Barnes & Noble

Reviews 3

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Adam Apperson

Oh Barnes and Noble...one of a few homes away from home that I hold dear. Sure its a chain, but honestly who cares? To be surrounded by thousands of amazing books with espresso at your beckon call, (typically) good music and cool knick knacks...its a happy feeling. The staff here is generally very friendly. Theyll stop to ask if youre doing OK, but wont do so every 10 seconds while youre trying to browse. Helpful but not pushy. A fine line to walk. The coffee is Starbucks. And thats fine. Not incredible, not bad. Starbucks. As I mentioned though, when paired with books, all coffee tastes better. The kids section is way cool. Story time and similar such events seem to happen fairly regularly and overall, that section of the store has that atmosphere that can only be found in quiet libraries and fun bookstores that makes you nostalgic for the days when you were one of those kids sitting on the floor surrounded by amazing books. The good news? You can still do that as an adult. Try it--sit down on the floor in any section you choose and surround yourself with cool books (just remember to be nice to those employees and clean up). Youll thank yourself. Plenty of overstuffed armchairs to kick back in and partake in a good long read. Honestly, if youre a big reader, I think this is a cool place to bring a date. If I have one complaint against this place, its one that probably shouldnt matter, but kinda does. The bathrooms here need some TLC. While the staff clearly cleans them, but they just seem to need some renovation. To the shops credit, theyve been vandalized a couple of times (Really? Seriously? Where are your parents? And why a bookstore?), and theyve done a good job of repairing the damage. But...yeah, they could use a face lift. If youre looking for an area of the store off the beaten path thats worth a look, check out the little section of handmade journals they have. If youre looking at the main front desk/checkout area, turn left and walk toward the corner of the store. There are all these very awesome journals, mostly leather, with cool clasps and embossed designs and such. I dont know why, but I always find myself over there perusing them. They range a little high in price, but theyre classy, and most of them are refillable (you can swap out the interior bound pages when youre ready to do so). This same area of the store also houses some cool other random items. If you do decide to visit Barnes and Noble: after youre finished enjoying all that it has to offer, do us all a favor and buy a book. Even if its a bargain bin paperback thats marked down to $1.99. Youre probably well aware that bookstores are struggling. If youre anything like me, the closure of any Boise bookstore evokes feelings of real loss. We need bookstores and libraries--please support them. And hey, if you do, you get books! Happy reading. : )

A

A Private User

As you read this, consider this question: What has happened in our society that it has become "okay" for companies and businesses to operate like this? I ordered a product from the Boise Barnes & Noble branch. I went in to buy the product, but they were out of stock. I was told that if I paid for the product at the store, they could ship it to my house (no shipping cost) and that I would have it in 3 to 4 business days. Before I left the store I discussed that the "no shipping cost" was a lie - I was charged $3.99 for that. Okay - whatever I needed the product. Time goes by, 3 to 4 business days go by. Im not out almost two weeks later and still not product. Ive been calling for days. They cant tell me where the product is, only that its been shipped. Location is unknown. In one of my many conversations with the store I was told by a helpful individual that they had received a shipment of the product to the store, so they now had one in the store and that if what I had ordered didnt arrive soon that they would hold one in the store to give to me. Okay. Thanks. So I take more time, make a trip to the store. However, when I showed up at the store to get the product, they told me they wouldnt release it becuase it wasnt paid for. Huh? Ive paid for one - but it hasnt arrived and you cant tell me where it is...................Dah!! I can understand their position if this was an expensive product, but it was only $24.99 - not expensive. I just needed it for my vacation. My leason learned, which I am passing on here is this; management at this store doesnt have a clue as to what its sales people are telling customers. Added that is that when their sales people feed customers incorrect information, management is absolutely unwilling to stand behind what their sales people are saying. So here I am, leaving on vacation, without the product I ordered 12 days ago (which I was told I would have 8 days ago). I have spent very likely hours of my life on the phone and at the store attempting to get the product I purchased. The managers solution to this all was for me to buy a second product from her, then when the product I ordered before actually arrived at my house (if it ever does) then I could come back to the store - again - to exhange it - for "in-store credit." So by the managers solution, at the end of the day, I would spend twice the money and would have put at least a full day of work into getting a $24.99 product. How is this a service? I ask again: what has happened in our society that it has become "okay" for companies and businesses to operate like this?

ME

Megan Galligar

WORST customer service! My husband gave a gift card and I recently tried to buy a book online that they did not in store. Now mind you, I found this book at two other stores for $10 less but figured since I had the gift card I would spend my money at Barnes and Noble. That was a huge mistake. I picked the one particular color of the book I was looking at because that one was in and the others were not but were available for preorder. I ordered my book and got an email confirming delivery on the 14th of July. Well the 14th came and went and I did not receive my book. I have spoken to at LEAST 6 people to try and get this resolved. When I had called Saturday, (one of the several times) one lady even said "Oh well it looks like your book is guaranteed delivery for the 14th of July so it will be there." I said "No because the 14th was yesterday and my book is not here!" They told me that my debit card and gift card had not been charged because my book had not yet shipped. I called back not even 5 minutes later and they said that both of my cards had been charged and I would receive my book the following week. I told them that I wanted a full refund and to cancel my order. This was Saturday the 15th of July. They told me that it would take a couple billing cycles for it to show up on my bank statement and 24-48 hours for it to be back on the gift card. It is now the 20th of July and neither have been reimbursed. I also received an email on Monday the 17th saying that the release date was changed for the book that I had purchased which I pre-ordered and that it was expected to ship on 8/25/2017. I canceled this on the 15th so why am I receiving this email and this was NOT a pre-order. Does anyone know what they are doing!? This is the BIGGEST cluster I have ever dealt with. All I want is my money. I will NEVER shop at Barnes and Noble again and will be telling everyone to do the same!