Online Shop Problems Pre-Ordering N97 in UK

Question

I cannot find any other forum, and I seek to make this as public as possible because the way loyal customers are being treated by Nokia are think are wrong. If Nokia see fit to remove this post without sorting these problems, then fair enough.
I am disillusioned with the Nokia UK Online Shop and its practices. My experience has given me a bitter taste of Nokia and I consider that the whole operation needs an overhaul to gain confidence.
When making an order, especially a pre-order with a company that has a global reputation like Nokia, I expect several things. Firstly, to be kept informed as to the status of my order, stock availability and expected delivery date. I would expect a pre-order should get more priority over existing orders. I expect Nokia should aim to get every order if not delivered, at least shipped for the release date. I expect when enquiring about my order, to be given information especially when there is only a week to go until release.
There seems little point in making a pre-order when I can order from elsewhere quicker.
On 13th June 2009, I placed my order for a White Nokia N97 under order reference number CNLXXXXXXXXXX.
The Nokia UK Online Shop does not provide details at point of order about expected release dates, quantity, or shipping dates. I would expect Nokia to know about their own products first. The idea that Nokia are operating without any form of forward planning or logistics is quite amusing.
Shortly after I placed my order, I received an email advising that the phone has an anticipated shipping date of three to four weeks. This made me nervous and wondered whether there was a problem with the White Nokia N97 – after all, there is no information on the website.
On 15th June 2009, I phoned Nokia to enquire as to the status and was advised that there is nothing wrong and that the phone is “due” to be released on the 19th June and I should get my phone sometime after that. Unfortunately again, with less than a week to launch, Nokia did not have any firm information to hand either about their own products or their own systems.
Firstly, it seems Nokia don't know their own stock movements. Secondly, the fact I have to wait until after the 19th to receive the phone makes a mockery of the entire pre-order process and really does invalidate the whole premise when we have to wait beyond release.
Nokias own blog also guarantees that when you pre-order, “it will be shipped direct to your door from the production line so you'll have it the same day it hits the store in your country”. I highlight the relevent point here.
Receiving the phone AFTER it hits the stores is not the same day. When I pointed this out to Nokia customer service, I was advised:
“The N97 is due to be released on 19th June. If you bought it from a shop, you would have to wait for it to go from the production line, to a warehouse, then to a subsidiary warehouse before being sent to a shop. Hopefully therefore you will get yours before this.”
This is patronising and clearly an incorrect comparison given that the phone should be shipped from the factory. It twists what was in the blog which guaranteed delivery on release day, a guarantee broken in the US where I understand customers had to wait several weeks to clear the back log. This is very bad PR.
There were still a few days left before the 19th June. I relaxed a little and waited patiently for my credit card to be billed. Users on the forums were also showing concern especially when websites such as Expansys.co.uk and Play.com started guaranteeing dates and providing arrival times.
The fact that others can make promises and provide information where Nokia cannot, illustrate my point beautifully. Nokia do not have any information to suggest that users will even receive their phones by the 26th June.
By 3pm on the 17th June, my credit card had still not been charged and my order had not been updated. Users on the forums including a couple of users who had ordered yesterday, were receiving credit card charges and emails advising that their Black Nokia N97s were being fulfilled and shipped. At least for these, it looks like they will be receiving their devices in time.
I phoned Nokia once more to see if there was any problem with the White handset. I was again assured that there was no problem and that it is first come first served. But I had little to no reassurance as to when another batch of phones would be received and processed. It seems no one actually knows, least of all Nokia. If someone who ordered after me received their phone before me, I would be rightly angry and upset with Nokia.
I asked whether it would be worth swapping my order contents from the White N97 to the Black N97. I was advised I cannot make a change to my UNPROCESSED order without it being moved to the back of the queue.
I feel that Nokia have taken advantage of its loyal customers and strung us along by not providing any real information. If I had ordered an N97 from the Expansys website today, I could have had my phone tomorrow and for the same price as Nokia.
What advantage has pre-ordering given me? I haven't got my phone, my order hasn't been shipped, it hasn't been allocated, my credit card hasn't been charged. Nokia don't know when they can fulfil my order. By choosing Nokia, I have had no order tracking, no information, broken promises, no guarantees, delays and a substandard service. Worst of all, Nokia cannot get my pre-order to me quicker than Expansys.
Therefore, in summary, I make the following requests:
1)Make a pre-order count for something. A pre-order should get to me on time and get to me before it is released elsewhere. Otherwise there is no point of pre-ordering from Nokia.
2)Provide an “Expected Release Date” on your pre-order pages – when there are two different versions of the same product, users have to guess as to the availability of both.
3)Provide an “Expected Shipping/Arrival Date” on your pages – if you have two different products and I don't care about colour, I should be given the chance to order the one that will be in stock first!
4)Don't make promises that you cannot keep, no matter how informal they are.
5)After being found out, do not back track and pretend it means something else. Get the problem rectified by means of either meeting the deadline, offering a free gift, or offering an apology or explanation.
6)When I phone to find out when my order will be fulfilled, please, have some information available about your own phones and processes.
7)If you have two different versions of a product available and one is available first, let me switch without incurring penalty.
8)Give me a better service than other websites. If you cannot ship them quickly enough before the release date, you are either not shipping early enough, or not shipping quick enough.
In relation to my order, please tell me whether there has been a problem with the White N97, why those who ordered Black N97s on 8th June and 16th June are getitng their orders fulfilled and I am still waiting, and please tell me when I can get mine. Please also swap my product for the N97 Black if this will resolve any bottlenecks.

Answer 1

Your complaint will not be seen by the people who run the UK shop here.
You need to use the "contact us" link if you want the correct people to see your comments.
I do agree with most of what you wrote as I have been let down twice in the past by the UK online store for pre-orders.  Their customer service is uninformed, unhelpful and resort to telling lies.  For those reasons I do not use them.