Comments on: Working the Info Desk at the Bookstore: Book Requests

By: Elliott

Elliott — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 00:24:30 +0000

lol

By: Blasphemer

Blasphemer — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 00:24:03 +0000

YES. there is really no way that it can be right.

By: Blasphemer

Blasphemer — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 00:22:11 +0000

this is blasphemer

By: isosecondthis

isosecondthis — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 02:43:04 +0000

i worked for my university’s library for three years, until i had to remove myself before smacking someone with the book. this one day, this girl came in and all she asked me was this, “hey so like.. i’m looking for a poem.” once again, people, UNIVERSITY!!

By: LEGEND101

LEGEND101 — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 16:24:44 +0000

THERE’S NO WAY THAT CAN BE RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!

By: Joe

Joe — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 08:13:39 +0000

“Um, like, where do you keep the Twilight series?”

“Over there, in the there’s-no-such-thing-as-vampires-but-even-if-there-were-they-totally-couldn’t-get-boners section.”

By: Rei

Rei — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 03:00:12 +0000

hahaha, i work at a bookstore and get the damn “blue book” alllll the time.

One of my “favourite” customers though, was a lady who complained that the people working at the starbucks (we had a starbucks attached to our bookstore) didn’t know where our books were when she asked them for one, and when i tried to explain that starbucks was a separate store from us she just complained more that they should know our books since they sell drinks within the store grounds :S

By: Alex

Alex — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 21:17:14 +0000

I admit, I did that too with a poker face and then an a knowing glance. WHO are the Monks of New Wherever and their German Shepards??

By: Alex

Alex — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 21:10:36 +0000

“Oh , do you mean ‘Saving Fish from Drowning’” by Amy Tan? – I love doing that. I loved it! well, we all do. We would even have contests to see which bookseller could guess and get their hands first on said book.

By: Alex

Alex — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 21:07:11 +0000

“Well maam, chances are they just didn’t print enough and they all got purchased; you’re right, it must be good! Lets see about getting you a used or new copy through our dealer network.

I was like a robot with that $hit. Like the Progressive girl. No wonder I had to quite b/c of stress!

By: Alex

Alex — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 20:59:54 +0000

Same exact request on mermaids – and I busted my but in mythology. She grudgingly got a “fiction” book.

By: Private_Danza

Private_Danza — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:25:18 +0000

That would have been Polish.

By: ornith

ornith — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 02:09:47 +0000

I worked at Border back before the manga craze. So eliminate that whole slice of the pie. Also, the “I’m looking for a book my friend was reading, it was blue and I think it had a girl in it” category often IS the Oprah category. Nine times out of ten, this request can be filled by taking the customer on a walk past the bestsellers, Oprah books, and new releases and pointing out the blue ones. Particularly brilliant because they had to walk THROUGH those areas to reach the help desk! And we got that all the time.

We also got an awful lot of “I’m looking for a book. (dead stop)”, and I too came up with mock-helpful, snarky responses, because what they heck else can you say to that? “I think you’ve found one!” “You’ve come to the right place!” “Just one? We have lots!” “Any _particular_ book?”

By: Jester2000

Jester2000 — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 00:58:45 +0000

“I need a book for school. It’s called ‘Atlas Drugged.’”
“I believe you’re looking for ‘Atlas Shrugged’ by Ayn Rand.”
“No, the author had a weird first name.”
“Yeah, it’s spelled A-Y-N. It’s ‘Atlas Shrugged.’ Let me show you where it is.”
“No, it’s called ‘Atlas Drugged.’ I’m sure of it.”
“Well, I’ll check (’cause you never know). Okay, there’s nothing by that title on my computer. Would you like to at least come over and look at the book? Maybe seeing the cover will jog your memory about the title.”
“No, thanks.”
“Okay, well when you find out that you’re really supposed to read ‘Atlas Shrugged,’ we’ll have copies here.”

Seriously.

By: Hoagie

Hoagie — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 03:44:22 +0000

LOL that’s awesome

By: HitoriInu

HitoriInu — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 03:34:51 +0000

hehe like, 90% of the time i go to the library i want manga

By: maggot

maggot — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 01:00:59 +0000

What really pisses me off about the vague questions is the lack of gratitude when they give you almost no details and that cog clicks in your head and you pluck the right title out of thin air and they’re just like, “yeah, that one.”

Even worse than that is when they’ve given you the WRONG information on title, author, cover etc. but their rough description of the plot gives you the answer, so you give them the correct title and author and they go, “that’s what I said.”

A couple of years ago, an MP was arrested here in Britain and had his office searched. His name was Damien Green. A customer came in around that time (brash, loud woman) and barked “I want that Damien Green book by Orson Welles.” On my life, this was the conversation that followed between her and my colleague:

Colleague: Orson Welles?
Woman: Yes. Damien Green, something.
C: Riiiight… [clutching at straws] is it about the politician?
W: No. Yes, no. I don’t think so. No, it’s about a man.
C: Damien Green?
W: Yes.
C: This must be a recent book, then?
W: No, NO! It’s very old. Very famous. My goodness, I can’t believe this. DAMIEN GREEN by ORSON WELLES. Something to do with a MIRROR.
C: [little cog miraculously clicks] Is there any chance you mean The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde?
W: So you DID know it.
C: You’re welcome. The classics are over here.

By: Andrei Armand

Andrei Armand — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 20:17:34 +0000

the worst customers are the ones who stand in line for ten minutes during x-mas rush, get to the register, then proceed to ask me ‘i was wondering if you could look up a book by so-and-so…’. of course i have to say ‘i’m sorry this is just a plain vanilla cash register you’ll have to go to info’. then they have to argue with me about being able to look up books using the register. i nearly had to call a manager over once because a guy was getting his boxers in a wad over it.
then again everything is worse in x-mas rush…

By: Crosis101

Crosis101 — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 21:19:07 +0000

could have been Solaris by Stanislaw Lem. :->

By: roar

roar — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 17:10:49 +0000

> I’ll grab the nearest book, “Voila, a book!”

fast and corteous service. Couldn’t ask for more
lol

By: also

also — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 18:09:03 +0000

WIN

By: Wambli

Wambli — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 04:37:34 +0000

LMAO!!!! I thought that exact thing!!!! that’s tooo freak’n funny!!!

By: juuri

juuri — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 15:06:32 +0000

i work in a newsagency and i know EXACTLY what you mean, we have an ENORMOUS magazine section and this one woman came in and asked for some really random bird-watching magazine. and I said i didn’t know if we stocked it but i directed her to the section where it would be if we did. and then she got REALLY angry with me and started yelling at me that i should know what magazines we stocked, so i told her that i only work afternoons and so i’m never here when the deliveries arrive and she keeps yelling and says that; that shouldn’t matter! I work at the store and should know what magazines we get!

stupid people…

By: Books-a-million-is-crap

Books-a-million-is-crap — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 23:28:35 +0000

I like the ones who come up and ask for a book by simply saying the title and NOTHING else. It always ends up being a title that contains a question such as: “Who Moved My Cheese?” or “How Full is Your Bucket?”. At first I’m like, wtf? o.O

By: ByeByeBorders

ByeByeBorders — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 17:13:12 +0000

Now I see why I have so many books…

By: ByeByeBorders

ByeByeBorders — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 17:12:30 +0000

And sorry to you for the administration thing. I tell you, if I was rich, I would buy out Borders just for the discounts. Mind you, if you buy a book from a bookstore you own, are you just giving yourself (and your employees) money?

By: ArcherAve

ArcherAve — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 07:37:03 +0000

I work at a Borders and reading these comments is really hitting home. One of my favorite tricks is when I am helping a customer look for something completely obscure, like an encyclopedia of dog breeds or something, and they ask for a recommendation. Like I have really perused all the dog breed encyclopedias and picked a favorite. In that instance I always grab the first one I see and recommend it. Flip it over, read the author’s name, “So-and-so is really the expert, you should get this one.”

By: Default User

Default User — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 05:43:21 +0000

Or “The Road” “Anna Karenina” “Icy Sparks” “Cane River” “The Corrections” “Gap Creek” to name a few…

By: Maggie Von Doom

Maggie Von Doom — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 17:40:18 +0000

For future reference, The Secret?

By: Pom Rania

Pom Rania — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 17:28:24 +0000

The weird thing is, I’d actually be able to recognize that last description if I worked at a bookstore. I’m terrible with names and titles, but I remember colours REALLY well.

By: Red

Red — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 01:23:58 +0000

so you’re the one who always ruins my day

By: tee

tee — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 21:37:51 +0000

Those customers are great,

I had one come up to me and try and read my name tag
“theresa” which he pronounces “th-eress”
then proceeded to ask me if i was a wizard because I looked like one and then spoke about dark characters in books and the god father….

It gets better, when I was tellign the story to a coworker she kindly pointed out we called me a wizard not even the female version “witch”

By: tee

tee — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 21:25:15 +0000

A customer came in looking for the newest harry potter the one not in the series…. So I assumed oh tales of the beedle and the bard. After showing it to her she pointed to the rest of the series asking what they were. I explained they were the 7 books in the series and showed ther the newest one the half blood prince. She then asked me if that was number 6 and asked if it was part of the series. Repeating myself I said it’s number 7 the last of the series. She continued to question me for 15 minutes with questions like “so this is part of the series?” and “are these different stories?” also “why is the 4th one so much larger than the 1st does it include more stories?” After 15 minutes we entered the awkward silence that we all assume is the customer beign satisfied enough for you to walk away. As I did so I heard her ask her daughter, “Did you understand that? I still don’t get it.”

By: Cee

Cee — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 07:18:31 +0000

There needs to be at least a small sliver for customers who stand around looking expectantly at you even after you’ve told them you do not have and cannot order the book they want.

One of my favorites: A lady came in and asked for a series of “children’s books” called “Twinkles”. I know the kids’ section well, but didn’t recognize that series, so I asked if she knew anything else about the books. She said she thought they were about vampires.
Yes. She was looking for Twilight. *facepalm*

By: Richard (customer)

Richard (customer) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 03:58:10 +0000

ME (to info desk lady wearing reindeer horns, while my wife is looking around for a book): “Do you think it’s going to rain, dear?”
HER: “It’s too cold. I think it’s going to snow, man.”
ME: “Great! Do you have any books by Murakami?”
…She walks me over to the Murakami books…where my wife is standing having found them herself…
ME (to info desk lady): “Do you think it’s going to rain, dear?”
HER: “It’s too cold. I think it’s going to snow, man!”
MY WIFE (WTF look on her face, but still laughing): “How do you go around recruiting people to help with your stupid pun jokes?”

By: Tim

Tim — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 02:42:09 +0000

I meant to say “Can I get it cheaper somewhere else?”

By: Tim

Tim — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 02:36:03 +0000

As a bookstore employee I always love “Can I get it somewhere else?”

By: AHHHHHHHHHHHH

AHHHHHHHHHHHH — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 01:51:23 +0000

WHAT 9000?!!?!!?

By: Ex-Bookseller

Ex-Bookseller — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 01:09:09 +0000

“It’s not out of print, I saw it at the library/friend’s house/on television/in a fever dream!”

By: uptohere

uptohere — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 21:46:16 +0000

that would be a bit easier in a small indie. it’s not that we aren’t well versed often, it’s just basic courtesy and some intellect that should precede any questions. personally, i don’t mind a challenge and i also find their material.

By: c.s.

c.s. — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 20:08:14 +0000

I’m a cashier at a store in Canada, and even though I don’t work on the floor, or probably even interract with as many customers as the employees on the salesfloor I still get quite a few gem questions….

At the cash desk…
“Can I pay for this here?”
“Is this where I make a return?”
Asking if they can pay for a Starbucks mug in Chapters because “The line was too long at Starbucks.”

Customer: “What does display copy only [on the front of a cd] mean?” Me: “That only the case is on display…there is no cd inside the case.” Customer: “So does that mean you don’t have any left?”

On the phone…
“Do you know what the number for Starbucks is?” Sometimes followed by…”Well, can you call them for me?” or “Well can you transfer my call?”

Customer: “Do you know if my order is in?”
Me: “I can check…did you get a call from us that it was in?”
Customer: “No, that’s why i’m calling.”

By: rebecca

rebecca — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 18:22:06 +0000

i work at an indie bookstore and we routinely find titles for customers based on very little information…it’s easy to mock some questions, but it really IS my job to be well-versed with most of what’s in the store. and i am.

By: Lazybutfrisky

Lazybutfrisky — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:48:59 +0000

2nd floor x 5th floor = 10 …. random math WIN

By: RubyTuba

RubyTuba — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 13:29:51 +0000

Another favorite –

Q: “Where is your NON-FICTION section?”

A: “See those aisles over there marked ‘Fiction”? It’s everywhere but there.”

By: Whatever

Whatever — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 09:39:23 +0000

ROFL

By: Whatever

Whatever — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 09:36:02 +0000

The best one I ever got was, “I think it had something to do with a fish.” That was literally ALL she knew. Luckily she was one of the rare ones who didn’t actually blame me for not knowing what she was talking about.

By: Whatever

Whatever — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 09:33:07 +0000

Wow.

By: Whatever

Whatever — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 09:30:59 +0000

I got chewed out by a customer one day for not knowing the new Oprah title, on the grounds that I clearly must not have a life/live under a rock if I hadn’t watched Oprah that day, so as to know the book in question. My reply? “Oprah was on at 3 o’clock. I was here. At work.” And yet, she HAD watched Oprah, and she still failed to know what book she was looking for.

By: Default User

Default User — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 09:23:00 +0000

I’ve actually considered doing exactly what I’m required to do with each customer. Especially regarding the three required book recommendations. Two books decided by corporate and one book that ties in with what they’re looking for. I want to do it just to see how many customer complaints I can rack up and then turn around and say “I was only following the guide lines you wrote up. I didn’t want to miss any points if I got a mystery shopper!”

By: Whatever

Whatever — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 09:15:23 +0000

UGH, I remember that stuff! I don’t get who dreams that ridiculous crap up. Do they really think that customers like that? Who wants to listen to a spiel when they have a question to ask, or maybe just want to know the store hours? I think upper management are robots. No human would think this is good marketing practice.