Kylie Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 Our local bookstores must be generous with returns because I've bought several books brand new only to realise later on that the spine is completely cracked and has clearly been read before. It's really annoying because I don't often buy books new. If I wanted it secondhand I would have bought it secondhand I try to remember to check the condition before I buy it now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katrina1968 Posted January 6, 2010 Author Share Posted January 6, 2010 My point exactly, like buying used underware:irked:. Our return policy is really generous in the extent that we will give the store credit or exchange the book for a different book (two of the same, a gift, etc.) We just dont give cash refunds. We even have it printed on the receipts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anika Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 It really is amazing what people think is their "right". Just this past Saturday a woman called. She was SOOOoooo offended after reading the book that she doesnt want us to carry the book in the store. After reading the book cover to cover (she admitted it) she now wants to exchange it for another book. She is "sorry I read it, sorry its in my brain, sorry I cant get it out of my head" How do people like this find their way home at the end of the day??!! These are the same kind of people who pig out at McDonald's for years, then sue the company when they become OBESE!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookJumper Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 Our local bookstores must be generous with returns because I've bought several books brand new only to realise later on that the spine is completely cracked and has clearly been read before. It's really annoying because I don't often buy books new. If I wanted it secondhand I would have bought it secondhand. I try to remember to check the condition before I buy it now.They might not even be returns; some people read half the book in the shop, happily cracking away at the spine, before deciding they don't want it . I feel you re: your 'if I wanted it secondhand' point (I go further; I want even my second-hand to look first-hand!). You should do what I do, getting every single copy on display off the shelf and contrasting and comparing them to find the best one, and buying none if they're all too scuffed . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuggleMagic Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 I would never dream of taking a book back to a book shop because I didn't like it. THat is the chance you take when you purchase a book! You should have pointed her in the direction of the nearest library I also work in a shop and get a lot of abuse. A customer called me a 'minger' once Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freewheeling Andy Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 Like everyone else, I just can't imagine you take a book back just because you don't like it. Can I return a DVD I've bought because it was dross? No. Even when you taste a bottle of wine at a restaurant, you shouldn't send it back because you don't like it - it's actually just to check whether the wine is off. I have taken books back - but only when they've been missing large numbers of pages due to a printing error, or when I already owned a copy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 I feel you re: your 'if I wanted it secondhand' point (I go further; I want even my second-hand to look first-hand!). You should do what I do, getting every single copy on display off the shelf and contrasting and comparing them to find the best one, and buying none if they're all too scuffed . I do this in a bookshop that sells remaindered books, because you really need to sort through them there, but I haven't been doing that in the larger bookstores because I expect them to be, well, new. I just have to remember to always check them in future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigWords Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 It is very rare that I take a book back to the shop I bought it from, but one title springs immediately to mind - Fabulous Harbours by Michael Moorcock. The text was printed off the page, rendering the book unreadable, and I had barely opened the book before discovering this. The bookshop took it back and replaced it with a copy (which I remembered to check) without question. The idea that a person can read a book before taking it back is not only insulting, it is borderline theft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pottersby Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 Lol this made me laugh. Brought back my 8 years with waterstones in all its self righteous customer glory. I have never taken a book back except for once when there was a printing error and it had missing pages. Peoples audacity never stops amazing me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirandashell Posted January 28, 2010 Share Posted January 28, 2010 but when a fire alarm went off, they'd ask you if they could just finish paying and have their goods wrapped so they didn't have to hang around! I was like "you can wait here to see if the fire's real but I'm off!". Crazy. It's like all intelligence and rationality leaves them once they cross the stores threshold I had similar to this when I worked on a helpline. I was arranging an engineer visit for a customer when the fire alarm went off. I told him I would have to call him back as it wasn't a drill ... he told me he wanted me to arrange the appointment first! Yeah right! I don't mind burning to death for you! He called back an hour later and complained to my manager....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirandashell Posted January 28, 2010 Share Posted January 28, 2010 Oh, one thing I hate in bookshops is when someone picks up a book from the alphabetical shelves, walks away, decides they don't want it and instead of taking it back, just puts it down on the nearest shelf! Lazy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atticjnr Posted January 28, 2010 Share Posted January 28, 2010 This reminds me on the episode of Black Books where a man is trying to get his money back but Bernard finds a grain of sand on one of the pages, Manny tastes it and pinpoints the exact location of the beach. The man is sent on his way. You buy a book and don't like it then tough. Brilliant. I watched this episode the other day. I believe it is the episode where they can't cool down, and the woman's room keeps getting smaller? I must get the DVDs as it is brilliant! I love Dylan Moran and Bill Bailey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anika Posted January 31, 2010 Share Posted January 31, 2010 Oh, one thing I hate in bookshops is when someone picks up a book from the alphabetical shelves, walks away, decides they don't want it and instead of taking it back, just puts it down on the nearest shelf! Lazy! I straighten the books up as I walk around the store, and put the ones on the display tables back in their proper pile, etc. My neat-freak tendencies, I suppose. Can't help it. I think it would drive me insane to work in a retail book store. I would be fuming about all those teenagers lolling in the graphic-books aisle. Sprawled out on the floor like it's their living room or something. And I can't count how many times I've found empty drink cups just set down on a stack of books!! Is it so hard to find a trash can? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookJumper Posted January 31, 2010 Share Posted January 31, 2010 I straighten the books up as I walk around the store, and put the ones on the display tables back in their proper pile, etc. My neat-freak tendencies, I suppose. Can't help it.Come here, you kindred spirit you I'm exactly the same - my inner librarian will not abide seeing books in less than alphabetical order! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinay87 Posted January 31, 2010 Share Posted January 31, 2010 heh I hate it when people in the queue don't move forwards or when they don't have their cash ready. But I hate that everywhere, not just in bookshops In bookshops in particular I hate it when people use their cellphones and talk like they have to yell at the person instead of talk softly. And I hate it when people don't put books back in the same place from whence they came. And I hate loathe detest those pals that accompany novice readers into the shop and go "Oh the usual shop I use is much larger." "You don't want to read that, the sequel sucks." "That author is god I tell you." I just want to throw a collector's edition hard bound copy of The Fountainhead at them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anika Posted January 31, 2010 Share Posted January 31, 2010 In bookshops in particular I hate it when people use their cellphones and talk like they have to yell at the person instead of talk softly. And I hate loathe detest those pals that accompany novice readers into the shop and go "Oh the usual shop I use is much larger." "You don't want to read that, the sequel sucks." "That author is god I tell you." I just want to throw a collector's edition hard bound copy of The Fountainhead at them. I'll stand behind you with 'Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell' in case you miss. And they should have a soundproof room in the back of the store designated for cellphone usage. (Oh! don't even get me started on this pet-peeve! ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicola Posted January 31, 2010 Share Posted January 31, 2010 In bookshops in particular I hate it when people use their cellphones and talk like they have to yell at the person instead of talk softly. Me too!! I usually switch my phone off as I'd be embarrassed if it rang in such a quiet place. There's always one though isn't there I also hate to see a person put a book back in the wrong place or remove it from the run to then lay across the top of the books instead of slotting it back in it's place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katrina1968 Posted January 31, 2010 Author Share Posted January 31, 2010 As someone who works in a bookshoppe, I get REALLY disgusted when people dont put the books back where they got it from. Better to just give it to a clerk who can put it away, then to shove it in the hinterlands. How many times have I gotten a call from someone inquiring about whether we carry a book. I check the inventory and yes, we do have this book! Sure I'll put it aside for you. Then imagine that I go to get the book off the shelf and its not there! I check EVERYWHERE only to maybe find it shoved on a shelf on the other side of the store:motz:. Sometimes the book cant be found and the person has made a wasted trip. Not good. It really screws our inventory and moral when this happens. So much wasted time searching for a book... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinay87 Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 I hate one thing that some personnel do in bookshops. They follow you around. I hate loathe and detest being asked "May I help you sir?" by a bookshop personnel when I've been in a bookshop for about ten minutes without touching a book. Sure I don't expect them to be entirely aloof and allow people to steal books but let them search those who're walking out of the shop instead of stalking us in the shop. That is why I usually frequent this old used book shop. Even if I stay there for nine hours, they don't ask anything beyond whether I would like yet another cup of tea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookJumper Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 That is why I usually frequent this old used book shop. Even if I stay there for nine hours, they don't ask anything beyond whether I would like yet another cup of tea.... what's it called, Heaven?! Can I come visit?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinay87 Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 It's called Blossoms... lol The shopkeeper is this awesome guy who quit his awesome paying IT job to sell books because he likes the smell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katrina1968 Posted February 3, 2010 Author Share Posted February 3, 2010 We dont strive to annoy our customers. When they walk through the door we sometimes let them know if we can help them, let us know. However, most times, when they say "no" we find, after about 20 minutes of looking in the same spot that they dont know where something is or cant remember the title. When I take a tour around the store, I stop and greet my customers if I didnt see them enter, then ask if they are looking for anything in particular. Eight times out of ten, the want assistance but havent come to ask because we were with other customers. For us, its not about checking to see if someone is knicking something, its just good customer service. People will leave a store if their presence isnt acknowledged or they havent seen a clerk. The majority of customers coming into a bookshoppe love interaction with the clerks, they ask for our opinions and we discuss the latest books, etc. Again, its all about letting our customers know that we are aware that they are here and we want to serve them if we can. They are free to tell us, "no, we're fine" and no feelings are hurt. They know what they need and thats good. But if we DONT ask, then we're told we have poor customer service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinay87 Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 lol good point. Never saw it that way. I guess newcomers to the bookshop will always appreciate the help. But then again the shop I frequent always has enough staff to help me find the book I can't find by myself. Usually that book will happen to be a tome of ancient proportions given I couldn't find it myself Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissy Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 I think there is a difference though between being attentive and helpful, and stalking the customer as if they are a criminal. I have experienced both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pickle Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 I hate when i am stood in a big queue to pay for a book and the person in front of me wants to make a book enquiry...there is a seperate desk for this..or just ask one of the roving sales staff.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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