NokiaUSA.com (Brightpoint)

I placed my pre-order for the Nokia N900 on 09/13/2009at the nokiausa.com website. My original order number was 2905395. The order included the free BH-703 Bluetooth headset. I did not purchase the additional insurance.

I paid with AMEX and did not have any issues with the card being declined. However, I did ask for the order to be shipped to another address (Billing and shipping addresses are different).

I received a phone call a few days later verifying if I had placed the order and if Nokia had my permission to send out the order. I was later sent an order confirmation email from NokiaUSA on 9/15/09.

I checked out various blogs, message boards (hofo), and lurked at maemo.org for a few months until I saw the thread where someone stated that NokiaUSA was migrating from an old ordering system to a new one. I also read that the N900 was being released on 11/18/09.

I tried to patiently wait, but my anxiety and curiosity took over and I called NokiaUSA (1-866-596-6542) on 11/20/09. I chose the "track order" option and spoke to a CSR.

After I gave the CSR my order number, she immediately explained that there was a problem with my order being on the old order system and I will need to cancel it and create a new order on the new system. I was asked to be put on hold to be transferred to another CSR, Kim.

She told me that NokiaUSA had already assigned my case to her and that I was on a list that she was going to call the next day (11/21). However, she can help me expedite the ordering process if she can place me on a brief hold. After holding for a few minutes, we were able to create a new order before we cancel the old one.

She also explained that the BH-703 Bluetooth headset is not compatible with the current firmware of the N900, so NokiaUSA is willing offer a 15% discount on the order and charge $1 for overnight shipping as a discount for those who pre-ordered. However, if I still want the original deal with the BH-703, they will still honor it, but it will delay shipping.

I went ahead and took the discount and proceeded to give her my payment info. She suggested that I change my shipping address to match my billing address, so there would be no hold up on the order. I paid with AMEX and had no problems with the authorization.

After she gave me my new order number 175687, she asked my permission to cancel my old order. I was then given a 10-digit cancelation number.

I thanked Kim for taking care of my order and she said, "I wished every customer I deal with can be as wonderful as you."

A few hours after my conversation with Kim, I received a pre-order confirmation from NokiaUSA and then a "pre-order is released for shipment" email.

On 11/24, I received an email from NokiaUSA saying the order is shipped with a FedEx tracking number.

As I'm typing this reply, I'm trying to patiently wait for the FedEx truck to arrive.

Moral to the story:

Make sure your billing and shipping address match.

Use a credit card that does not have to check with you everytime you make a big purchase.

Golden Rule applies even if you're dealing with a company that may have botched a PR goldmine into a PR nightmare. I was surprised when my CSR said she would want every customer to be nice to her as I was. That just tells me everyone who pre-ordered a phone from NokiaUSA are a bunch of whiny little *****es.

[rant]If you treat the CSR with respect and have a great outlook going into the phone call, they will appreciate it. It's not the CSR's fault that the N900 did not ship out on the expected date. They're just being told what to do by the higher ups. If you give them a chance, they will do their jobs and get every one of those pre-orders out. Put a little faith in people to do their jobs, unless you whiny people want to do everything yourselves.[/rant]

I hope this post helps dispells the myth that NokiaUSA has bad customer service.