Bookman and I have had a Barnes & Noble gift card begging to be used for well over a month now. It is not that there aren’t any books that we want, it is that there are so many books that we want that for each of us to get just one book and to decide what that one book will be, well you know how it is! Searching online was proving to be too much so yesterday evening we decided to go to the bookstore.
As much as we dislike the Mall of America, that is the store we usually go to because it is a good size and fairly well stocked. However, this being a holiday weekend the Mall of America was the place to avoid. We went to a two-story store in one of the upscale burbs that tends to have a good and various selection. We hadn’t been to this particular store in quite awhile and I had good memories of it from when we were last there so I was looking forward to a good browse and the pleasurable agony of choosing a book.
First bad sign: there were fewer books than there used to be and more racks of non-book items. Second bad sign: some of the books on the new fiction shelf had come out at the end of 2010. China Mieville’s new book was hiding in the science fiction section and wasn’t even discounted. In fact, not many new books were discounted. Is this because Borders is no longer around? Or is it because they are pushing for people to become members (10% discount)? Maybe something else is going on?
So I decided that I’d look only at paperbacks. The scifi/fantasy section was a big disappointment, filled mostly with the tried-and-true and long-running series. The regular fiction section was equally disappointing. I ran through author names in my head that I had been thinking about lately. Ali Smith. All they had was The Accidental and I thought I had it already; unread but still owned. Turns out I don’t have it but I didn’t know that then. I managed to recall a few names that had come up as innovative or interesting folk of late (don’t recall who they were now) and not one of their books was on the shelf. It was getting kind of depressing when finally I picked up David Mitchell’s Number 9 Dream and J.M. Coetzee’s Elizabeth Costello. I tracked down Bookman, expecting I would have to choose between one of the books in my hand. But it turns out Bookman was having worse luck than I was. I showed him what I had and he liked the sound of both of them, especially the Mitchell (he liked Cloud Atlas quite a bit), so that’s what we left with. Gift card spent.
On our drive home we complained to each other about the store. I complained about how horrible the selection was. Bookman, who worked for Barnes & Noble for 10 years, complained about the service. No one greeted us when we walked in or when we wandered by employees working on the floor. Bookman had asked one person a question and after taking a bit of work to get to the answer, the guy asked us if we had a Nook yet. Not, sorry we don’t have that book in stock would you like me to order it for you? But do you have a Nook? If you do you can get it for the Nook.
It became quite clear when we were at the checkout paying for our books that Barnes & Noble is really pushing the Nook when the cashier asked us if we had a Nook yet. I really shouldn’t have been surprised because when we went out the door we came in, we had to walk around the Nook counter to get out of the store. I hadn’t noticed that we walked around it to get in because I was too busy looking past it to where the new fiction was hanging out.
We should have felt really happy going home with our new books but all we felt was sad because the bookstore wasn’t what it used to be. We are Barnes & Noble members but we discussed whether, when our renewal came up next spring, if we would let it lapse and start frequenting Mager’s & Quinn, a nicely sized, eclectic, and packed to the gills independent bookstore in Minneapolis with horrendously bad parking. We didn’t decide yet, but that we were even talking about it is a big deal. One thing for sure though, Bookman was glad he doesn’t work for Barnes & Noble anymore. He was happy he got to work there when they were opening new stores left and right and the business was booming. Good times and good memories.
Aw, sad times! I would be very off-put if I felt like the staff were trying to hard-sell me an e-reader. (Besides, don’t you think if you HAD had a Nook, you could have figured out how to download something onto it yourself without a B&N employee’s help?) So disappointing. Are there any park & ride options to Magers & Quinn? I hate parking in downtown Portland but luckily we can usually get our downtown errands done via public transportation.
Thanks for this post Stefanie. Sounds to me like they are desperately trying to survive – and to try to work out their market. It’s a bad sign when bookshops start getting into all sorts of merchandise (though I must say I adore Kinokuniya’s stationery section). Hard times for bookshops – I do wonder where it will end. I do more online ordering now … there’s only one bookshop I go to regularly and that is the gorgeous (but Australian focused one) at our National Library.
The bookstore nearest me is a Barnes and Noble, and I’ve been irritated at the increased floor space given over to toys and other merchandise in the last couple of years. They generally have a decent book selection but nothing unexpected and exciting. I’m also considering letting my B&N membership lapse and getting a Politics and Prose membership instead. I rarely go there, as it’s all the way across town and not near the metro, but they do have a good mail-order program, and I’d rather order through them than Amazon (and now that the Book Depository is being bought by Amazon, I’m less keen to order from them). The nearest indie to me doesn’t have a membership program, and it’s tiny, so the browsing is not terrific, but the staff is wonderful, and they do special orders, so I buy from them when I can.
“First bad sign: there were fewer books than there used to be and more racks of non-book items. Second bad sign: some of the books on the new fiction shelf had come out at the end of 2010. China Mieville’s new book was hiding in the science fiction section and wasn’t even discounted. In fact, not many new books were discounted. Is this because Borders is no longer around? Or is it because they are pushing for people to become members (10% discount)? Maybe something else is going on?”
My take on the current, sweaty state of affairs:
[1] Payroll has been slashed. To. The. Bone. Our managers are now also Leads, Zoners, and Shelvers, in addition to having to do all the “fun” management stuff they get to do. This would be a ridiculous waste of expertise and talent and experience in any economy except the current one.
[2] The digital market is both the salvation of the company as a whole and at the same a threat to the brick and mortar side, hence the giving up of floor space to those things that are not so easily digitized, such as games, cookware, and etc. I used to dislike these changes, but that was a couple of years ago. Now I can’t help but see the necessity of it all.
[3] I’m disappointed to hear about the bad customer service. That’s a management issue local to a given store, usually. At our store, where we have an excellent manager team, we still go out of our way to meet and greet, but it is harder to do consistently since there are only half of us compared to what we had a couple of years ago when we were still winning customer service awards. Quietly watch the employees you’re not dealing with: unless they’re tied to a register or department, they’re in constant motion. Just yesterday (or was it Wednesday? They all blend together) I bounced from the safe room to registers to cafe to music, back to the safe room, back to cafe, back to music, to customer service, to music, to the registers, and even tidied up the men’s room, and then I had lunch and then I did it all over again. And I didn’t even pretend to try shelving from the carts. No time for that. I did have enough time left over to enter two or three Membership applications into the system, but only that much time.
[4] Yes, we are pushing for people to become members. We always have, of course, but these days there is an imperative to it on our end that is heavier than usual. Please note that giving discounts away for free didn’t save Borders (in fact, I think it helped kill them), so I like the fact that we continue to sell ours like Costco does. But also, a large part of saving the brick and mortar side of this biz involves adding new, store-browsing members to the ranks. You’re not going to save brick and mortar stores by staying away from them, period. If you’re price-checking against Amazon, you’re not helping keep physical stores around, dig? We have overhead and more than 600 stores, all staffed by nice guys like me that you can talk to face to face; they have a warehouse and a staff you’ll never see. So, granted, the card is a marketing tool, but it really does help even the coffee-browser-light-shopper regulars save money over the course of a given year. We want you to join our club as it’s a really cool club, and we want you to feel like you have a stake in it, just like we employees do. We work here because we love this stuff as much as you do.
[5] But the largest part of keeping the company viable involves our keeping a fighting share of the digital book business, which business will not ever go away unless electricity goes away. The e-reader wars are fast and bloody – it’s brutal out there. Right now we’re holding our own. Better, even. We’re growing. Happily, we’re doing it by selling good products. I’m especially happy with our new, no-frills black’n'white “Simple Touch” edition.
Check it out, my friends. This is a product I recommend without crossing my fingers behind my back. When I sell an CD by “Il Divo,” on the other hand, I do it knowing that I have committed a sin against music that I may not ever be able to wash out of my spirit, but at least I’ve learned to do it and still smile. THAT’S salesmanship.
How can a bookstore survive if its employees are pushing the Nook? If everyone has the Nook, will there be any bookstores left? Anyway, for me, I’m still a traditional book lover… so far still am. Especially after the annual used book sale I went to, you’d question how eBooks can ever replace hard copies? I mean, what do we do with ALL these real books… a look under the giant tent of the used book sale where I hauled back my loot this year will point to all the inconveniences of getting rid of all these printed materials. What do we do with them after the book sale… all that are left there?
Silly Barnes and Noble. Customers hate having things shoved down their throats. That gut instinct to resist just rises up and takes over. Times ARE hard at the moment, but the only things that will save bookstores are the same things that make customers happy – good stock, attentive, knowledgeable staff and inventive displays.
So sad… the same post could be written about our B&N in upstate NY. The toy section seems to be growing every time I visit and the NOOK counter is prominently positioned at the front of the store. The employees still seem pleasant and willing to help but, sadly, the selection of actual books seems to be dwindling.
Emily, sad time indeed. You have Powell’s though that you can drown your sorrow in. Good thought about public transit. M&Q isn’t downtown which would make it easier. I checked the bus schedule to get there from my house and it takes 45-60 minutes whereas driving would get me there in 15 plus another 15 looking for a parking spot on the street somewhere. It is an 8 mile one-way bike ride which is doable. So I guess if we start going there we just have to plan it more often than not.
Whisperinggums, it did seem rather desperate which was really sad. Stationery and books go quite well together in my opinion so I don’t mind seeing more of that. But it was toys and games that seemed to be taking up floor space that used to be books. I imagine when it does all end, there will be fewer bookstores.
Teresa, I am glad and sad that I am not the only one who is disappointed with B&N of late. it is hard to want to make a switch since there are several B&Ns that are more convenient for me to go to than the big indie bookstore. I don’t order from Amazon either, I don’t even buy e-books for my Kindle. If I buy online it is usually from B&N. It’s good that one of your options has a good mail order service. That’s something!
Cameron, I was hoping you might comment!
Thanks for your insight. I totally understand about payroll getting cut. That must be super stressful on everyone who has to do more with less. I’ve been a B&N member for something like 7 years now. The only thing I’ve ever bought from Amazon was a few textbooks for school that they had for significantly less. When I buy online it is from B&N. And I understand how buying online doesn’t help the bricks-and-mortar stores but it is becoming increasingly more difficult to find the books I am looking for on the shelf at the bookstore so I am increasingly forced to buy online. I know they will order the book for me but at that point I can just order it myself and have it delivered to my house instead of having to return to the store in a week or so. I imagine it is as frustrating for staff as it is for customers. As for price comparing, I don’t generally do it unless it is something very expensive. In general, I’m not looking for a big discount, but I remember when new releases were 10% off and then membership got me another 10% off. Now I am starting to feel like as much as I pay for membership, I’m not saving enough to make it worthwhile since books are costing me more and I therefore buying less. It’s a sad thing all around! I wish you and all your B&N coworkers the best. I know it must be really hard right now.
Arti, it is a double-edged sword. The Nook keeps the company afloat but the bookstores don’t necessarily float with it.
Litlove, yes, times are hard but you have the right recipe for getting through it. I will pay more for books but that means I have to buy fewer of them and when I do come to buy, if there are lots of exciting and interesting books to choose from then I just might buy more than I planned. And even if I don’t buy more, it will keep me coming back. I never used to shop at Borders because the few times I had been there the selection was poor so I just stopped bothering. I am worried that B&N might be headed the same direction. I hope not!
JoAnn, it’s the dwindling book selection that gets me most. I want to shop in the store, I prefer to shop in the store but a limited selection encourages me more and more to shop online. It’s good the employees are still pleasant and willing to help though. That makes a big difference.
Aw, reading this makes me sad as a former B&N employee as well. When i worked there (over 10 years ago at this point) it was a lively, fun place to work… and we ALWAYS had a greeter at the door and we were religious about well-stocked shelves. I really enjoyed creating the displays – especially the NYTimes bestsellers and the sociology sections. Thank god for really good independent book stores – eventually it’s going to be impossible to buy books!
I’ve never been a big B&N fan (for some reason, they never had the books we wanted, around here), but it’s sad when a bookstore goes downhill for any reason. I’ve been wondering about a Nook, however. I’m not on the e-reader wagon yet, but I’m thinking about it.
I’m not a big B&N fan either – they never seemed to have stocked the weird books I seem to like to read but I hate the idea of any bookstore closing it’s doors. And don’t be so fast to think that the e*Reader will be around until electricity runs out – there are still trees and it looks like the hardback book is going away…./sob.
P.S. The slew of TBR books now have another reason to thrive! I’m stocking up for the sad sad day when I Cannot Buy A Paper Book.)
P.P.S. If I say I’m thinking about joining you and reading Ulysses over the summer I am either a) delusional, b) lying, or c) overconfident. (Take that, Oxford!)
That was just rude of my slow loading computer. I’d fixed the it’s to its and tightened up the sentences and EVERYTHING. I am annoyed at computers all over again. I am not buying a Nook. So there.
I think Amazon has set the pace and everyone else must now follow or die unfortunately and that means ereaders and ebooks–because heaven knows Amazon shoves them down your throat when you visit–do you ever see an Amazon ad that touts paper books? All the superfluous stuff is very annoying, I agree, but I really think they do it to survive. When I worked in an indie bookstore we sold lots of that stuff (but lots of books, too–if on a smaller scale) and it really helped. It’s a sad state of affairs and I don’t think it is going to change anytime soon. I’ve not been into my local B&N in ages (maybe since after Christmas when the first thing you saw upon entering the store was a huge desk selling Nooks!)
At least you found a few books–though you should have found a whole pile of them, right?!
Sorry if that sounded totally angry. I’m still miffed that Amazon bought the Book Depository. I’m just feeling extremely cranky with the world at the moment.
I cannot tell you how much I’ve missed Borders and am now just left with B&N. For some reason, I always felt more at home in Borders than our B&N. And, you are right, they are all about pushing the Nook on you. In the end I’m glad I still have them to go to but I wish we had more indie bookstores in our town too.
Strange times, Stephanie. Strange times, indeed. I watched music CDs as a market dwindle to almost nothing in the last three years, with no corresponding upswing in internet sales simply because more and more people are content to live stream, and those who do want to buy don’t need to waste money on whole albums thanks to iTunes.
The DVD/Blu-ray market is on course for the same thing. I don’t even buy DVDs any more (thank you, Netflix).
Books? Well, it depends on what kind of books. Not every kind of book translates well to e-reader formatting, but most do, and so I think books will eventually follow where music has gone and movies are going. It’s simple economics: digital format means almost zero production costs (outside of editing and database maintenance), and also the death of what really is a horrendous amount of waste of paper and other materials. I won’t miss that.
Good, hardcover books will become more expensive as it transforms into a niche market (think vinyl LPs right now). I’m not looking forward to that.
Anyway, If we seem a little . . . divided in our attentions right now, it’s because we’re in this weird place where going back to the Old Ways of doing things would only guarantee the death of our brick and mortar business, and yet we’re all still old-fashioned in our habits and sympathies where the “romance of the book” is concerned.
On the plus side, childrens lit is still booming. They may end up buying all their stuff in digital form in the near future, but at least we also know they’re still going to be reading. Those kids are the future of our business, and not just in the mushy, aphoristic sense.
-CW
Everythinginbetween, I am hoping that by the time it becomes nearly impossible to buy printed books I am a very old woman with such a huge collection of printed books that it just won’t matter anymore. Still, I will miss bookstore browsing should the end of times ever arrive.
Daphne, I want bookstores filled with books and the convenience of e-books. I am greedy that way
If you go to B&N there will be someone there who will let you have a Nook test drive so you can see if you like it. The kiosk is so huge, you won’t be able to miss them
Carrie, LOL, computers seem to be out to get you
None of the chains a good at stocking weird books. That’s where independents come in and online shopping. I’m working towards going solar at my house in the next five years so I’ll still have electricity to charge my Kindle 
And Oxford is quite impressed with your vocabulary 
Danielle, you’re right, Amazon did change the game. I don’t mind if the superfluous stuff is stationery or somehow book related. It’s the toys and games and stuff that I find out of place and that makes me sad. And yeah, at least I found a few books so that’s something. It is unfortunate that Amazon bought Book Depository. Hopefully they will stay separate and still have the same worldwide service and free shipping.
Iliana, funny how we get attached to particular bookstores. And don’t forget there is still Half price Books!
Cameron, my husband and I were just talking about how much technological change we have seen in our lifetime. Not that our parents didn’t see lots of changes but it seems the pace of change has picked up. I agree with you about hardcover books becoming more expensive as they become a niche market. I am not happy about that either. In a way libraries are struggling with the same thing bookstores are. We’ve embraced technology but then what do we do with all the library space that used to be taken up by bookshelves? And how do we compete with Google and continue to be relevant? We are both in professions that are changing because of e-books.
I’ve actually given a lot to this, and so far I can’t help but think that bookstores – and libraries – should start going into the professional tutoring business. At least until the college bubble finally bursts.
Right now our policy is to kick tutors out of our cafe. I think we should charge them rent for table space instead, and put more tables in for just that kind of thing. I’m quite serious about this. There’s serious money to made in middle-class angst over being certifiably “smart,” as the college system keep showing. We need to get in on that gravy train.
Again, until that train derails. And then, of course, we go full-blown into pizza ovens and laundromats and liquor licenses for our cafes. I’m almost completely serious about this, too.
Cameron, academic libraries are moving towards learning technology and teaching information literacy. Public libraries seem to be positioning themselves as community centers. Both will survive but they won’t look anything like the libraries we used to know. Bookstores will survive too, but they will also be very different and there will probably be fewer of them, unfortunately. Hang in there!
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