If you’ve been a long-time reader of this blog, you may remember that I won a Nook (first edition) in December of 2010 from our local library’s essay contest.  I also spoke about my Nook and how much of a blessing it was with my newly diagnosed multiple sclerosis (MS) – here and here.

I have spent HUNDREDS of dollars, if not more, to buy eBooks through Barnes & Noble.  I bought my husband a Nook.  A secret Santa bought ALL FOUR of my children Nooks this past Christmas.  I was happily convinced that we were going to be a Nook family.

I was so very happy with my first generation Nook, but I (selfishly and greedily) wanted more.  I earned a bit extra money this past year and my husband agreed that I could get a Nook Color, since I was not only an avid reader but also because it truly was something that helped me cope with the symptoms caused by my MS.  I loved it, especially when I traveled, I didn’t need to take my computer along as I could check my eMail via my Nook Color.  I rarely went anywhere without it and it continued to help me be able to deal with my MS symptoms.

About two weeks ago, my Nook Color went wacky.  That’s about the best term I can use for what happened.  It would not charge fully or even partially charge.  It would switch between screens when unplugged – making itself and me crazy enough that it would just shut down completely.  The only time it worked as it should was when it was plugged in – which truly was not a viable solution for me because I wasn’t always near a plugin.

I had my husband find the receipt for when I purchased it and we took it to the big box office store that we bought it from.  They refused to help me with it, since I did not purchase their extended warranty.

And let me interject here a thought I had just after this happened – if the extended warranty is at least half of the purchase price of a new product, there were OBVIOUSLY more people having trouble with the product.  I didn’t take that as a warning sign until my psycho Nook Color went on a bender.  You can bet I will ask about the price of an extended warranty before we purchase ANY future electronics in the future!

I tried the chat help on the BN.com website, but except for some simple manipulations, they could not help me and referred me to the second tier help with a toll-free number for me to call.

I took the time to call Nook and ask for help on 6/11/2013.  “Roxie” did not speak English very well, which was my first clue that this issue would not be solved to my satisfaction – if I cannot understand a customer service rep, why would I expect her to understand me???  The minute I mentioned the power cord and the inability for my Nook to charge completely, she refused to listen to the rest of my complaints.  I *knew* it was not the power cord, but she insisted on sending me out a new one and asked me to give it three days after receipt to make sure it worked.  I VERY SPECIFICALLY asked if my warranty would be extended because of this issue and she assured me it would.  I asked again, at least once if not twice about my warranty (the original warranty was good until 6/17/2013) and she continued to assure me that she extended the warranty until the issues was resolved.

After three days with the new power cord, the problem was NOT solved and I called the second tier help line again.  This time, I got someone named “Karina” – date was 6/18/2013.  She told me the warranty was NOT extended by “Roxie” so my Nook Color was no longer covered under the original one-year warranty.  This made no sense based on my communications with “Roxie” (who either lied to me or did not understand me) – but she assured me that it had expired.  I nearly blew a gasket – told her EXACTLY what my conversation with “Roxie” entailed and … wait, I DID blow a gasket.  I was so very upset over the whole ordeal (and for those of you who follow my MS life, stress is one of the biggest factors in exacerbating MS symptoms).  “Karina” put me on hold to talk to a supervisor about extending my warranty to cover the issue that had never been resolved.  When she came back on the phone, she informed me she was authorized to send me a NEW (emphasis added) Nook Color and that I should be receiving it within the week.  I had to agree to send the wacky one back on their dime, which I agreed to.  The kicker was that my NEW Nook Color only had a three-month warranty.  Of course, if you think about it, that let them off the hook much sooner.  I had researched problems with this electronic device and could not keep up with all of the issues it was having.  I now knew the product sucked and I was pretty much screwed UNLESS I had purchased the extended warranty from our local office store.

Today, I received my NEW Nook Color in the mail.  When we got home, I opened it – only to find this sticker on the end of it (I did open the box so the torn sticker is by my hand, it did not arrive that way):

I am sure you can imagine the colorful language I used when I saw that sticker. My NEW Nook Color was, in fact, new to me – but NOT new from Barnes and Noble!  Why in the heck would I want a pre-owned, refurbished machine that probably went wacko like my original one???  And it probably wouldn’t go wacko until long after that lovely three-month warranty ran out.  This is like purchasing a used automobile and finding out after you took it home that it had been in an accident and that information was never disclosed to you.  This NEW Nook Color will promptly be sent back to B & N along with the wacky one.

Is this really how to run a business as big a B&N is?  Is it really necessary to LIE to customers?  I am quite a Pollyanna and had the expectation that the B&N folks would follow through with what they promised me.  Land sakes alive, I am extremely unhappy.  I will read the books I already own and save up my money for a Kindle from Amazon or some other tablet that allows for me to read books.  I adamantly REFUSE to be treated the way Barnes & Noble has treated me.  It is not right.  It is a swift kick in my hind end for my blind trust in all things good and I have purchased the last book from Barnes & Noble unless they right the wrongs with me.  I will just re-read the books I’ve purchased and wait for whatever comes next.

Barnes & Noble, at the very least, you are DISHONEST to at least THIS consumer.  My money will NOT line your coffers anymore – unless you make this right.

To my friends, please feel free to share this blog post and re-tweet it with as many folks as you can.  My bottom line is that my MS symptoms are in jeopardy and my children deserve to have as much of a mother as I can be – and I need an eReader to be that mom because I’m not only allergic to the print in a book, flipping pages in a book or magazine makes my MS act up and I get extremely dizzy.  It’s not just for entertainment anymore.  Not only has Barnes & Noble lied to me, I believe they are just as liable for my deteriorating health these past few stressful weeks.  Unhappy is as nice of a word I can use to show my disdain for being screwed by a big corporation who has forgotten that customer service and customer satisfaction is what continues to grow a business.