You can say many cranky things about Amazon, but when it comes to Kindle, I have never had a problem with customer service. I have a problem with a book or the device itself and I can reach a person and get a solution within a few minutes most of the time. I’ve purchased children’s books and realized they were formatted horribly – full refund and the book was removed from my account within an hour. I purchase a book accidentally – same thing. My Kindle II: Matzoh edition, which I purchased refurbished, developed a problem with repeated crashes and they sent a new one with next-day shipping. The Kindle customer service is freaking amazing considering how dominant the device has become.
Outstanding customer service online, particularly with digital books, is almost immeasurably valuable. Digital book adoption is one hurdle after another, and having a more experienced person help you, one who has the power to refund and sell you a different copy of a book or replace your malfunctioning device, can make the transition much easier.
So imagine my dismay at this email in my inbox from Melinda:
I’m writing to let you guys know about a problem with the e-version of Anne Stuart’s new book “Ruthless” at Barnes and Noble.com. Though they have the correct cover photo, title, and book info listed (and apparently even the free sample is correct)—if you download the book, what you actually get isn’t Anne Stuart’s”Ruthless” but instead a book called “Rich, Rugged. . .Ruthless” by Jennifer Mikels.
I received the wrong book on Aug 1 (pub date of Stuart’s “Ruthless”) via my Nook, and dutifully wrote to Customer Service, and of course haven’t heard anything back from them yet. Certainly the problem hasn’t been fixed yet for me, and it looks to me like the problem is still afflicting new buyers at the B&N page as of today Aug 3. Perhaps a “public service announcement” to the Romance Reading Public ought to go out about this? Maybe Stuart’s publisher MIRA would like to know about B&N’s ham-handedness?
Thanks for letting me blow off a little steam!
Wow. Four days and still no response? That’s Not Good when you compare the alternatives.
What the heck is going on? Amazon has the correct book file, but All Romance has the wrong cover and I *believe* the correct book file (I couldn’t read the .pdb on my Mac).
But you know what? It’s Barnes & Noble’s problem to deal with, because they sold the file and are the customer’s point of access. Several days of silence isn’t dealing with it. Silence is NOT customer service. Even if the problem is with the distributor or the digital file manager or with one letter wrong in the code that arranges the purchase and download, whatever.
So while I was typing this up today, 4 August, Barnes and Noble’s response came through to Melinda:
> Dear Customer,
>
> Thank you for your email regarding ” I ordered “Ruthless” by Anne Stuart
> that was just released (author and title are correct on the BN.com
> site), and instead I received a completely different book entitled
> “Rich, Rugged, Ruthless” by Jennifer Mikels.”
>
> If you would like a refund:
>
> We ask that you call us at 1-800-THE-BOOK (1-800-843-2665) and request
> Digital Support. We are available Monday through Friday from 8AM to
> 11PM EST, Saturdays and Sundays 9AM to 11PM EST.
>
> We are aware of this problem and are working diligently to resolve it.
> Please check back often as we hope to correct this situation shortly.
>
> Please accept our sincere apologies for any inconvenience this may have
> caused.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Jim
> Customer Service Representative – Digital Support
> Barnes and Noble
You want to bring it and be a presence in the digital market? Bring the customer service with your noise and funk. Sending a response three days later and then asking the customer to call you back to fix a mistake you are aware of is NOT going to get it done. Please check back? Please call us?
And you are STILL SELLING THE WRONG FILE?! How do I know? I downloaded Nook software for my Mac, and bought the book. Is it Anne Stuart? Nope, sure isn’t. I got me a copy of “Rich, Rugged, and Ruthless” by Jennifer Mikels.
So despite being aware of the mismatched file, you’re still selling it. So I now have to go call you get a refund on a problem you’re aware of? Oh, no, Barnes & Noble. No, you didn’t.
If Amazon can get it done in moments, and, as a few readers have stated here in the comments this summer, a small independent digital store like All Romance can get a reader problem resolved personally, seeing Barnes & Noble’s making the customer work harder four days after they contact them about a problem is just ridiculous. That’s not going to endear them to readers. Neither is selling the incorrect book despite being aware of the problem.
So if you’re thinking of buying Ruthless for your Nook, you might want to try another option.
@ Gemma, you can buy ebooks from Amazon if you are in the UK, but you need to buy them from the .com website (it uses the same account details as the .co.uk site) and they are priced in $ but i’ve bought loads for my iphone.
The only thing that is a problem is that they only have the licence to sell some books in the US, and since for DTB the place of sale is considered the place the company you are buying them from resides for ebook the place of sale is considered to be the place the book is ultimately downloaded. So if you buy a paperback from amazon they can treat the place of sale as the US even though its being shipped to the UK but if you are downloading an ebook the place of sale is the UK since thats where the computer / reader is.
Not sure i’ve explained it very well but when it helped me stop getting so annoyed when the books i wanted were available on kindle but only the US buyers.
I’ve been using my iphone to read books for the last few months and am definitly thinking about getting an ereader, been trying to decide between Sony & Kindle and now i’m leaning more and more towards kindle.
I pre-orderd the new Kindle – it’s black! it’s smaller! it’s lighter! – even though my Kindle 3 is working properly. Some day it might die. I’m glad I did because it sold out immediately. I lurve my Kindle. It goes everywhere with me, even into the bath (with a ziplock baggie to protect it). I have 600+ books on and love walking around with a library in my hand.
Does anyone know what to do with an old, still functioning even though slightly battered, Kindle?
Aaargh! My darling editor Adam says the problem is fixed now. Fingers crossed.
Amazon is the bomb. A month ago, during my vacation, my kindle started to freak the fuck out. None of the buttons worked, so I rebooted it. Still nothing. I call up their support line and after a minimal wait, I nice Irish lad answers my call. He was helpful as well as having the most dreamy accent. I literally kept saying ‘excuse me?’ just so he could repeat himself. *sigh*
He walked me through a number of fixes, then when that didn’t work, went into my kindle remotely, through the wireless connection. Unfortunately the kindle was toast. Since it was still under warranty, he sent me a new kindle, next day, to my vacation spot. Loaded with all my books, ready to go, giving me 30 days to send the old kindle back at my leisure. That is customer service!
The only bad part of my experience, was when I had to admit to him that one of my folders was labeled, “sweet baby jesus, fucking awesome books”. There was an awkward silence after that.
I concur that Amazon’s customer service is great. The gals at All Romance were very kind when I downloaded the wrong format. Love them too.
But I really want to know why people keep saying you can only buy books for the Kindle from Amazon. That’s silly. I get books from All Romance, Smashwords, Fictionwise, Baen, Suvudu, A Cheeky Changeling, Free e-books.net and FanFict to name a few. I may not be able to download books from my library, but I have more books than they do anyway. Plus at last count, Amazon gave me 11 free books so far this month. Rah! Amazon and their Kindle. When my well used Kindle 1 finally wears out, I will give it a well deserved Jazz funeral and get Amazon’s newest and best.
It’s not a localised problem at B& N. Unless they did something the last week or so, half the EC listings there are borked, one of mine included. My title, someone elses cover and blurb. I have no idea about the actual file itself. I let EC know but no change as of yet.
It’s not a localised problem at B& N. Unless they did something the last week or so, half the EC listings there are borked, one of mine included. My title, someone elses cover and blurb. I have no idea about the actual file itself. I let EC know but no change as of yet.
All this talk of excellent CS at Amazon is making me feel even better about preordering the new Kindle. The low price and new color (I hate white personal tech gadgets) made up for not actually owning the books.
planning54: I’m not planning on buying 54 books the first week I have my Kindke, but it will probably happen anyway. *sigh*
I love my nook, I’ve never had any problems or issues…and I’ve never used B&N’s customer service via email or the phone.
BUT I do know that their in store nook center is AWESOME. Or at least my local B&N. They helped my techincally challanged husband with the suprise purchase of my nook, and even impressed him with their service, and he’s the most cynical person I know.
I can go up to them and ask them anything and they’ve always been able to help me out, and show me a few new things about my nook.
I have to say that I’ve had completely wonderful customer service from Fictionwise. I’ve bought more books that I care to admit from them over the last few years, and when I’ve had the occasional problem, they’ve always responded very quickly and made it right, whether it was my fault or not. It’s something that kept me as a loyal buyer…that and the great discounts and sales. Back when they actually had books I wanted to buy, that is. (I still buy Random House and Harlequin titles from them, though.)
Now I’m sad, thinking about the good ‘ol days pre-Agency-pricing model…
I have to chime in with my own deep and very personal feelings for Amazon. I’ve been a customer for 12 years and order something at least once a month. In all that time, I’ve never had one problem at all. None. And I love my amazon prime membership. Am I weird for wanting to marry an online retailer?
Ugh! B&N online makes me crazy. I love, love, love my nook, but I hardly ever buy ebooks from them. I do agree with what everyone’s been saying about the brick and mortar stores though. Everyone I’ve ever spoken to in person about my nook has been friendly and knowledgeable.
You’re cracking me up, GirlyNerd. I would love to know what those books are.
It’s too bad there was awkward silence because that would have sounded hot as hell repeated back in a dreamy Irish accent.
I used to like Barnes and Nobles, then they brought in their “discount card” and made you pay for discounts that they used to give for free and not only that but made you pay for the priviledge of letting them track your purchases. Barnes and Nobles isn’t a bookstore. Its a business first and foremost, the fact that they happen to sell books is an after thought.
I hope B&N fix it soon (if it’s not fixed already) Ruthless is an EXCELLENT book and Rohan is totally swoonworthy.
I had trouble downloading a book from Liquid Silver Press a while back and I emailed their customer service. I was most pleasantly surprised when I got an email back same day from an actual person who say – sorry you had trouble. Here is the book – if you like it come back and pay next time you order. I did and I did. That’s customer service for you!
Shoot. I just keep hoping they fix it. Downloaded this to my Nook late last night right after I poured a glass of wine and then…it was the wrong book. I emailed their CS but haven’t heard back yet. I don’t want to wait on hold for CS but I suppose I’ll have to. Not fair for the author either…people are giving bad ratings for the book on the BN site because of the BN mixup and poor response time. Do have to say this is the first prob I’ve had w/ the Nook/BN and I have really enjoyed using it so far.
Hi Anne Stuart! And no, the problem at B&N isn’t fixed yet. They’ve pulled the e-book from the web site and aren’t selling the wrong thing any more, however. That’s not good news for you (author) or me (reader) but perhaps it does signal some (slow) progress—at least in the realm of integrity.
(I’m going to buy Ruthless tonight from Another Online Retailer. . .got to read that book, and soon.)
Thank you SB Sarah, and all of you wonderful bitchy folk out there who cared enough about this today to post my email and write a comment. Y’all bitches truly rock and rule.
Melinda
I’ve owned my Nook for two weeks and have loved it. This post is very timely. On 8/2, I downloaded a free eBook and was immediately given a message that the book was ready for download and $2.99 would be charged to my account . I started to get all crazed, but then I got a screen shot of that confirmation page and opened the free eBook page in another browser, found the book to confirm I was right, and got a screen shot of that as well. Rather than emailing anyone, I called the CS #, got a live person in under a minute and a half, told him what was going on. He went to the page right then, saw that I was correct and apologized like crazy. He assured me my refund would be credit to my card in the next few days and apologized again.
Sure enough, the refund was made to my account on 8/3. That’s pretty good customer service if you ask me. I get that email is easier in many respects, but talking with someone has always worked for me.
I know I am new to the nook, but I have to say that I love it. I love that I can read my favorite blogs on it and view web pages as well. So far, I haven’t had any problems that haven’t been fixed immediately.
Arg. I never mentioned that the whole transaction was through Barnes and Noble. Sorry about that.
I got the dreamy Irish guy too! When my first Kindle 2 cacked itself after one month and flatly refused to recharge. He talked me through half an hour of troubleshooting (and swooning, on my part) before finally saying something like “Waal, BeJaysus, Ah think it’s Fooked” and sending me not only a brand new Kindle 2 but ALSO crediting me back $120 (Aussie dollars, that is) for TNT charging me a damn fortune to send it back when stupid Australia Post refused to handle it for a quarter of that cost just because it has a lithium battery in it. Yes, I know I should have just lied to them but hey! Lovely Irishman was paying!
Spamword: car23 – yes, if Amazon sold cars I’d want to buy cars from them too. But they don’t. At least not in this country. Yet.
Interesting the Bufo Calvin would have a blog today titled “The version you received contained an error and has been corrected…” regarding an ebook he purchased for his Kindle. I have also rec’d notices from Amazon telling me there was a problem with an ebook (that I had not even opened yet). Gotta love Amazon’s CS.
“Amazon Customer Service. My name is Linda. How may I help you?”
“Ummm … hi.”
“Hello. How can I help you?”
“You’re a woman.”
“Yes. What is the nature of your problem?”
“Is there an Irish guy there?”
“What?”
“The, uh, Irish guy. I read about him on the website. Maybe Sean? Seamus? Something … Irish?”
“Ma’am, what is the problem with your account?”
“I don’t have an account. Yet. But I was thinking the Irish fellow—”
“No.”
“He could call me back. I’ll open up two accounts! Just have him leave a message on voicemail.”
“No. You people have to stop.”
“Tell him, tell him my name is ‘Sweetbabyjesus Fuckingawesomebooks,’ and my number is—”
Okay, y’all are seriously making me want to call Amazon CS just to hear this guy talk. I am such a sucker for a man with an accent, says the gal who married a damn yankee.
try35: I probably tried 35 times or more to download that book, but it never worked. Oh well.
You girls are hilarious.
The Irish guy’s name was Thomas C., and he can be directly reached at the Amazon Tech Lab. I have a sneaking suspicion that they all might be Irish. If anyone is wondering, the phone number for KINDLE support (not amazon) is 1-877-453-4512.
Also, get him to say wireless if you can. You won’t be disappointed.
I don’t have a Kindle – do you think he’d notice that if I called?
@ Sarah – do you think you could call Kindle support and speak to Thomas C and post the call here so we can all swoon? Pretty please? Oh, and get him to say wireless cause GirlyNerd says its worth it. C’mon Sarah! Do it for the Bitchery!!
(I had a thought – Amazon could market the Kindle using Thomas C like Old Spice utilised Isaiah Mustafa – imagine the opportunity!!)
B&N has had some serious e-book customer service problems for a while now.
For instance, a while back they went from selling eReader to EPUB format e-books—without ever telling anyone. A lot of people who bought e-books to read on their old Palm Pilots that they still use with Fictionwise’s eReader were unpleasantly surprised.
http://www.teleread.com/2009/12/13/barnes-noble-quietly-changes-e-book-format-neglects-to-tell-consumers/
I’m thinking this Irish fellow could be the next Old Spice guy…
XD
Quick, someone get him on video!
*snigger* It always helps to have an orderly system when you are looking for that book you read a few months ago and are desperate to reread NOW
Hi,
On behalf of Harlequin (Anne Stuart’s publisher), we have been made aware of a problem with the file. We are working with all vendors to get an updated copy of the file available and ready for download. We apologize for the error but hope it will be fixed shortly.
Thanks for your patience,
Emma Cunningham
Production Coordinator, Digital & Internet
Harlequin Enterprises
Hey Emma:
Is anyone at Harlequin Irish? Can you call me and have them read me the statement above? I haven’t been able to satisfy my readers and get Thomas C. from Amazon on the phone. Not that Canadian accents aren’t sexy.
In the meantime, thank you for the update!
I love this blog. The bitchery just made me want my not-yet-delivered Kindle crap out so I can call and ask for Thomas C, both the author and publisher of the problematic book have posted saying they are trying hard to address the issue thereby proving that the for all it’s faults, the industry has very good people, Larissa Ione just scored a new reader (I put a bunch of her books on my wishlist for when I get my Kindle) with her author-behaving-awesomely moment, and I may have to steal NerdyGirl’s folder title of “sweet baby jesus, fucking awesome books.”
Sweet. 😀
Actually my darling editor Adam isn’t Irish but American but he’s damned cute. Maybe we could get him to call in. Or Lani Diane Rich has a Scottish boyfriend…
Morning93 At least it isn’t 93 degrees in the morning the way it was at Disney World (still wish I was there)
As a big fan of the Canadian band Great Big Sea, I can attest that Newfoundland accents are a close cousin of Irish and Scottish, and sound awfully damned good too. So if there are any Newfoundlanders at the Harlequin offices… ;>
Anna the Piper, devoted to the Bitchery Cause
@glitrbug
I didn’t see anyone answer so I thought I’d chime in. The books you’re getting for your Kindle from other places are those from small pubs/independent pubs/self-pub authors that don’t have DRM on them (and are in either pdf or prc format, compatible w/Kindle). All of the large publishers use DRM so Kindle users can’t buy a DRM-pdf or DRM-prc and put it on their Kindle, because the only DRM format that’s Kindle compatible is AZW aka the format Amazon sells direct (and doesn’t allow anyone else to sell). So when you see people say they can only get books for the Kindle from Amazon, they’re referencing the trad pub’d books from large publishers such as Harlequin, Penguin, MacMillan, etc.
My mistake. My copy of “Ruthless” wasn’t the right one from B&N. I called them and they said an email would be sent to notify me when it gets corrected. I told them to cancel the order and give me a refund. No problem. I’ll get it from BoB, which is where I buy most of my books. I was going to start it today.
I agree about ARE customer service. They and BoB are the only ones that reply promptly by email. Amazon and BN do reply by email, but it takes a few days.
I also was irritated with BN when they switched from the pdb (Palm) format to the epub without notification. Luckily I had backup copies for my Palm.
Someone mentioned BoB selling “Saving Grace” by Julie Garwood in ebook and getting the wrong book. I’m not surprised there. Garwood hasn’t released any of her historicals in ebook yet. BoB does has a nice selection of them in audio. If someone knows when Ms. Garwood is releasing historicals in ebook, let me know please.
I really want to get the Kindle3, but can’t justify maintaining a 2 ereader book habit right now. I’m pretty invested in the nook and don’t want to give up my epub’s. that would mean a bigger purse and dragging around 2 ereaders. How about an ereader that will read all popular formats??
Barnes and Noble is great on a face to face situation and that’s probably because they are a “brick and mortar” store.
I think that since they entered the “digital” market that they have been scrambling to keep up and failing. Yes their customer service sucks online and I know this first hand because I have had issues with digital books that I’ve purchased. I blame the entire thing on their corporate office and on their board- if you want to get into the digital business you need to treat the business with respect and be willing to spend the amount of money that will be required.
Clearly they need to hire more customer service representatives and have them properly trained. By the way, I don’t know if you know this or not but Barnes and Noble is now for sale and the two most interested parties appear to be Amazon and Microsoft 🙂
Haha, not that I know of…maybe at the UK offices!
I had this issue with Kobo not long ago. I bought Shiloh Walker’s Broken, but received another book entirely.
It took a few days for Kobo’s CS to get back to me, too. But once they did, they offered a no-hassle refund right away. Apparently they’d been having this problem for that particular book for a while, and it wasn’t fixed (not sure if it is at this point or not!). I ended up buying a paper copy of Broken so that I’d know I was getting the right book, finally.
I have to say, it was really jarring to open up what I thought was one book and see another. At first I thought I must have done something wrong… so I went through the whole downloading/transferring process a second time. But, no, still the wrong book.
Did I really just read 78 responses on B&N/Kindle customer support? Wow.
Amazon has my tech support vote because …
1) My Kindle screen faded to gray lines. I called and, no questions asked, I got a replacement Kindle two days later.
2) I was looking at the B&N display and two people came over to me to tell me that buying a Nook was a mistake I should not make. Yeah, I am curious so I asked the salesperson what I could expect compared to the Kindle. He politely said nothing positive. Three other eavesdropping helpful people said “don’t buy it.”
Well now.