A new online shopping system interfered with online orders at the AU Campus Store about two weeks ago.
Many digital book orders were not processed and some hard copy orders were delayed or canceled.
Cole said they do not know how many students had been affected.
“We apologize for any inconvenience and strongly encourage any student that is experiencing trouble with orders to visit or contact the Campus Store for assistance,” Store Manager Kristi Cole said in an email.
Cole did not comment on the details or timing of the technological malfunction.
Follet, the operator of the Campus Store, launched a new system this year to increase the availability and minimize the number of items out of stock. Customers now have access to the entire Follet inventory, which consists of a distribution center and over 950 other campus stores, according to its website.
But there have been issues in the implementation of the new system, and some students did not get their books until well after classes began in August.
Dan Bellows, a sophomore in the School of International Service, said he ordered a used Spanish textbook online in mid-August, but the book was backordered. He said he thought the book would arrive once it came off backorder, but he had to go to the bookstore to purchase it.
“If I hadn’t gone into the store myself this week and bought the book new, I wouldn’t have gotten anything,” Bellows said. “It was very unclear.”
Katie Parody, a freshman in the School of Communication, said she faced similar difficulties in her dealings with the store. She never received an email confirming her books’ arrival and found out after going into the Campus Store for a different order.
Parody said she did not receive all her books until the second week of classes and reported issues with the store staff.
“They didn’t really know what was going on,” she said. “I guess they could have been overwhelmed with all the books coming and the people complaining, but I still wish I knew what actually happened.”
Cole said the Campus Store is working to prevent similar problems from occurring in the future.
“We remain committed to driving success with students and will use this non-peak period to rectify any issues that were identified this past rush,” she said in an email. “Since this was the very first season of implementation, we’re on the heels of an intensive review and will make the necessary changes against those lessons learned.”
news@theeagleonline.com
