SBD - Seasonal Booksellers
Nov. 6th, 2006 09:15 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jmc_bksI'm prepared -in advance- for Smart Bitches Day. It's kind of been percolating in my mind since Saturday, when I was at Borders. It's all about seasonal booksellers. That particular Borders isn't the closest book store to me, but I go out of my way to go there because they have a good romance selection, a nice cafe, and book sellers that are helpful and not pinch-nosed when it comes to popular fiction -- romance, mystery or fantasy.
I noticed on Saturday that the store is now ready for Christmas: all kinds of calendars; games; cards; wrapping paper; gift ideas; etc. More staff, too. Saturday afternoon is always busy, and hence well-staffed, but there were gaggles of booksellers around the other day, most of which I had never seen before (and yes, I recognize most of the regular booksellers). Checking people out, shelving books, reorganizing sections (which actually was a little irritating -- why do that on a high traffic day?). So I check out and am waiting for my purchases to be bagged, when the bookseller next to mine talks into his microphone about not being able to figure out what a call-in cusstomer wanted, she was talking about a NASCAR romance. After he disconnected, he turned to my bookseller (also male) and the two of them giggled and chatted about not getting the connection between NASCAR and romance. Since I was standing there, I offered to explain the intersection. They weren't interested in hearing it: the response was, "There are some things that just shouldn't be connected and I just don't want to know." I shrugged, then asked if they knew what the largest growth demographic for NASCAR fans was. No? Women. How large was the romance market? Billion dollar industry. They didn't believe me about the NASCAR and pooh-poohed the size of the romance publishing industry. Whatever.
The attitude kind of bothered me for a couple of reasons. First, making fun of romance (or denigrating it and its readers) while a romance customer is standing in front of you is just poor customer service. Especially irritating in a store that I've always found to be romance-friendly. Second, blowing off the caller is even more bad customer service...because I know that there were copies of at least two NASCAR-themed romances in stock, having just cruised that section. If he had bothered to do a shelf-read or even a title search, that bookseller probably would've found what the caller was looking for. Third, even if that particular bookseller wasn't up on the contents of the romance section, why not contact someone on the staff who was?
While I was waiting in line to be checked out, two consecutive customers asked about the Sony e-Reader. Each one asked a different bookseller, both of whom looked dumbfounded and had no idea what the customer was talking about. They called the manager, who pulled out two of the readers, which were apparently being held behind the counter because they are expensive and smallish and could easily "walk away on their own."
Now, I know that those booksellers are seasonal ones, not the regular, full-time booksellers. But it still bothers me that they didn't seem to know their store's stock and that they were dismissive of a customer's request -even by phone- and another customer to her face. Not a good business practice.
I noticed on Saturday that the store is now ready for Christmas: all kinds of calendars; games; cards; wrapping paper; gift ideas; etc. More staff, too. Saturday afternoon is always busy, and hence well-staffed, but there were gaggles of booksellers around the other day, most of which I had never seen before (and yes, I recognize most of the regular booksellers). Checking people out, shelving books, reorganizing sections (which actually was a little irritating -- why do that on a high traffic day?). So I check out and am waiting for my purchases to be bagged, when the bookseller next to mine talks into his microphone about not being able to figure out what a call-in cusstomer wanted, she was talking about a NASCAR romance. After he disconnected, he turned to my bookseller (also male) and the two of them giggled and chatted about not getting the connection between NASCAR and romance. Since I was standing there, I offered to explain the intersection. They weren't interested in hearing it: the response was, "There are some things that just shouldn't be connected and I just don't want to know." I shrugged, then asked if they knew what the largest growth demographic for NASCAR fans was. No? Women. How large was the romance market? Billion dollar industry. They didn't believe me about the NASCAR and pooh-poohed the size of the romance publishing industry. Whatever.
The attitude kind of bothered me for a couple of reasons. First, making fun of romance (or denigrating it and its readers) while a romance customer is standing in front of you is just poor customer service. Especially irritating in a store that I've always found to be romance-friendly. Second, blowing off the caller is even more bad customer service...because I know that there were copies of at least two NASCAR-themed romances in stock, having just cruised that section. If he had bothered to do a shelf-read or even a title search, that bookseller probably would've found what the caller was looking for. Third, even if that particular bookseller wasn't up on the contents of the romance section, why not contact someone on the staff who was?
While I was waiting in line to be checked out, two consecutive customers asked about the Sony e-Reader. Each one asked a different bookseller, both of whom looked dumbfounded and had no idea what the customer was talking about. They called the manager, who pulled out two of the readers, which were apparently being held behind the counter because they are expensive and smallish and could easily "walk away on their own."
Now, I know that those booksellers are seasonal ones, not the regular, full-time booksellers. But it still bothers me that they didn't seem to know their store's stock and that they were dismissive of a customer's request -even by phone- and another customer to her face. Not a good business practice.
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no subject
Date: 2006-11-06 05:54 pm (UTC)Re the NASCAR books: I can't stand NASCAR, but even I'm aware of Pamela Britton's success in the romance book tie-in.
Nascar
Date: 2006-11-06 07:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-11-06 07:30 pm (UTC)It is frustrating to customers. I'm always so happy when I ask a question in a chain store and they actually know the answer!
-jennie