Silly Bryan: he got this idea in his head that “In Stock – Delivered in 3-5 business days” on the Google Nexus 7 ordering page meant that he could order a tablet and it would be delivered in 3-5 business days. He needed it within five business days, and placed an order. Instead of the promised two business days for processing, the tablet was set to ship out on Thursday when he’s leaving for the trip on Sunday. 2nd Day Air wasn’t going to work.

We’ve been wondering, has the Nexus-buying customer experience improved much since October? Evidently not.

Over the weekend I was interested in purchasing a Nexus 7 tablet for a trip next Sunday, and I need it to arrive within five business days. Google’s own store seems like the most logical place to purchase a Nexus, and the product page says “IN STOCK – Delivered in 3-5 business days.”

Perfect. Their shipping information states that order processing is within two business days and the shipping is UPS 2nd Day Air. I place the order on Saturday, March 2nd. When I log in on Monday morning to check the status the expected ship date is Thursday, March 7th. Four business days to ship? Not good, I click on “cancel my order” intending to buy it somewhere else. I receive a generated email back instantly saying that they are unable to cancel my order, but the email provides options to “refuse delivery” with UPS.

I call the support number in the afternoon and immediate connect with an incredibly unprofessional representative. I explain my situation to her and the rep first tells me to call UPS for more information. I advise that it will not ship until Thursday, why would I call UPS now? I ask to cancel the order instead. I am told again that they cannot cancel the order. During this whole conversation the representative is giggling and trying to maintain composure. She provides no options and no explanation for the delayed shipping. I give up fairly quickly with her, and call back the support line to ask for a Supervisor.

[B] comes on the line after a short wait and I go through my story again. He says that “depending on my institution” that order processing can take up to 5 days to verify payment. First, I tell him that it doesn’t take five days to verify a credit card payment (placed directly through Google Wallet by the way), and I referenced the clear shipping expectations listed on the product site. He becomes very rude at this point, and tells me again that it can take 5 days to process. I ask him if he is telling me that Google is misleading their customers based on the website information? He states that “he is trying to keep this call professional.” I understand, and I ask again why the order pages still contradict his claims? B.checks into my order, and says that the shipping expectation is “less than a week” and to wait for a tracking number. He also offered to send me instructions again on how to refuse a delivery with UPS. No options, no support, no explanation or apology for the clearly incorrect pre-sale information.

I will definitely be refusing this order, and if this is how Google treats their direct customers I have no interest in owning one of their devices.

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