posted on September 12, 2003 05:58:51 AM
Are mom and pop bookstores dead?
I used to enjoy going into these type of book stores but am finding more and more that the young people that the owners seem to be hiring leave the experience lacking.
The last two I was in, the person didn't even bother to greet me and then as I couldn't find what I was looking for, was about as unhelpful and discourteous as I have seen in a long time.
So guess B&N and Borders has a new customer... oh well sometimes things just need to die...
posted on September 12, 2003 06:21:55 AM
you are lucky to find mom and pop stores??i bet they own the building and they have no rent to pay,thats why they are still around.
if they order books from publisher/wholesaler,they get a 42-55% discount,books are heavy to ship,so shipping ups is hefty and most businesses ship ups ground.
and they cannot sell these copies at listed price as the big boys always offer a discount.
so where is the profit,none.
of course they can buy remainders,hurts etc.
let me ask you this question-after you get your kicks browsing their store,do you buy from them ?/or do you just order a used copy from half.com?? or just go home and consider the browsing as free entertainment
-sig file -------The thrill is gone!!
posted on September 12, 2003 06:31:42 AM
If I find what I am looking for I buy from them, I would rather see a democrat in the oval office than to buy from half.com
posted on September 12, 2003 07:13:10 AM
I like to browse sit and read and perhaps have a cup of coffee. I may not buy every time but I will always buy from the place that allows this courtesy. Most mom and popers have a hissy if you are in there more than five minutes and don't have a book on the counter yet, and don't even think of opening it up and seeing if it is a worthy read. They like to be rude and nasty and then blame thier problem on the big stores when in reality it is them being a jackass that is the true problem. That is by no means all mom and poppers there are some that are great and will discuss books with you and love to help but more and more it is going the other way.
posted on September 12, 2003 07:23:43 AM
I used to love the old mom and pop bookstores. We had a couple of them here that sold old used books. I used to love the old smell of the place. My guess it that the owner's died and their families didn't want to take over. It's a shame. I'd rather visit those places than the new ones where someone is always following you around asking, "Did you find everything alright?" Or, "Did you find what you are looking for?" Why don't you just come out and ask, "You aren't going to steal anything, are you?"
posted on September 12, 2003 07:25:51 AM
I have a used book store down the block. They have the formula down. In different areas they have notes on the racks with reccomendations. i.e. - If you like "insert wildly popular author" you might want to check out "insert lessor known authors in similar vein". They have chairs set out all over the store for you to sit and sample a few pages and two of the employees are reviewers with wildly different tastes so one always seems to know exactly what you are tlking about if the other one is lost.
When it comes to new books I usually hit B&N since the local ones have Starrbucks inside. A good Iced Mocha will help me to forgive their complete lack of customer service.
~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~
Men Are Like Grapes. If You Stomp on Them and Keep Them in the Dark Long Enough, They Might Turn Into Something That You Would Take to Dinner
posted on September 12, 2003 08:14:49 AM
Ahh yes, the book browsers....
I work in a used book store.
Nothing is more upsetting than one of you arrogant people coming in and taking a $500.00 book off the shelf to look at it, putting it on the table and popping the inside hinge so it will lay flat while they just look at it.
Nothing is more annoying than one of you comming through the door, walking right past the books on antiques and interupting me with another customer to demand to know where the books on antiques are.
Nothing is more confusing than customers looking for a book that they haven't got a clue about but want you to find it because you are a bookseller. had one customer want me to find a book about a fictional affair between Sir Francis Scott and Queen Mary Scott. Didn't know who the author was, nor did he know the title. But I was a bookseller and I should know
Nothing more stupid than the customer who drives all the way to the B&N to buy a book because it is a dollar cheaper that us(B&N is 20 miles away) and then not liking the book and trying to return them through us because "we're a book store."
We lose literally thousands of dollars and many customer per years due to other customers taking a book off the shelf to look at and then re-shelving elsewhere in the store. With three floors and over 200,000 books, we can not find it. The customer who actually wanted it is angry and we lose that sale and probably others.
Yes, 12-pole they may be unhelpful and upset you. But the arrogant and uncaring customers has really cut into our profits You want nice? Do some of your own legwork before asking me where something is? Heck, you may even discover a few unknown treasures. Act with some respect towards us not like we are your servants and are beneath your contempt.
Had one good employee fired here because she upset an old lady who knew the owner. The lady was looking for a book which hadn't been published yet. The employee told her it wasn't available yet. The lady was upset because the employee didn't look it up on the computer. The fact that we had just looked it up on the computer for the previous customer and it was still on the screen was immaterial
posted on September 12, 2003 08:34:30 AM
Twelve, they are becoming few & far between. And after reading the rant by LICKER, you can see why. With customer skills like that, they should work in city government.
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34
[ edited by BEAR1949 on Sep 12, 2003 08:36 AM ]
posted on September 12, 2003 09:01:31 AM
"The last two I was in, the person didn't even bother to greet me and then as I couldn't find what I was looking for, was about as unhelpful and discourteous as I have seen in a long time."
Perhaps your reputation preceded you. My response might have been "Sorry we're closed"
Republican, the other white meat!
posted on September 12, 2003 09:12:42 AM
Perhaps the owners are getting older and can no longer take the customer abuse that happens when one works retail. So they hire younger staff to save their sanity.
I have sold new and used books in most of my shops over the years and customers have ripped the dust covers, broken the spines, torn the pages, wiped food on them, and written on them. Many people lack respect for books as well as all merchandise and it adds up to major losses.
The majority of customers are good but when there are bad ones it ruins it for everyone. Not many understand this unless they have worked retail and actually see what the public is like.
posted on September 12, 2003 09:22:39 AM
I very much support MoM & PoP Business. Yes most these Stores, such as book stores do have rules on handling books. I accept that & understand it. In our area we have 2 such book stores. Both have been in business for over 100 years, Both are very profitable. We support our local businesses no matter what form of business it may be.
posted on September 12, 2003 09:51:39 AM
folks used to go to barnes and noble superstore and have a cup of strabuck coffee,sit on the couch,eat their mcdonald lunch,talked on the phone,read the sunday papers,browse travel guide books and magazines and then fell asleep.
the furnitures were so worn,barnes and noble finally took most of them out.
oh,some poor clerk has to fold all the newspaper pages and put all the books and magazines back on the shelf.and mop up spilled milkshake and empty frnech fries bag.
-sig file -------The thrill is gone!!
posted on September 12, 2003 12:46:16 PM
The only times I've gone into a bookstore was to purchase a book I'd already decided I wanted to buy. And I've bought books online the same way. Never have been in a 'mom & pop' book store.
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I agree Fred. I support our little mom & pop grocery store out here too.
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After years of being a store manager in Beverly Hills, my father-in-law opened up his own little ma & pa grocery store. Business was great for many years. Most of his customers said the reason they chose to shop there, even though his items were higher, was because of the great service they always received. People appreciate great service.
posted on September 12, 2003 01:24:09 PM
In my neighborhood, small businesses have all been replaced by chains and big business. Book stores, hardware stores, drug stores, grocery stores and more recently my favorite office supply store have all gone out of business.
posted on September 12, 2003 01:31:49 PM
small stores have to find a niche ,like health food,organic food,homecooking,vegetarian food.
same with books,used book stores seem to do well as most of their books are out of print and some are very cheap,some not so,it is always fun to browse old stores-books,antiques or junks.
but it is still tough as shoppers are conscious of the price difference.
we have wholefood markets,they seem to do well but their prices are higher than supermarkets.
-sig file -------The thrill is gone!!
posted on September 12, 2003 04:40:18 PM
Well bear, there you go again..
I said nothing about customer service, yet stupid short-dicked idiots like yourself read nothing and comment from their a$$hole? The main problem is NOT the help, it is the customer who think they are priviledged A-1 class a$$hole (like yourself) and want to have ALL the thinking done for them like they are some type of Republican sheeple. Well let me tell you something fool. No matter w how nice service people are, they can not help morons like yourself who have no idea what they want but they want it now. Except it it VERY obvious you like to be bent over taking it up the a$$ from a Republican C-student because he is SO much smarter than you.
posted on September 12, 2003 06:32:05 PMWant to bend over and take it from a REAL man?
So where you going to fing this "REAL" man... we all know it isn't you.
Bear, pay no mind to mlecher... he is probably the grouchy old ba$tard behind the counter now a days... wife won't give him his balls back to play with, and he lost his magnifying glass and can't find his penis...
posted on September 12, 2003 07:05:29 PM
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone
They paved paradise and put in a parking lot.
Helen - All the small stores around here are disappearing as well. They've been replaced by WalMart and SuperK. Heck, compared to those two, I consider the old May Co., Higbees and Halles department stores small. Anyone remember Zayre's or Gold Circle? One by one they fall by the wayside and are forgotten.
I do feel for some of the clerks in the stores these days and can understand some of them being less than pleasant. My mother worked for Revco (now CVS) for 25 years. She retired 3 years ago and it was only in the last 5 or so that shoplifting and vandalism was rampant. People can be real pigs. Take Value City. My daughter worked there for 1 week. In that week, they (the clerks) were required to clean up the pee in the lady's dressing rooms daily. Yes, the shoppers were that nasty. That was when my daughter told them to shove the job where the sun don't shine. There are clothes scattered everywhere from people who can't be bothered picking up what they knocked off of hangers.
Salutes to all of you who have to cope with that on a daily basis.
posted on September 13, 2003 07:15:45 AM
thats what happens when everything is cheap and getting cheaper.
items are marked down 30 % when they first appear on the shelf,then mark down some more after a week and down to almost nothing in one month.
cheapen thy products and you get no respect from your customers.
they will come in their rollers and pj.
we all have too much clothes and too many pairs of shoes in our closet,all we need is to stop eating and shed a few pounds.
-sig file -------The thrill is gone!!
