about my order without getting an automated response or a computerized answer?
I’ve sent emails and called Customer Service but I either get a message saying "We’re sorry but your product is not available at this time. We will alert you when it becomes available." or "Your order has been pushed back, we apologize for this inconvenience."
Some information on the problem I have:
For my 16th birthday, I pre-ordered the Collectors Edition strategy guide for FFXIII six days before it’s release date, (and 7 other books that I’ve already received). My order was confirmed, and the page for the guide stated that it was in stock at the time. The next day my expected ship date was confirmed for March 9. March 9 rolls around and I get an email stating that my 7 books had been shipped but the release date for FFXIII’s guide had been pushed back by it’s publishing company, when in fact it was already being sold in other places.
I’ve tried sending emails, but like I said, I get a computer generated response saying that they can’t ship it because they’re out of stock, etc, etc. I’ve called the phone number for Customer Service and all that computer tells me is that my 7 books have been shipped and my guide has been delayed.
So how on Earth can I talk to a real person to find out why I haven’t gotten a book that should have been reserved for me, or at least why they kept taking orders for a book that they were already sold out of?
I forgot to add that the guide is a one print run, meaning that after a certain amount no more copies will be made.
Call your local Barnes & Noble store. This has happened before, and I’m sure there’s at least a manager who’s been there long enough to be able to explain to you what’s going on. I’m sorry to say, but the corporate side of any huge company is going to be quite impersonal when it comes to customer service. Local employees might be more helpful.
Well, maybe I can save you the trouble of calling. I work at a Barnes & Noble. A similar situation happened when the boxed set of Twilight (ugh) hardcover books came out last Christmas. Several customers kept coming in to ask why their pre-ordered boxed sets were pushed back (also in hopes that they’d be able to find one in our store).
Turns out the publishing company allotted B&N a certain amount, & B&N corporate divided that amount between the retail stores & the online store. When it came time to publish the sets, the publishing company realized they couldn’t keep up with the demand. In other words, they couldn’t keep their "promises" to the various merchandisers. Some book selling companies got more sets than others did, but I have no idea who decided how that worked out. Meanwhile, B&N kept taking orders for the boxed sets, as long as they didn’t surpass the predetermined allotted amount. So…the publishing companies sent B&N a fraction of what they were supposed to get. This small amount was further divided between the earliest online & in-store pre-orders, & the retail stores didn’t get any at all.
I’m afraid we just had to wait until the publishing company was able to send us enough boxed sets to fulfill the rest of our orders & stock our shelves. I would be upset too, if I were in your shoes. It’s not nice to deal with automated customer service recordings! Please do call your local B&N if you need more info. The managers have phone numbers of the actual warehouses where orders are shipped from. If anything, they can call to ask if the warehouse nearest you knows when they’re getting shipments of your book.
Hope this helps! Good luck.
