Furious with Barnes and Noble Shipping

[ColoradoMom!!]

I usually don't write posts like this, but hope to save anyone trouble if you are considering expedited shipping from Barnes and Noble.

I ordered a textbook rental on Thursday Jan.15th. In the order process, it says it usually ships within 24 hours. I paid extra for expedited shipping which is quoted at 1 - 3 business days.

I finally get tracking info from them that it is arriving UPS scheduled for Friday Jan. 23rd. That is a week and a day. No matter how you slice it, even with the holiday, it is not 1-3 business days.

Thus began my many converstations with their service reps from the Philippines. (I googled and tried to find a better "live" person option to no avail). The first person I spoke with kept telling me that I didn't understand what business days meant. Strangest thing, they kept interrupting me too. I have never had such a rude experience. When I asked to speak to someone else, they hung up on me.

Second gal, nicer, but of no help.

Today I get on the site to see that the box has arrived in my son's (college) town, but that the package is being transferred to the Post Office. USPS

This is Boulder Colorado, not a small off the map place.

I look up the shipping method used by Barnes and Noble for UPS, and it is UPS smart post. Basically it is a step DOWN from ground. And I paid extra for this? Here's the kicker - they moved the box from Boulder to the USPS processing center in Commerce City (near Denver). He has an apt address, not on campus, not a problem delivery at all.

OH MY GGGGGGG. I tried the on line chat to ask why I paid for exp. shipping and got UPS smart post, They kept quoting a delivery date, and ignored my question about the method, and that it was not 1-3 days. When she said it will be there by Thursday (today) and I said , no UPS tracking says Friday, the next message I got was "Chat session has ended". Hung up on again.

Sorry for the long rant, but it has been helpful to me. I feel much better now.

I have no idea when he will get the book, but don't pay for expedited shipping from Barnes & Noble!

 

[Colleen27]

I'm a B&N member so I get free 1-3 day shipping on everything. It is only very rarely 1-3 days in practice; generally it takes 5-6 business days to get to me. I'm used to that (I've been a member for many years) so I don't count on the shipping time being what is quoted, but I've often thought it must be a major headache for people who are counting on the posted shipping times being accurate.

 

[DizMe]

My suggestion to you is to go to their Facebook page and describe just what you told us here.

I have gone around and around with CS people on the phone, then tried FB and got an immediate response and resolution.

Good luck! I would be mad, too!

 

[DianeV]

I agree. Posting on a companies FB page usually gets a response

 

[tina.tina]

I had an issue with B & N shipping in September but it was just a couple of days late and it was a fiction book for DD. I only ordered from them to help spend my ebook settlement credit. I will probably stick with Amazon now.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Ultimately, it's getting there one day beyond the delivery range.
Expected shipping: within 24 hours
Delivery: 1-3 business days
Total delivery time: 2-4 days
Non-business days between 1/15 and 1/22: three
So today is that potential seven days -and that's assuming the book actually did ship within the 24 hours.
If the tracking number starts with a number and letter, such as 1Z, the package should have been handled solely by UPS. If it's a long all-digit number, maybe starting with a 9, it was shipped as UPS SmartPost, with final delivery always intended to be handled by the USPS.

 

[ColoradoMom!!]

Thank you all for your responses! Great idea to post experience on Facebook!

I will post when it arrives. Thanks for letting me sound off. I just wonder what method of shipping would have been used if i didn't "upgrade" !

If the tracking number starts with a number and letter, such as 1Z, the package should have been handled solely by UPS. If it's a long all-digit number, maybe starting with a 9, it was shipped as UPS SmartPost, with final delivery always intended to be handled by the USPS.

It starts with 1Z , and i pm'd you the number where you can see it was handed off to the USPS.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Yes, and there's no reason it should have been handed off. That's not SurePost, it's all UPS, from shipping to - theoretically - delivery.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Yes, and there's no reason it should have been handed off. That's not SurePost, it's all UPS, from shipping to - theoretically - delivery.

UPS SurePost (not SmartPost) is what the OP is getting, and it is where UPS hands off to USPS for final delivery. Amazon does this too, and it's very annoying.

http://www.ups.com/content/us/en/resources/track/sp_definition.html

OP, if you were given a guaranteed delivery date and it is not met, you can ask for a refund of the expedited shipping cost. You need to take into account that the next business day wasn't until next Tuesday and by then, there was probably a larger than usual amount of UPS shipping to deliver due to the three day weekend. Then you have the delay when the package is transferred to USPS.

By the way, B&N says express shipping can take 3-4 business days if the item is available for shipping within 24 hours:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/help/po_shipping_options.asp#aboutshipping

 

[SharonZ]

My experience is with Barnes & Noble express shipping is that it ships, if in stock, in 1-3 business days, it doesn't mean that you will have the product in 1-3 business days, and if it involves handing off USPS, all bets are off.

 

[4shinystars]

I had the same problem this summer, ordered DD a textbook rental which listed as shipping within 24 hours, paid extra for expedited shipping to be on the safe side. I figured, she was home for 3 more weeks, plenty of time to have it sent to home. WRONG!! It kept listing it as being processed for a week, and every day i tried 10+ times to cancel the order online. Screen would say email was sent confirming , but nothing.
I called every single day to cancel, and got a different answer every time. Spoke to "supervisors" multiple times as well. Day before taking DD to college, I called again to make sure it was cancelled, as it was still listed as processing, talked to a supervisor who confirmed it was. 10 MINUTES before we are leaving the next day I get an email that it was being shipped that day. I blew up! B&N just said refuse the package-we weren't going to be home due to driving to the college, and the forecast was for heavy rain. I explained that, and told my story for the umpteenth time. I said I refused to be responsible for the package and expected a full refund. Was told all $$ would be refunded.
Returned home and yes, box on deck, wet. Called again, and was told to print a return label and ship it back. 2 weeks later, a refund of $2 was posted-due to it being a rental and it was past the 10 day deadline after ordering(!!), and no refund of shipping. After 6 more calls, full credit finally showed up on CC.
I have been a B&N member since it started and never had such a horrible experience. My local B&N store is great-they even called to try to fix things, to no avail. I will not rent from them again. Try Valore or Chegg-have purchased or rented from both of them with great results. In fact buying some books on Valore was cheaper than renting, and books were like new.

Good luck.

 

[HM]

Whoever came up with the idea of UPS Surepost? Hate it.

I'd be really annoyed too, OP. It's a textbook, your child has started classes and does not have the materials needed.

I've only rented and bought from Chegg and Amazon and have had pretty good shipping times.

I ordered a book (for my book club) from AbeBooks two weeks ago. It's coming from the UK, but said it would take 4-15 days. I have yet to receive it and less than two weeks to read left. Sure hope it shows up soon.

 

[4shinystars]

I gave them a second chance, ordered 2 dvds last weekend that email showed shipping on 1/21. Yep, already wrong, was sent to shipping facility 1/22. Let's see if it arrives by 1/27 ( 3 business days after 1/22).....

 

[tvguy]

My daughter had that issue. She had better luck on the phone than you. They immediately refunded the difference between the shipping prices.

 

[JanaDee]

In the future, use Chegg or Amazon. We usually get DH's textbooks within 3 days.

 

[ColoradoMom!!]

OP Here

Thanks for all your responses - it really does make me feel better.

4shinnystars - wow, what a nightmare!

We'll see if it shows today. Crazy thing is when it hit our "area" it went to Commerce City first, then they rode the box up to Boulder (about 20 miles) only to hand it off to the USPS who sent it back down the road to Commerce City where it sits.

I actually tried Amazon, but when I put in my shipping state, I got a message that a third party would be handling it. When I looked at the reviews for that third party, they were shipping out international versions - which isn't usually a big deal, but it was for this particular book because the problems at the end of each chapter were reported to be different in the international version.

 

[aliceindisneyland]

I ordered a book from Barnes & Noble on December 10 with the "1-3 days" shipping. I called January 2 and was told it was going to ship January 7.
A few days ago -- more than six weeks after ordering -- I got a cancellation email.
I asked about my refunds to a gift card and credit card I used.
They said up to 60 days.
This is why Amazon wins.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Every mail order and online business says 1-2 billing cycles, or up to 60 days, or some similar time frame. It may take the businesses more than a minute to process a refund, then they can't control how long it takes your bank to process any more than they can control your bank's billing cycles.

So, did you get credited yet?

 

[ColoradoMom!!]

OP Here

Tracking info said it was delivered on Friday - of course it wasn't.

Thankfully I was just laughing at this point and decided to see what might possibly happen next. It was delivered today - thank God.

I did get my shipping charge refunded.

Thanks for all your responses and advice.

Hopefully we won't see a second thread of woes when we return the rental in May. I will be tracking it very carefully!

 

[4shinystars]

Shockingly enough, my dvd order came on the 24th, order status said 27th.