[r00fus]

Copying Apple's Genius Bar idea is a great competitive move vs. Amazon (what, Mr. Bezos, is that no-footprint advantage of yours... chafing?)

Some folks are of the opinion that Amazon will wipe the floor with B&N, but I think B&N aren't going to give up easily.

[joebadmo]

I've had two friends get overnighted new kindles to replaces ones that they broke.

Amazon's customer service is, quite frankly, better than almost any brick and mortar store's customer service. And I don't even have to leave my home.

It's an interesting play on B&N's part, and I don't really see how it can play out well for them. They've more or less acknowledged that the future of almost all of their wares is digital. Can the expense of running brick and mortar stores for customer service possibly be worth the added cost to the customer? Seems doubtful.

[tlholaday]

> Can the expense of running brick and mortar stores for customer service possibly be worth the added cost to the customer?

Increase the size of the coffee area, have stand-up promotional materials for new releases, figure out some digital equivalent of autographed copies so that authors can continue to have readings, etc.

Barnes & Noble, your neighborhood salon.

[MisterMerkin]

So they're competing with Starbucks at that point. (Or partnering since much of the coffee in B&N is Starbucks already.)

[alttag]

  > ... I don't really see how it can play out well for them.
  > Can the expense of running brick and mortar stores for 
  > customer service possibly be worth the added cost to 
  > the customer? Seems doubtful.

Certainly hasn't worked out well for Apple. ... Oh, wait ...

Combined with free wifi, books that can be browsed, in store returns, they've possibly got a chance.

Will it convert me? No, I'm a Prime user with some positive AMZN customer service experiences under my belt. So, maybe B &N needs to do more courting of the tech crowd.

[inportb]

I had the same experience. My Kindle 2 stopped working, and I got a new one for free in the mail two days after I called Amazon up about it. On the other hand, I also love my h4x'd first-generation Nook.

[mahyarm]

Amazon's only return unopened items unless faulty policy is something that is customer unfriendly compared to a typical big box store. And as far as I know, you have to go to a shipping office to ship the return back. Can you just print a label and wait for the post man to come pick it up for no cost?

[jrockway]

Not true. Amazon's response to support requests is, in my experience, "we're overnighting you a new widget. do whatever you want with the old one."

This isn't documented, but it's how things have always worked for me. Sometimes my request is "the item in the description is not the item I've received" and I eventually give up after receiving the same wrong item 4 times. That's how ingrained the process is; they don't read my email, they just mail me a replacement. Oh well.

[joebadmo]

I'm not really sure what the actual return policy is, but both of my friends had had the kindles for a while before they broke them. They then contacted Amazon to see what their options were and got replacements for free.

I just returned an unopened item. I just printed the label, put it back in the original shipping box and left it on the porch for the mail carrier to pick up.