Apparently Better World Books did not receive it's name based on the service it provides to it's customers. I rather think that the name comes from the fact that the books are being shipped from another world away.
I found this establishment when looking for a book on Abebooks.com. While the price was right, the book apparently could arrive whenever it feels like it. It was a blustery December day when I decided to order Las Vegas for Dummies. I was so pleased on December 9 to see that my book had already been shipped out, despite being less than 12 hours from the time I had placed the order. As of this typing on December 28, I am the Dummie and who knows where my order is. I paid about $4, but honestly, if I had known it was going to take 3 weeks to arrive I would have just spend the extra $10 bucks and bought it from my local Barnes and Noble.
The best part of this story is that when I contacted Better World Books, they cared enough to simply resend the generic message that was sent to me on the 9th saying that my book was sent USPS on December 9 and could take 4-14 business days to arrive, but depending on the timeliness of the post office could take longer.
How sweet of them! Just forwarding that thoughtless message tells me what a special place I have in their heart. It's progressive thinking like this that has continued to move the needle at this fine establishment.
Seriously? Are they kidding me with that? I don't understand customer service these days. Whatever happened to the days where a company tried to exceed their customers' expectations. Apparently Better World Books prefers the "Underpromise and Underdeliver" philosophy. I could almost get on my bike and ride to Vegas and conduct my own research in the time it's taking for this book to arrive. I am certain that I could drive it in less time. Come to think of it, our vendors ship a lot of their goods via Port of Entry at Long Beach, CA. Somehow, by the grace of God, they are able to get the goods to our DC in South Carolina in 5 business days. How is it that freight, and any other letter can go 3000+ miles in less than a week, but Better World Books cannot ship a single book in less than 19 days (and counting).
Let's just say that the best thing you can do is to skip over Better World Books and go somewhere that will deliver before the material becomes obselete. This establishment receives two enthusiastic thumbs down in the Leardini household.
Better World Books, congratulations on a job almost done.
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