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Keep in mind these stores are paying their staff minimum wage. You can't expect them to have the same knowledge as bibliophiles. You get what you pay for.
And you should be hiring people QUALIFIED to do the job. People that work in a bookstore need to have a knowledge of books and their authors.
And you should be hiring people QUALIFIED to do the job. People that work in a bookstore need to have a knowledge of books and their authors.
Qualified people in a field, any field, do not work as store clerks. But it seems that most of the posters on this thread are just looking for people who can make coffee.
Bibliophiles work in libraries or in their own bookstore. Counter people in chain bookstores can be bibliophiles, but are usually people just trying to make it through life. I work in a company of extremely sharp people, but readers can be pretty thin on the ground. Intelligence doesn't always mean that they are readers or book lovers.
I find that a good clerk in a book store is a real find, and the more so if they share your love of genre(s) and authors.
Qualified people in a field, any field, do not work as store clerks. But it seems that most of the posters on this thread are just looking for people who can make coffee.
Store clerks need to know about the product they are trying to sell. If you go to a hardware store, then the clerk needs to know about hardware.
Store clerks need to know about the product they are trying to sell. If you go to a hardware store, then the clerk needs to know about hardware.
I could use a big wrench to hammer in a nail. I could use a grinder to cut wood or metal. But would I be buying the best tool for the job? The job of the clerk is to know his product. Inside and out.
And you should be hiring people QUALIFIED to do the job. People that work in a bookstore need to have a knowledge of books and their authors.
I worked in a book store where close to half of the people working there barely spoke proper English! granted, they were mostly register jockeys and did the restocking, but yeah, most chains are staffed w/ people who don't have a vast knowledge of books. and w/ most stores, even if you do know about books, your opinion isn't welcomed. you can't make suggestions on what books to order, can't write up reviews for a book, cant even group similar books together. w/ the store I worked at, all these cared about was that you sold X number of copies of the book of the month to whoever came in. and god forbid if you convinced a customer to buy a mass market paperback they may actually enjoy versus the latest $30 hardcover book you were supposed to sell them!
stick to the indie stores if you want truly knowledgeable workers since most indie stores value their workers a bit more so these folks stick around
ETA: oh, needless to say, I quit that job. spent too much time pushing the latest Patterson book or whatever political/business book was deemed popular to people who would never read such books and not enough time talking up the books and authors I actually knew about and loved. there were people I worked w/ who had their own specialties: one woman knew romance, one guy knew mystery, another historical nonfiction, etc. It didn't matter to corporate. I know a ton about children's and young adult books (took a total of 4 classes in children's and young adult literature) and also am a major fan of sci-fi and fantasy, but was never given a chance to attempt to use this knowledge. my job was to make sure the sidelines (e.g., candy, pens, snacks, other non-book items you tend to find in bookstores these days) were fully stocked, dust the shelves, and make sure people were buying the latest NYT best seller we were promoting that month
book lovers will get burned out working at a bookstore chain, IMHO! it's not about the books w/ these people! I've had personal experience of going to a Borders and looking for a specific, fairly well known book and no one could help me or had even heard of the book!
okay, now I'm starting to rant! I'm not sad to see the big chains go at all! the indie guys who weren't driven out by them will survive solely based on quality CS
The job of the clerk is to know his product. Inside and out.
No. That was true in the '50s, '60s, and '70s. But after 30 years of trickle down economics, the only job of a clerk is to work for minimum wage with no benefits. Welcome to the WalMartization of America.
No. That was true in the '50s, '60s, and '70s. But after 30 years of trickle down economics, the only job of a clerk is to work for minimum wage with no benefits. Welcome to the WalMartization of America.
I worked in the paint department at Wal-Mart for a while. I learned more about paint than I'd ever known before. But it was my JOB to know.
This is inevitable in America...
Americans' primary motive for reading is to be entertained, not informed or intellectually stimulated. Most book stores are in the entertainment business. Americans love lightweight entertainment!
TV provides entertainment...no book to buy, no pages to turn, it's much easier than a book. And provides a steady stream of mind numbing pablum for Americans to eat up.
God Bless America!
So this ^^
by the way, have you notice that not only have your comments gone unnoticed, but what section "books" are categorized under..that's right, entertainment rather then "Expand your cranium" or something. I think that's very telling because most people don't want to think of the ramifications of a bookless society. It's the head in the sand thing.
Back on topic..personally I'm GLAD Borders is closing. I guess I'm the cut of your nose to spite your face kind of person, but I get a perverted kind of glee out of them closing because I worked there for 6 months under the most awful manager ever who made all the women cry at one time or another (not the men, she was one of those ***** women who the men love but the women secretly despise)
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