitely buy again from BN!

    radiomax 1/5/12 8:57PM
  • I purchased a Nook Tablet two weeks ago and had some problems with my applications not downloading correctly. I called BN customer support and did not have a long wait on the phone. The Nook technician was able to courteously and professionally guide me through the steps to fix my problem successfully. Later on, I then called on Christmas day to get some answers about how to most effectively purchase and configure my Nook to accept different books and apps. The Nook tech also gave me very helpful information on how to proceed with purchasing multiple books and apps then transfer them when I purchase two more Nook devices. I’ve had a very positive experience with BN so far. I have also had very good experience while visiting and purchasing books at the BN store. Everyone has always been very helpful and courteous in the past when I’ve visited the several BN stores around my home and work at various locations in DC, MD, VA and PR. My online purchases have been seamless.

    HMonti 12/25/11 8:41PM
  • The female manager at the Barnes and Noble
    New Hope Commons in Durham NC has no customer
    service skills. After purchasing a book to be shipped to my son in LA we realized the person assisting me entered my address. This was on
    12/10/11. She made a copy of the receipt with
    the correct shipping address and assured me she would handled correcting the error. I received the book at my address today 12/14.
    I called the Manager tonight and she stated there was nothing she could do, and that Barnes and Noble would absolutely not take care of this issue.
    Looked store customer service up online they switched me to the folks in Jersey and this was taken care of in 15 minutes. Kudos to those guys.
    Sad about the night time New Hope Commons Store manager. I will take my business to another Barnes and Noble from now on.

    Thanks guys,
    Carla S. Cox

    Anonymous 12/14/11 5:50PM
  • I'm so sorry to hear all of the bad experiences everyone has had with Barnes & Noble. I own 2 nooks, a first edition and a color and my husband has the simple touch and we have had nothing but wonderful customer service from our local B&N. They have always been available and more than willing to help us with questions. We have been customers there for 15 years and have gone into the store, bought several items online and dealt with the .com customer service and it has always been great experience. I truly hope B&N is around for a long time to come, it would be so sad to not be able to go into a bookstore, grab a mocha and browse at books.

    Anonymous 9/27/11 2:13PM
  • I called and canceled my membership a few weeks ago before it could automatically renew, but two days ago while balancing my checkbook, I realized that I had been charged an annual membership fee. I called customer service and the woman I spoke with, Michelle, was incredible. She was very understanding and friendly. She apologized for the misunderstanding, canceled my membership, and refunded the 25 dollar fee to my card. I was upset that my membership wasn't canceled the first time I called, as I was told, and that I had to bother with this mess to begin with, but I am so glad that it was easily taken care of and in a professional and kind manner. Way to Barnes and Noble. I may not be a member anymore, but I definitely still respect you and will not hesitant to shop at your stores again. :)

    PleasedCustomer 9/6/11 6:20AM
  • Service was perfectly fine I don't know why there are so many negative comments. Yes, they do kind-of often try to advertise their "Nook" or whatever but I called 1-800-The-Book, and got quickly (about 1 min) sent to a man that answered all of my question. I have now ordered my book from online, took me about 15 mins, and I cant wait until the arrival.

    PolishManinNY 8/11/11 1:58PM
  • Marklinda at Customer Service was very helpful and patient with me. She didn't have all the answers at first but she always went back and got the right ones and never failed to be polite and professional. Thank you so much.

    teacherman 3/5/11 7:01PM
  • The customer support was EXTREMELY helpful. They talked me through identifying hidden files on my Nook to reinitalize for use with Adobe Digital Edition to be able to drag and drop library books from my Mac to my Nook.

    Voila!

    Anonymous 2/25/11 5:57PM
  • I suppose that I either I am one of a few with good Barnes and Noble experiences, or the only people bothering to write are angry!

    I bought a Nook Classic in the summer of 2010 and it was by far the best purchase I have ever made. The books are inexpensive, they download immediately, and the bonuses you get when you go into B&N are fabulous!

    I had one experience where I ordered a SparkNotes and the one I ordered was not the same as the one that showed up on my nook. I called Customer Service - was on hold less than 5 minutes. I explained the issues, they said they would fix it if possible, but if they weren't able to then they would refund my money. By that afternoon the incorrect copy was removed from my library and my account had been credited for the purchase price.

    I am a loyal B&N customer!

    sabender 2/7/11 12:46PM
  • I went to a BN store in Gaithersburg, MD to buy a Nook Color.

    The staff was friendly, very helpful and attentive.

    Needless to say, I enjoy going there, and reading experience on NC is great.

    Gaurev 2/7/11 12:38AM
  • There is no store close to me so I ordered online. I was told that the book was on back order so I was disappointed but then they shipped the book out the next day. I have been in their stores when I travel and I do prefer the customer contact experience.

    Bobby S. 1/14/11 3:58PM
  • I was just at the Bsrnes and Noble in Oceanside and a guy by the name of Brian who works in the DVD section, gave me execellent customer service. He needs a raise, if people were like Brian everywhere, customer service would be outstanding world wide!

    Anonymous 10/12/10 5:47PM
  • I have only received excellent customer service at my local Barnes & Noble. They have friendly, knowledgable staff who answer all my questions. They recommend books to me and have located a book when I only had a few words of the title that I heard when the author was on the radio.

    Bookworm 9/25/10 11:04PM
  • Dear Put-off,

    How arrogant of you to think the world should revolve around you. Had you ever considered not reading books and magazines without paying for them? A bookstore is a place to browse and buy books and magazines. You then take them home and read them. If you want to go somewhere and read in silence; that's called a library. Thank you for taking your 2 dollars for coffee somewhere else.
    I have shopped at Barnes & Noble in Saugus for 4 years or so. The employees are always pleasant and helpful. The store is neat and clean. The only thing I don't care for are people who think it is their personal library. When I buy a book, I'd appreciate it if it hadn't been touched with someone's greasy, crummy hands.
    So, again, thank you for leaving.

    know diff between library and st 9/2/10 8:43AM
  • All of these fools don't know how to READ the order process, if you actually READ the details then you would have a clue as to it is YOUR fault that the order did not process. All of my orders have been very successful, and I have ordered a lot from them. Ships with in 24 hours means that the order processes within 24 hours, try READING! We live in a time where everyone wants instant gratification and cannot handle it any other way. YOU ARE ALL F****** cry babies!

    peoplerstupid 7/31/10 9:44AM
  • I recently ordered a custom book from B and N's Tikatok service as a mother's day present. I waited until the last minute for this, and ordered several days to late for delivery on-time printing and delivery.
    What impressed me was that, even though I was oblivious to the problem and didn't say anywhere that it was a mother's day gift, I received a personal e-mail from the company letting me know that the delivery would not be ready for the holiday and offering a full refund. I wasn't entitled to one, and it was totally my fault, but they offered it anyway and sought ME out to do so.
    I declined, of course, and instead gave my wife a PDF of the book (BN provided me for free) on mother's day and the real thing several days later. She loved it, BTW.

    Peter 6/27/10 2:25PM
  • I have never had a problem with ordering books from Barnes and Noble, by complaint is about a change to their web site.

    You used to be able to click on the link for Books - Coming Soon and see about 20 books listed each week, for the next 5-6 weeks. Now, you see 3-6 books and to see more, have to click on "see more books for week of X" and when you do that, it lists over 7,000 items for the week. It was much better the old way, not sure why they changed.

    joeD 6/21/10 12:55PM
  • Submit your comment >>
  • As a former phone rep for B&N I will explain some things here... First of all most of the reps are not BN employees, but work for another company that services many companies. This company is Arise. They also service Sears, Carnival, AAA and more. We work from home (in my case, pj's even). We are told to say we work in a NY call center. All we can basically do is track your order or start the refund process. We have a generic calendar in front of us and we add up the shipping time (weekends are NOT included in the calculation). So when someone gives you this info, it's just to kind of estimate the delivery and shut you up, get you off the phone, so we can get to the next call so we don't get fired for taking too long with one customer. If you want ANY kind of resolution for a larger problem INSIST on talking to a supervisor. They will fight you b/c they don't want to transfer you, but just insist anyway. We have scripts to say and flowcharts to follow, but rarely care about anything other than getting you off the phone. It is the way the model is set up. The supervisors yell at the reps (us)in chat rooms set up for us to ask questions. We have to wait for a response from the supervisors before we can transfer your call so to pass the time we have to ask random questions (not allowed to have silence on the phone call or we get in trouble). We usually verify some dumb information to entertain you while we wait for a supervisor. At times the supervisors make us wait 15-30 minutes to even respond to us in the chat rooms. It's terrible.

    Anonymous 1/15/12 9:39AM

  • As a long time employee of B&N I can state without hesitation that working for the company has gone down in quality drastically in the last 10 years on all fronts. It used to be a great place to work...but no more.
    To add insult to injury we can now be renamed: "Barnes & Noble R Us". Becoming a toy store is a pathetic attempt to remain a viable bricks and mortar business.
    The claim is: " Educational" toys. What a laugh. For children all toys are educational!
    You can find the same product at any Toys R Us. And I might add that the pay is now equivalent to that of a Toys R Us employee.
    It's all ridiculous and pathetic. Oh...BTW...
    I am currently sending out out resumes daily to get away from the joke that has become
    B&N.

    Toy Store Employee 11/7/11 10:41AM

  • "After reading most of the negative comments here, I can blatantly say that 9 times out of 10, you just are working with our policies."

    I meant to say "aren't working with our policies." Sorry.

    Steve 11/5/11 8:16AM

  • I am a B&N employee. After reading most of the negative comments here, I can blatantly say that 9 times out of 10, you just are working with our policies.

    Our refund policy states: 14 days with receipt. After 14 days, under 60 days, we can only give store credit for equal or greater value.

    Without a receipt, we can look it up via credit/debit card, or membership card. We will give cash back for debit transactions, and credit the money back to your credit card if that was used. Keep in mind, this is only done if you return it within 14 days.

    CDs cannot be opened. This is because of keys that might be required, etc.

    Customer service was made the #1 priority at B&N. We have hundreds and hundreds of people in store daily, and due to some cutbacks we don't have as many employees on the floor as needed.

    Since our employee policy states that we must put the book in the customers hand, or order it for them if possible, that creates a line of people waiting for our assistance.

    If you want customer service, you need patience. Other people were there before you and we pay individual attention to each. Just wait and you'll receive yours too.

    Customer holds are held for up to 3 days, orders are held up to 2 weeks. Pre-pay orders are held for a very long time, and if not picked up, they go to the MOD who holds on to it and tries to contact you.

    For online, if it hasn't came to you yet then you need to take it up with the online support. Don't come into the store complaining because all it does it ruin every ones day around you. We have nothing to do with the online purchasing in store.

    To re-cap, return your books within 14 days and be patient.

    Steve 11/5/11 8:15AM

  • Barnes & NOble is the worst employer that I have ever had the misfortune to work for. Corporate policy dictates that employees harass customers into purchasing additional items, memberships, nooks... or lose hours and/or the opportunity for a raise (which is only available annually.) When the economy began to decline, Barnes & NOble responded by capping management salaries, and deciding that no hourly employee would receive the 50 cent raise which accompanies an outstanding review, rather choosing to cap all hourly employees with a 25 cent raise which accompanies an acceptable review. Also included were a reduction from 35 to 30 hours per week for all full-time employees, as well as reducing all part-time employees to less than 20 hours per week, thereby eliminating benefit elegibility. There was also an intentional effort to remove employees who have been with the company for any amount of time that has increased their wage, so that Barnes & NOble could replace these folks with new employess hired at minimum wage. All this, with reduced staff and increased workload, has led to some mightily discontented working environments. And don't even get me started on the nook...

    malcontent 11/6/10 11:17AM



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