See nook in Stores on Monday

[#1]

Wow.  That's great news about the demos.  Can't wait to try it out.  A little disappointed about the inability to purchase in-store until after the Holidays, as this means I have to wait until my January 7th ship date after all. 

[#2]

Any updates on the list of periodicals and newspapers you will be supporting on the nook?  I'm scheduled to receive mine on Dec 14th, and would like to think about which to get.  I'm curious about the reading experience vs. the Kindle that my wife has.  (NYT w/out ads is really fast to read - much better than the physical paper)

[#3]

Congrats on actually releasing some nooks into the wild!  ;-)

Exciting for those of us who are eagerly awaiting them.

[#4]

How about an update for those whose pre-orders were supposed to be shipped on November 30th? My order status still says expected delivery date of November 30th and that was 5 days ago now...getting very frustrated with the complete lack of communication.

[#5]

Ummm, I think this was an update sprinklesLM. I am glad to hear SOMETHING, and to find out our nooks are shipping when promised on the emails we received. You see BN, this is all we wanted, an update here and there, just something to let us know everything is still on track.

[#6]

I'm glad to see the update as well, but I'm definitely feeling the frustration some others are.  We're all so excited that simply seeing "the middle of next week" isn't specific enough for us.  Is there any way to know which day the Nov. 30 expected ship date nooks will actually ship?  I can't wait to get mine!!!!

[#7]

I have a December 7th shipping date and am assuming (since everyone appears to be having a 7-10 day delay) that my nook will be shipped and reach me closer to the middle of the month. That being the case, I am WAY excited to get the chance to play with a nook in the B&N store (and the one in my neighborhood rather than the one further away)! Thank B&N for finally giving us a straight foward, positive update. I wish I could have said the same thing about ALL the news I've been receiving from B&N since I ordered my nook but I am happy now nonetheless.

I am a newly loyal B&N customer (due solely to the nook) and was previously a huge fan of Amazon and their customer service (but repelled by their calculator on steriods e-reader, the Kindle). I am sincerely hoping that I don't regret the switch. From the many posts I've been reading about new tech toys launching in recent memory- the obstacles B&N seems to be experiencing are par for the course. Having said this, I am looking foward to a faster, easier to navigate website, and a way for B&N to recommend books to its e-readers based on their library content and prior purchases. I understand that these suggestions may take a while to implement what with having to deal with all the back ordered nooks but I am hopeful for a successful future for B&N and my nook after all the fervor dies down! Can't wait to get my nook and test it out- I've already ordered and sneakily read a couple of ebooks on my laptop and enjoyed them immensely- can't wait for the nook to enhance this experience!

[#8]

Kevin,

Thanks for the update. I'm looking forward to seeing the demos and, of course, receiving my own nook next week.

[#9]

The last update said they would be shipping this week.

Guess what.  Week is over!!

[#10]

Guess what.... It's a piece of electronics... Get over it! It's not the end of the world! It will get to us soon enough. Does it make a HUGE difference as to which day next week or this past week it gets here? We've been fine this long with out nook, and we can wait longer.

[#11]

I can't wait - many books are scoped out and I'm ready to download.  Now, it only B&N would release a firmware update that included a rudimentary browser, I'd be ecstatic.

[#12]

Now I know why I rarely post on discussion sites....no need for sarcastic or nasty remarks -- perhaps considering that some of us who have ordered have travel plans and would just like to have an idea whether or not we need to make sure someone checks for the delivery while we're out of time would make sense -- this little piece of electronics, although a bargain for what it will offer -- is not cheap and isn't something I want hanging around on my front porch or jammed into an overstuffed mailbox while I'm gone.  I find it insane that wondering about a basic customer service issue is something that warrants "get real" type messages.  I paid for a product, it's only fair that I know when I'm getting it.  It's not about being the end of the world, it's called holding a company accountable for proper notification....strange concept, I know.  I'd be happy with an updated ship date (as mine still says 11/30/09), I don't need it in my hands right this second.

[#13]

This is the smartest thing B&N could have done. Far too many people won't ever order one till they can play with one first hand.

[#14]

Being one of the people who wanted to see it before ordering, I am not happy AT ALL with how this has been handled.  I have been in my local Barnes & Noble store several times since October waiting for this thing.  Every week I was told "next week" they would be in the store for demonstration AND for purchase.  I was assured last week that they were guaranteed to be in by Monday, December 8th.  When questioned about ordering one to get it before Christmas I was told not to bother since they would be in the store in plenty of time for Christmas giving.

Now I am told that they may get a demo, but even if I order now I will not receive it until close to the end of January at the earliest!

The folks in my store had also told me in the beginning of November that shipments for the pre-orders where already shipped to customers, something that was obviously not true.

The whole thing is iritating and a little bit scary....why can't B&N make their ship dates or get the models in the store?  What problem has been the hold up and why can't they even relay basic truth and information to their employees so that customers are not left hanging at this late date?

Poor customer service even before the product is out does not bode well for good customer service later after purchase!

[#15]

One thing to remember, based on my experience of 20 years at a used book store--no matter how smoothly things go on the "production" side (i.e., phone order, invoicing, packing, etc.) there are always things that can go wrong both on the "production" side which you arguably have more control over and the "delivery" side (post office, ups, fedex, x-shipper, etc.) where you are at the mercy of the shipping company and the higher than normal volume of Christmas.

In other words, I dreaded the phone calls from someone who didn't get their product when they "thought" it should be there even though we put a hundred disclaimers in our printed order forms and online--and we were just a simple bookstore (okay...larger than normal with 300,000 volumes) but we only had a staff of 4-5 at any time and encountered some of the most bizarre problems over the years that it was amazing we got so many books delivered at all!

Also, as the B&Ns and Amazons came along, we began competing with expectations because of someone's experience with those other vendors who obviously had larger staffs (or a smaller stock and business) and were able to process orders more quickly and efficiently (never mind the difference between a used stock versus new stock).

I am afraid that the internet has made many of us impatient because we get used to a certain standard and forget all of the work it takes to put something together that appears nothing short of magic. I would agree that some companies (and we learned this too) fail to communicate as much as they should but unless you have a complaint many of us don't communicate to our vendors when they do something spectacular let alone just what is "expected." It is amazing, therefore, with all of the modern technology at our disposal that enables more and better communication than we have ever had that consumers and producers alike fail to do more.

So, the next time you are tempted to complain about the lack of communication--stop and think, "let him who is perfect in their communication, cast the first email, blog, or posted comment." Instead, let us be thankful (a fitting holiday spirit) that we live in a time where instead of months or years to receive a wonderfully crafted product we only have to wait weeks--and that it does far and above anything our ancestors could have imagined (unless they were sci-fi writers)!