Anyone work in a bookshop?

Eliza_2

I work part time in a bookshop and am increasingly fed up and I'm just wondering if I have an old fashioned idea of what customers expect from a bookshop as opposed to any other shop. Perhaps we should be 'piling high and selling cheap' these days with staff that aren't bothered whether they work here or in Morrisons?

If anyone else works in a bookshop and would care to share experiences, not just of the above issues but all sorts of other things to improve sales too, such as display, marketing etc I'd love to hear.

And if you're a customer, what would you expect, or would like to see, from a bookshop?

Thanks for the help

Liz

Tigsteroonie

Sorry, but I don't frequent bookshops any more - and I am a prolific reader (one of the book upstairs, book downstairs, book on the tram variety). I buy 'current' books from supermarkets where they are the cheapest; and all other books, the ones that supermarkets won't have because they are older or more obscure, are purchased from Amazon. It's pure convenience - most of my shopping is done online, books are no exception.

Eliza_2

That was quick, thank you! Other than newly published titles, all of our books are on a par with Amazon, often hugely cheaper, and we do also sell on Amazon. However a staff member said to me the other day, when asked about a book by a particular author who she hadn't heard of (no-one obscure), why do these customers expect me to have heard of him? I don't read these books, this is just a job.

So I'm wondering if we aren't 'moving with the times' quite enough - or maybe I'm not!!. We get masses of enquiries and while I'll do a bit of googling, check Amazon, use whowriteslike-type websites as well as my own knowledge to help customers who ask, for example, what's suitable for 9 yr old granddaughter, or have you anything similar to Gervase Phinn etc I've noticed colleagues don't do this, they just wave to the area of the shop and say, if we've got it it will be there.

There are lots of other problems, massive backbiting among staff etc, though customers love it and write glowing tripadvisor reviews.

I'd really like to try to suggest some good ways of sorting this out, but not sure what. Thanks

Another_not_new_user

Tigsteroonie wrote: »

Sorry, but I don't frequent bookshops any more - and I am a prolific reader (one of the book upstairs, book downstairs, book on the tram variety). I buy 'current' books from supermarkets where they are the cheapest; and all other books, the ones that supermarkets won't have because they are older or more obscure, are purchased from Amazon. It's pure convenience - most of my shopping is done online, books are no exception.

I am afraid that I mostly agree - my "local" bookshop is miles away and expensive, and I think the day of the traditional book and bookshop is now a thing of the past. Having faced the dilemma of "what, another bookshelf needed?" on myriad occasions (like Tigsteroonie I read a lot but I can't part with a book either!) I have now arrived at a place where I have only bought one paper based book in the last two years (impossible to source digitally), and everything else is Kindle/mobi based. I can buy current books as soon as published at a fraction of the price - often cheaper or as cheap as the supermarkets, and older books are cheap if not free. And you'd be amazed at how many obscure books are available digitally now.


There are good things and bad things about digital format, but these are mostly to do with principles and practices (and remembering to charge it up!), but I think that overall, books as we grew up with them are unlikely to continue into the future except as special items and collectors editions. The rainforests may be grateful for that, even if nobody else is.


I am afraid that nothing could entice me back to the bookshop now, no matter what it did to reinvent itself.

Tigsteroonie

Eliza wrote: »

However a staff member said to me the other day, when asked about a book by a particular author who she hadn't heard of (no-one obscure) ... We get masses of enquiries and while I'll do a bit of googling, check Amazon, use whowriteslike-type websites as well as my own knowledge to help customers who ask, for example, what's suitable for 9 yr old granddaughter, or have you anything similar to Gervase Phinn etc

Twenty years ago, I had no option but to go to a bookstore and ask an experienced member of staff these kind of questions in order to find books or get recommendations. Now, I can google this myself, I can check Amazon, I can use whowriteslike websites ... I don't need the staff of a bookshop to do this for me.

I still buy clothes in person because I want to see how the item hangs, what colour it actually is, etc. I still buy food in person because I want to select the bananas that suit my taste in terms of ripeness. But books are books, they don't tend to change under different lighting and don't get over-ripe ... so I can buy them online, safe in the knowledge that I will get what I order.

I think it's lovely that you take an interest in your work and want to help customers, but I'm not sure how much that is needed now. As for your colleagues' attitude of "this is just a job", call me an old fogey, I see more and more of this these days :rotfl:

Undervalued

Tigsteroonie wrote: »

Twenty years ago, I had no option but to go to a bookstore and ask an experienced member of staff these kind of questions in order to find books or get recommendations. Now, I can google this myself, I can check Amazon, I can use whowriteslike websites ... I don't need the staff of a bookshop to do this for me.

I still buy clothes in person because I want to see how the item hangs, what colour it actually is, etc. I still buy food in person because I want to select the bananas that suit my taste in terms of ripeness. But books are books, they don't tend to change under different lighting and don't get over-ripe ... so I can buy them online, safe in the knowledge that I will get what I order.

I think it's lovely that you take an interest in your work and want to help customers, but I'm not sure how much that is needed now. As for your colleagues' attitude of "this is just a job", call me an old fogey, I see more and more of this these days :rotfl:

Indeed.

However I think this is just as true in any specialised retail field.

When I want something it would be lovely is there was a well stocked shop, staffed by knowledgeable people, open all hours, within a few miles and easy to park. Oh and the weather would need to be good too!

But that is very seldom the case. Even if there was one for my next want / need I may not be aware of the fact. If I did know I'd probably want to confirm by phone or online that they had got what I wanted. Plus of course I'd expect an instant response, not because I need one but that just how the world has become these days.

Of course the item would need to cost no more that the total cost of getting it online. Actually, it should be less as I'd be involved in more effort and actually have less rights as a consumer in the event I wasn't satisfied!

Don't get me wrong, in many ways it is sad, but the world has changed.

PlutoinCapricorn

I used to spend a lot of time in bookshops, new and second hand. I hate to have to agree with other posters that their day is past, but that is how I see it. They are not offering much that we cannot get elsewhere, although I suppose that some older people may prefer personal services.

I have rejoined the library, and it now has a common database with other areas and I can reserve their books and collect in my local library.

There are many online discussions and recommendations; we can use Look Inside on Amazon and Google books to read snippets or even long extracts.

Nicki

I might be an older person I guess (in my mid. 40s) but I love a good bookshop and also take my children (aged between 5 and 15) to book shops too.

I like:
Well stocked, well organised book shops
Displays of staff picks with reviews
Somewhere to sit and browse
Staff who interact with the kids and can recommend titles for kids with enthusiasm
Coffee shops included

I dislike:
Shops which carry lots of categories of books but hardly any titles in each category. I'd far rather you just had a decent history section and no travel section at all (or vice versa) than a pathetic effort at both
Shops which are hard to navigate because they are small and badly designed in layout
Badly organised books. I hate mixed displays of fiction/non fiction or shelves not alphabeticised properly.

Hope this helps

theoretica

I particularly haunt used bookshops, but some new. If I know exactly what I want I usually buy online, but for a bookshop I am looking for books I didn't know I wanted - so well categorised and particularly good books and noteworthy new titles presented forwards. I do find many shops aren't fussy enough about what they enthuse about which makes me lose faith. Or I am looking for something cheaper than paying postage for light reading and back to the charity shop so often take advantage of a bargain shelf.

Prinzessilein

I love bookshops!


I DO own a Kindle - and use it more and more...but I still love 'real' books too!


I would value: (For all shops not just book shops!)


Ease of access....enough room for me to comfortably manoeuvre my walker down the aisles


Non-pushy staff. Please let me browse. Sometimes I barely get through the door before I am being hounded by staff determined to make a sale!


On the other hand...plenty of staff at the tills! Once I have made my choice I don't want to stand for ages in a queue!.


No muzak! Please, give a nice peaceful atmosphere!


Efficiency - in staff (if I ask for a book and hand over a printed sheet with the title, author and publisher on it...there is NO excuse really for the assistant to mistype the author's name into the computer and tell me that the shop doesn't stock her work!)...and in equipment (if I have a loyalty card I expect the scanning-machine to work - NOT malfunction and not be repaired for 3 whole weeks!!!...and yes, big, well-know major high-street bookstore I am talking about you! )




For a book shop I would add:


Comfy seating....and free coffee!....encourage me to stay and browse and I will end up buying more!

theoretica

Ooh yes musak! The worst I remember was a Waterstones which had one lot playing in the shop and a different one in the coffee bit. The area where you could hear both was particularly unpleasant and guess what they had put there. The shoppers perhaps most likely to be put off by the cacophony: the classical CDs!