Dear Google,
Trying to buy your devices internationally is an incredibly annoying experience.
With the Nexus line, you have demonstrated that you can build beautiful, useful devices and deliver a great user experience. Sadly, buying them outside the United States is the opposite.
About a year ago, when you launched the first Nexus tablets, I intented to buy a Nexus 7. First, it tooks weeks — if not months — before you launched the devices in Europe. Still, I signed up for launch notifications on the Google Nexus site. I never received a notification about the impeding launch.
On the launch day, the shop was sold out within mere minutes. I understand that selling out quickly is desirable from a press point of view. As a customer willing to pay for goods, it’s merely annoying.
A couple of months ago, you launched the new edition of the Nexus tablet line in the US, then some other countries. Since my old Nexus had been stolen in the meantime, I again intended to buy one. There was no hint when they would be available in Germany or many other countries. The German Nexus site still showed the old Nexus and made no mention of the new edition, which seems slightly misleading. Then, a few weeks later, the new Nexus was announced on the German site, too, but again, without a launch date. Instead there was, once more, a form to sign up to be notified about the launch. Again, no notification was sent.
I asked both friends working at Google and the Google Nexus support on Twitter (@googlenexus) for information on expected availability. My friends didn’t know anything; the customer support never replied on Twitter.
When I checked the site for updates, I noticed that once more the sales had started without notifications and — again — you hadn’t provided enough devices and sold out in no time. Once more, the device isn’t available, pre-orders aren’t possible, and there’s no statement of an intended date of availability.
Yes, I will buy a new Nexus when they become available despite my frustration. But I’m far from being a satisfied customer. As someone who’s always supported the Android ecosystem, this is very frustrating.
You need to get better at this to not make everyone outside the US feel like second or third class customers. You’re not a scrawny little startup with limited means to invest in an international roll-out. You’re Google. Start behaving like it.
This isn’t good enough.
Yours,
Peter
