[dparrothead1]

Yes, their direct sales will be hurt, but that's because people are (largely) stupid when it comes to things concerning retail. That's not really their fault. It's a confusing as heck industry. But people really need to sit back and think this through.

Again, these retail shipments were placed MONTHS ago and do NOTHING to effect pre-order ship dates. There is no "priority" that's what people aren't getting.


If google does anything it will only harm the consumer, because the ONLY way to prevent this fiasco is to refuse to give any retailer the option to sell the device until it's a direct-exclusive for a few months.

Tell me, who does that benefit?

I am 66yo and I DO understand retail!! I worked as a manager in a customer/service driven industry (logistics/trucking) for 30+ years. I understand JIT (just in time shipping) and know that customers expect to place an order one day and have it in their stores the next.Had we treated the Home Depot account in this manner; we would have been on the outside looking at other carriers deliver. In fact, most large retailers, Home Deopt, Lowes, Walmart, take merchandise straight from the truck to the sales floor!.

I can understand Gamestop jumping the gun, but what I cannot understand and will not forgive, is the lack of communication from Google! Quite often I have had to call a customer and tell them we could not keep our delivery schedule, but I would always tell them WHEN they could expect it......That's only good customer service!!!

I may be wrong, but I will exercise the one option I do have.....I will take my business elsewhere. Why should I pay more when I can get the exact same product elsewhere for less?

I will leave you with a quote from one of my favorite movies....The Outlaw Josey Wells...."Senator, don't pee down my back and try to convince me it's raining".

Oh, BTW, I don't consider myself as a "stupid" person, as you put it!!!!!

[Brownsfan88]

Has that been confirmed? They're not the only retailer unloading these things.

Also, if Google doesn't have enough bite to hold back their retailers, why try to deliver the stock and tell them to sit on it? They handed these folks a competitive advantage and asked them not to exploit it. Everyone is competing for the sales. Gamestop and the retailers probably stole a huge chunk of the Google sales by jumping the gun, right or wrong. There will be virtually no consequence in doing so because Google can't not sell these on the retail market.

It was a poor model with worse execution. Its become our problem.

[Seven2k]

I used to work for the fruit company and this is some things they did when new highly anticipated product is about to be released:

1. Fruit Stores would either get pallets covered in red tape with a date on it or on launch day they would receive pallets.

2. Online pre-orders would always be shipped and arrive the day the store would have them...store was always your best bet unless otherwise stated by announcement. BUT online pre-orders were almost early to customers. That was the perk for doing it an online pre-order.

3. Retailers would get shipment on the launch day...the pallet would sit in the carriers warehouse and be delivered the day of launch.

Google should follow this.

[Menno]

I am 66yo and I DO understand retail!! I worked as a manager in a customer/service driven industry (logistics/trucking) for 30+ years. I understand JIT (just in time shipping) and know that customers expect to place an order one day and have it in their stores the next.Had we treated the Home Depot account in this manner; we would have been on the outside looking at other carriers deliver. In fact, most large retailers, Home Deopt, Lowes, Walmart, take merchandise straight from the truck to the sales floor!.

I can understand Gamestop jumping the gun, but what I cannot understand and will not forgive, is the lack of communication from Google! Quite often I have had to call a customer and tell them we could not keep our delivery schedule, but I would always tell them WHEN they could expect it......That's only good customer service!!!

I may be wrong, but I will exercise the one option I do have.....I will take my business elsewhere. Why should I pay more when I can get the exact same product elsewhere for less?

I will leave you with a quote from one of my favorite movies....The Outlaw Josey Wells...."Senator, don't pee down my back and try to convince me it's raining".

Oh, BTW, I don't consider myself as a "stupid" person, as you put it!!!!!

gamestop broke street date TODAY. Google already has a pre-roll on their customer service line about shipment dates.

How is that a lack of communication?

Again, why should google do ANYTHING because Gamestop can't keep their pants on?

Google said you'll receive your pre-oder by next week. They've ALWAYS said this. (2-3 weeks, remember?). You're getting riled up over nothing.

And JiT has nothing to do with launch date merchandise. these orders are placed months in advance and stock is shipped EARLY to compensate for any delays.

[otherbot]

gamestop broke street date TODAY. Google already has a pre-roll on their customer service line about shipment dates.

How is that a lack of communication?.

Because you have to call in to complain to hear it.

[Menno]

Because you have to call in to complain to hear it.

Or you know, look at any tech site. 10:1 they're drafting a press release/email RIGHT NOW that will ship out before the end of the day. Things take time. I know this is hard to understand in the realm of instant gratification, but them's the facts.

[otherbot]

Or you know, look at any tech site. 10:1 they're drafting a press release/email RIGHT NOW that will ship out before the end of the day. Things take time. I know this is hard to understand in the realm of instant gratification, but them's the facts.

Are you including the tech sites that share the opinion that Google has not communicated well enough about this or just the ones that you agree with?

[Menno]

Are you including the tech sites that share the opinion that Google has not communicated well enough about this or just the ones that you agree with?

Yes. Because if they're worth their salt they've received a tip about the voice message and posted it already. The verge did, AC did, Droid life did, etc. if you know about the "gamestop" issue, chances are you found out about it via one of these sites, or one of your friends complaining because of one of these sites. Now these sites have the update. Then again, if you are complaining without calling about it first, why are you complaining (in general, not you specifically)

Google also officially announced it via their G+ page:


Seriously guys.. the news BROKE today. It takes time to get statements past legal.

[Unicorn Rancher]

They didn't. Gamestop chose to release the device early because they're a shady company

Actually they did. There's plenty of evidence for anyone willing to look that Google shipped units to GS before they shipped to customers who preordered on the Play store. That was their choice. They do have the right to make that choice, and also the obligation to accept the readily foreseeable consequences of their choice.

To paraphrase others, Google needs to grow up.

[Explicit]

I am 66yo and I DO understand retail!! I worked as a manager in a customer/service driven industry (logistics/trucking) for 30+ years. I understand JIT (just in time shipping) and know that customers expect to place an order one day and have it in their stores the next.Had we treated the Home Depot account in this manner; we would have been on the outside looking at other carriers deliver. In fact, most large retailers, Home Deopt, Lowes, Walmart, take merchandise straight from the truck to the sales floor!.

I can understand Gamestop jumping the gun, but what I cannot understand and will not forgive, is the lack of communication from Google! Quite often I have had to call a customer and tell them we could not keep our delivery schedule, but I would always tell them WHEN they could expect it......That's only good customer service!!!

I may be wrong, but I will exercise the one option I do have.....I will take my business elsewhere. Why should I pay more when I can get the exact same product elsewhere for less?

I will leave you with a quote from one of my favorite movies....The Outlaw Josey Wells...."Senator, don't pee down my back and try to convince me it's raining".

Oh, BTW, I don't consider myself as a "stupid" person, as you put it!!!!!

They never gave a specific release date. So why would they contact anyone about a change in schedule? If you ran a business that way than you probably caused yourself more headaches than you should have.

[TommyC1969]

Yes, their direct sales will be hurt, but that's because people are (largely) stupid when it comes to things concerning retail. That's not really their fault. It's a confusing as heck industry. But people really need to sit back and think this through.

Again, these retail shipments were placed MONTHS ago and do NOTHING to effect pre-order ship dates. There is no "priority" that's what people aren't getting.


If google does anything it will only harm the consumer, because the ONLY way to prevent this fiasco is to refuse to give any retailer the option to sell the device until it's a direct-exclusive for a few months.

Tell me, who does that benefit?

Mr. Bauman,

I have read a number of your posts that are a variation on the same thing. Respectfully, I have to disagree with what you say about retail. My background, by the way, is years of experience at Best Buy as not only a department supervisor for several departments, but also as a Sales Manager. I can tell you that, while you are right in saying that retail orders are placed far in advance, manufacturers can, and do (with great regularity) insist that retailers hold off on selling until a certain date. To take Game Stop as a prime example, in the movie or video game industry, the street date is king. When I was a manager for Best Buy, hot games that came in before the release date were actually locked up in a cage until the specified date. And it was made abundantly clear that we were not allowed to sell ahead of the release date under ANY circumstances. Period. New DVD releases were treated the same way (just not locked up). Now, as this is the industry GameStop is in, they are very, very familiar with not being able to sell something until the manufacturer has given the okay.

The problem here is not with Gamestop. It is with Google. Google could have insisted that these not be sold until a certain date that was far enough out to make sure that the wave one preorders on the Play store received their tablets first. Google could have done that, but it didn't.

Let's take a picture-perfect release for a similar tablet: the Kindle Fire. Amazon, right from the very beginning gave a hard and fast release date. Everyone knew the exact day that it was going to be released. I was part of the wave 1 preorders and, even though I wasn't expecting it to ship until the release date, Amazon went a step further and shipped it early so that I would receive it on the very same day that retailers were going to start selling it.

That's the way a manufacturer can manage a product release...if it chooses to. Google did not choose to, so it has pissed a lot of people off. Especially those people (like me) with a significant background in retail electronics who know full well Google could have controlled this if it so desired.

It is Google's fault. It was incredibly poor customer service on its part.

I'm sorry that you don't see it that way, but it is the truth.

[BIGsinner]

I actually did email them a complaint through their Google Wallet portal. Basically I told them I was fine with Gamestop customers getting the same perks ($25 credit) as we (Google Play Store pre-orderers) do, until I learned that they were getting theirs first (and not having to pay for shipping -kinda like salt in the wound). Especially since I pre-ordered the day before Gamestop announced that they were accepting pre-orders. I also asked them why I should consider pre-ordering anything from Google directly for future orders.

Edit: BTW I ordered mine on the afternoon of June 28th, and I still haven't received a notice of any tracking #. But I haven't gotten my account charged either...

[otherbot]

Yes. Because if they're worth their salt they've received a tip about the voice message and posted it already.

Google also officially announced it via their G+ page:


Seriously guys.. the news BROKE today. It takes time to get statements past legal.

Oh - okay - Google+ page - So they communicated it to everybody on Google+. Got it. I know when I'm looking to talk to the masses - I go right out to Google+. Some companies actually directly email a site like Android Central because they want people who care to know. But, now that I know it went out to everybody that reads Google+ I stand corrected.

Sorry Internet. The guy whose profile says he wants to work at Google and is defending them, no matter what is said, is right. Check it out on Google+ if you haven't already heard about it at the water cooler. Everybody is talking about what they read on Google+.

I wish I could get into marketing so I could understand that a company doesn't need to communicate to customers. Maybe send an expensive email to everybody that pre-ordered and let them know you care. Just take a statement read 3 weeks ago and let the fanboys on the Internet carry your message. No need to get in front of the story.

Oh - and of course - break the news of your shipping date on the day you ship. Well not you, but other retailers - that you'll punish by not banning them from other products for "breaking release date"

If the release date is mid-July, then why is Gamestop so shady for breaking release date? You say Google is right because it's shipping today and it's mid-July but Gamestop is shady because they are handing them out today? Right.

[UCLA 15]

Or you know, look at any tech site. 10:1 they're drafting a press release/email RIGHT NOW that will ship out before the end of the day. Things take time. I know this is hard to understand in the realm of instant gratification, but them's the facts.

This. Chances are, one this episode is over, here is what the timeline will look like:

Google announces Nexus 7
Pre-ordering becomes available on Play Store
Google indicates your Nexus 7 will ship in 2-3 weeks
Google updates that to 1-2 weeks
Google adds info to their customer service line about shipment dates
Google sends out a email to all customers about shipment
Nexus 7 begin to, in fact, ship just like Google said
Nexus 7 reach the hands of customers

The Gamestop matter is entirely unrelated to this timeline, because if Gamestop wasn't sketchy than all of you would have had your toys from the Play Store before people buying from retailers, like you were supposed to. That is an absolutely solid timeline for the release of a product. How much better can support get? The general format for buying something from an online retailer is that you get a "Will ship in X days/weeks" once you make your purchase, and then you get an email saying your product has shipped. That's it. What more do you need to know than that? The way it works is that you as the customer are supposed to be satisfied if the retailer gives you a rough time when to expect your product and then meets the original time frame it gave you when you ordered. Google appears to be doing just that.

We all know you will get bored of your toys within a few months, hopefully if I do end up getting a Microsoft Surface that I've been considering you same people won't be buying that too.

[Menno]

Mr. Bauman,

I have read a number of your posts that are a variation on the same thing. Respectfully, I have to disagree with what you say about retail. My background, by the way, is years of experience at Best Buy as not only a department supervisor for several departments, but also as a Sales Manager. I can tell you that, while you are right in saying that retail orders are placed far in advance, manufacturers can, and do (with great regularity) insist that retailers hold off on selling until a certain date. To take Game Stop as a prime example, in the movie or video game industry, the street date is king. When I was a manager for Best Buy, hot games that came in before the release date were actually locked up in a cage until the specified date. And it was made abundantly clear that we were not allowed to sell ahead of the release date under ANY circumstances. Period. New DVD releases were treated the same way (just not locked up). Now, as this is the industry GameStop is in, they are very, very familiar with not being able to sell something until the manufacturer has given the okay.

The problem here is not with Gamestop. It is with Google. Google could have insisted that these not be sold until a certain date that was far enough out to make sure that the wave one preorders on the Play store received their tablets first. Google could have done that, but it didn't.

Let's take a picture-perfect release for a similar tablet: the Kindle Fire. Amazon, right from the very beginning gave a hard and fast release date. Everyone knew the exact day that it was going to be released. I was part of the wave 1 preorders and, even though I wasn't expecting it to ship until the release date, Amazon went a step further and shipped it early so that I would receive it on the very same day that retailers were going to start selling it.

That's the way a manufacturer can manage a product release...if it chooses to. Google did not choose to, so it has pissed a lot of people off. Especially those people (like me) with a significant background in retail electronics who know full well Google could have controlled this if it so desired.

It is Google's fault. It was incredibly poor customer service on its part.

I'm sorry that you don't see it that way, but it is the truth.

Google DID insist to hold off sales (which is why every other retailer stopped shipping them yesterday) Gamestop chose to ignore that. The only fault with Google is that they didn't make the cost for ignoring their street date punitive.

If you bought a product that said "will ship in 2-3 weeks" and get pissed it doesn't have an exact date, that is YOUR fault, not a companies.

[dtdlurch]

Key to happy customers:

Under-promise, but over-deliver.

In this case, Google is keeping their "promise" exactly, while other retailers are essentially over-delivering and exceeding expectations. Intentional or not, Google set the expectation. Its their product. But, they are the last to get it out it seems.

[Menno]

Oh - okay - Google+ page - So they communicated it to everybody on Google+. Got it. I know when I'm looking to talk to the masses - I go right out to Google+. Some companies actually directly email a site like Android Central because they want people who care to know. But, now that I know it went out to everybody that reads Google+ I stand corrected.

Sorry Internet. The guy whose profile says he wants to work at Google and is defending them, no matter what is said, is right. Check it out on Google+ if you haven't already heard about it at the water cooler. Everybody is talking about what they read on Google+.

I wish I could get into marketing so I could understand that a company doesn't need to communicate to customers. Maybe send an expensive email to everybody that pre-ordered and let them know you care. Just take a statement read 3 weeks ago and let the fanboys on the Internet carry your message. No need to get in front of the story.

Oh - and of course - break the news of your shipping date on the day you ship. Well not you, but other retailers - that you'll punish by not banning them from other products for "breaking release date"

If the release date is mid-July, then why is Gamestop so shady for breaking release date? You say Google is right because it's shipping today and it's mid-July but Gamestop is shady because they are handing them out today? Right.

Ok, lets try this again.

Gamestop is shady because Google did not want the devices selling in stores yet. This is clear because EVERY OTHER RETAILER halted sales within hours of mistakenly selling them yesterday. Gamestop did not. That's why they're shady. Google obviously gave them an initial time frame, and then modified it. Gamestop was still bound to honor that new time frame, they didn't. How are you STILL not getting this?

Google releases press on a blog, via Google+ and via twitter. They've posted it on Google+ and Twitter already and have it be the FIRST thing you hear if you call in to ask. Again, it's been HOURS since the gamestop story hit the press. It's not even on some "mainstream" blogs yet. It takes time to craft a press release. How do you know Android Central WON'T get a release from Google Soon? This is a faster response time than 50% of the tech companys and 90% of hardware companies.


You expect them to craft you a personal reply INSTANTLY. That's not how it works. That's not how Google (or really any other company) works. The issue is with your expectations

[otherbot]

Google DID insist to hold off sales (which is why every other retailer stopped shipping them yesterday) Gamestop chose to ignore that

That is not what Google told me. They said that Gamestop had a partnership which allowed them to do it. Google asked them not to release it, and Gamestop said no. According to Google they were allowed to by Asus the actual manufacturer of the tablet. I guess that makes Asus shady too.

[DreamSTi]

This thread should be locked. Go cry someplace else.

[otherbot]

Ok, lets try this again.

Gamestop is shady because Google did not want the devices selling in stores yet. This is clear because EVERY OTHER RETAILER halted sales within hours of mistakenly selling them yesterday. Gamestop did not. That's why they're shady. Google obviously gave them an initial time frame, and then modified it. Gamestop was still bound to honor that new time frame, they didn't. How are you STILL not getting this?

Because Google told me that Asus allowed them to as I told you in another post. How are you STILL not getting this?

[Menno]

That is not what Google told me. They said that Gamestop had a partnership which allowed them to do it. Google asked them not to release it, and Gamestop said no. According to Google they were allowed to by Asus the actual manufacturer of the tablet. I guess that makes Asus shady too.

Then Google needs to make the punishment for saying no a lot more severe, so much so that it over-rules any partnership with asus, HTC, Samsung, or whoever the next nexus device is.

But what you said confirms what I've said. Gamestop is releasing the product early AGAINST Google's wishes.

I fail to see how Google owes YOU (a customer who pre-ordered and thus your product is not effected) anything because some other company can't play nice with others.

[Judynnnn]

No, don't complain. They shipped off the tablets the day retail started selling pre orders. You should have reserved at your local retail store.

Sent from my EVO using Android Central Forums

[Menno]

Because Google told me that Asus allowed them to as I told you in another post. How are you STILL not getting this?

Because that doesn't change the fact that Gamestop is doing this AGAINST GOOGLE'S WISHES. Which was the main point of my argument from the start.

[fog hit]

Half way around the globe, in Afganistan, there are young men and women who would love cold clean fresh water, a shower and hot food.
I'm sure they would look at your dismay, in not getting this new toy ASAP, with deep compassion.
In fact... they would love just getting this new toy, period. Even if it took another month.

[Unicorn Rancher]

Don't complain. Buy it locally and save the shipping charges.

Then don't accept the "pre" order that arrives "post" the release date.

Easy-Peasy. Everyone happy happy joy joy.