Barnes and Noble Online is a Waste

I did most of my shopping online again this year, but it's been a much bigger hassle than ever before. My target.com order was delayed, but at least they had the courtesy to let me know. I approved the delay because I paid with a gift card and then threw it away. I don't want to lose that money! Better to wait a few weeks for the items.

The bigger problem, however, is with Barnes and Noble. A month ago, I went to barnesandnoble.com and tried to place an order for a book for Andrew, a DVD for his uncle, and a couple of items for my dad and Colleen. The two items were on a delay and wouldn't ship until December 18. It was going to cost a ridiculous sum to have the book and DVD ship separately from the other items, so I cancelled my order. Instead, I re-ordered everything with two separate orders to make sure we'd get the DVD and book in time for Christmas.

A week later, Andrew called me from work and said he'd just received an email that my Barnes and Noble order was cancelled because I'd never responded to their request for more information. I'd never received that request. Andrew searched through his deleted email and junk email, but there was nothing from them. I was a little frustrated, but since it was just the DVD and book, I decided I could pick those up from Target or somewhere later. And I did (for much cheaper, I might add).

So here it is, December 23, and I'm waiting for the other items that were supposed to ship on December 18. I tried to track my order online, but it wouldn't recognize my order number. I called their customer service department instead. The lady who helped me was very nice, which was a relief, but she told me my order was in its "second delay." She said they currently don't have the item available and don't know when it's going to be available to ship. She was so nice, so I didn't want to complain (it wasn't her fault), but I asked her to cancel my order.

But, come on, seriously? It's two days before Christmas, and they didn't even call or email to say there was going to be a delay. We have company coming tonight, which means I have one day--Christmas Eve--to figure out how to go shopping with a baby to get last minute Christmas gifts.

Grrrr.