A Small Personal Favor:

[Cain]

I bought books at Waterstones because I knew someone working there who would let me use their staff discount, and because I like just browsing bookstores sometimes, a feat which is much harder on the web (or much harder to do aimlessly, while getting a feel for what is currently out there).

[Suu]

If I need a book really fast, my ass is going to Borders or B&N. I love our local mom and pop places, but they aren't guaranteed to have what I need in a hurry.

[Mangrove]

I bought books at Waterstones because I knew someone working there who would let me use their staff discount, and because I like just browsing bookstores sometimes, a feat which is much harder on the web (or much harder to do aimlessly, while getting a feel for what is currently out there).

Browsing! That's the key.

I love browsing books and being able to pick up/put down & generally examine the merchandise in a way you can't online. I like the fact that in a bookstore you can be confronted with things that you might not have ordinarily looked at online.

I love books and I love reading. For me, there's a time and a place for the big stores, for the independents, for the real books and the e-books. Depends on my mood, circumstance, cost etc.

I've heard people say stuff like: "Why don't you just get everything online?"

Well, if you're just going to read airport novels, then fine. But if you're looking at antique books, rare, odd or interesting - Amazon doesn't cut it. Besides, because of post e-bay culture, every schmuck and their dog thinks they're a 'book dealer'. They're not. I know people who run an antique, specialist store and that's a very long way from most of the people dealing online.

I've had people accuse me of being some kind of book traitor for having an e-reader. Uhh...yeah, I'm sure that when Guttenburg showed up, people were like "Fuck that! I'm only reading illuminated manuscripts!". It's ridiculous. Sometimes the e-book suits me better, sometimes it doesn't.

I've heard the reverse argument too. "Apart from my Harry Potter books, I'm getting rid of my library and just read on my Kindle." Ok fine. But I have signed first editions of real books that I happen to like.

Bottom line - I do whatever I can to get the book I want in the most appropriate fashion. I don't buy into the 'hipper than thou - I only do digital' attitude any more than the biblio-fascists.

And there's nothing really that 21st century about ordering from Amazon. It's fucking mail order and that's been around for a long time. All that's different from Amazon and a Sears Roebuck catalog is the interface. At the end of the day, your items are stored in a brick & mortar warehouse, packed by people and placed on trucks that burn fossil fuels. Whoo....cutting edge! 

[Cuddlefish]

Sorry to take so long, as I was saying in another topic, my computer is busted, so I'm getting on here when I can, which apparently isn't that often. Let's see if I can tell this story properly, it's a little long-ish.

I made an order at Barnes &Noble.com. It took them a few days to confirm the order via e-mail (within my experience, confirmation e-mails are usually sent within minutes, not days), and when they did, I noticed that, for some reason, they were telling me my order would not even ship for almost a month (again, in my experience dealing with just about ANYONE else, orders are generally received in less time than that).

Okay, so I was getting a little aggravated, and I happened to know both the manufacturers website and the warehouses website for the items I had ordered (the items B&N had already sold me) just to find that the items were OUT OF PRINT.

I wanted to give B&N the benefit of the doubt, but the fact that they claimed it would take almost a month just to ship these items (that were unavailable from the manufacturer) lead me to believe that they could not get these items, and they had charged me for something they did not have and could not get.

So, I decided to give them a call to see if, maybe, they were actually going to send me these things (even though I knew the items were unavailable). And here started the ass-pains. First off, the first time I called I didn't even talk to someone; I was on hold for too long and had to, y'know, go do more important stuff. The second time wasn't any better. I waited on hold for about an hour (I don't wait on hold that long for anything else, why is this such a difficult thing for B&N?). Finally, I got someone. I told them that I had checked the warehouse that my items were no-doubt coming from, and told them that the items I ordered were not in stock over there. I then expressed that I would rather cancel the order if these items aren't available, instead of letting my money sit in a B&N bank account for a month. The associate ASSURED me these items would be shipped on the date they said. Sure enough, a month later, I get an e-mail saying that the items I ordered were not available.

Maybe it's all my fault for believing them.

Anyhow, at this point, I'm a little pissed. I mean, I KNEW these items weren't available, but these fuckers just HAD to talk me into letting them hold my money. Well, I had to get back on the phone, and here we go again. An hour or so to talk to a rep.

Now, one thing that bears mentioning is that these customer service reps are more like the police. I was required to verify an outrageous amount of information before they would even address my issue, and when I gave them all the info they asked, they refused to address the issue, and instead asked me to verify even more information, as if I was lying about who I was. I feel these people purposely implement long waits on the phone, as a deterrent to potential complaints, which they follow up with an argumentative and accusatory "help" staff to get people riled up and avoid having to actually take responsibility for their shitty service. Anyhow...

After an hour of waiting, I got a police officer service rep on the line, and immediately asked for a supervisor (the last time I talked to a rep they "assured" me that they were shipping me something that they didn't have).

I waited ANOTHER hour or so.

The supervisor was every bit as insulting and rude as the other reps. No one EVER made any attempts to compensate me for all the aggravation in dealing with their terrible customer service. No one made any attempts to apologize for TAKING MY MONEY FOR SOMETHING THEY DIDN'T HAVE, AND NEVER INTENDED ON SENDING. Nothing. Apparently, it was all my fault for thinking I could order merchandise from B&N like a normal retailer.

Anyhow, my goal during this call was to try and get the refund placed onto the credit card that the balance was paid with, as opposed to the gift card that I payed with, as I no longer had it (because, y'know, when I buy anything anywhere else, they take the money, and send me my shit, and I toss the card). Plus, I told her that, in addition to no longer having the card, I didn't want a card anyway, because I had no intention of ever shopping there ever again (The actual store near my house had incredibly deceptive signage, among other customer service issues).

I had been really patient and moderately nice during the HOURS I spent on the phone (like I was trying to reach the DMV or something), but these people pretty much gave me the Corporate-ese version of "go fuck yourself." I asked to speak to the supervisors supervisor, and she informed me that the corporate office doesn't take calls, and my e-mail will be most likely ignored, if I cared to send one.

At this point, I had stopped being so nice. I put the supervisor on hold for a ridiculous period of time while I googled "Barnes & Noble Complaints." I was looking for a good place to post my story, and found that B&N already has a bit of a reputation for taking money for things they don't have, and holding peoples money for way longer than is reasonable.

Anyhow, still on the phone with these assholes, I asked the supervisor if she was near a computer. She said no. I told her: "The next time you're near a computer, google Barnes & Noble Complaints. You will see pages and PAGES of people talking shit. And they are talking about YOU and your co-workings in specific. You may want to see what these people are saying about you."

And, really, there's so much more, but I don't feel like typing about it any longer, so...

Anyway, long story short, I'm not ordinarily a vindictive person, but when it comes to a corporation, who should be kissing the customers ass after pulling such a boner, but instead, decides to bully, not just me, but anyone else that's unfortunate enough to have an issue, well, that shit don't fly well with me. And I WILL be a vindictive little cunt. I will continue to tell everyone I know to not shop there. Some people won't regard my request, but the point is that some will, and I will take the time get to every one of those people. I'm so sick of businesses bullying customers. They feel they can get away with it because most people feel that there's nothing that can be done. Fuck that, I will spread SO MUCH SHIT about these people. It aint right, it aint fair, and these assholes need to pay somehow. If the Gov't won't regulate these people, and they won't regulate themselves, I FUCKING WILL (do my best, anyhow.)

If you don't like my story, fuck you. And anyone who honestly attempts to defend this company is automatically on my shit-list (except the people that will defend them just to try and piss me off. I'm alright with that.)

[Slyph]

That's bad service, alright, I'm with ya. If only because I don't want that to happen to me :-/