tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4972764383963459152.post675094351735870249..comments2023-05-30T07:00:13.707-04:00Comments on Bookphilia.com: The Sarazens head without New-gate: It's still a retail jobBookphiliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155882653615842141noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4972764383963459152.post-40335639703146386552009-08-14T12:30:59.013-04:002009-08-14T12:30:59.013-04:00andrew: Egad! All my stories seem rather tame in c...andrew: Egad! All my stories seem rather tame in comparison to your naked guy one! Glad I could fill your office with some laughs. ;)Bookphiliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05155882653615842141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4972764383963459152.post-56866305717275338922009-08-12T16:16:46.016-04:002009-08-12T16:16:46.016-04:00I'm actually wiping tears away. People are loo...I'm actually wiping tears away. People are looking in my office window to see what I'm laughing at. Well done. Here's a good story I heard from a long-time Ottawa bookstore owner: a reasonably normal looking guy comes in to their shop, heads straight back to an "employees only" stockroom, takes off all his clothes, walks back to the front of the shop, and climbs into the window display and sits cross-legged in it until the cops are called to extricate him posthaste to a nearby mental hospital.andrewhttp://www.cornellbooksellers.com/blognoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4972764383963459152.post-23770571969633367612009-08-06T11:30:21.945-04:002009-08-06T11:30:21.945-04:00dolcebelleza: I think most people, like you, are c...dolcebelleza: I think most people, like you, are comfortable enough with their faith to be entirely calm about it. And yes, owning/working in a bookstore is pretty great in spite of the crazies that sometimes visit me.<br /><br />Yuri: Radio Shack for you, Tim Hortons and Reitmans for me. *Shudder*<br /><br />heidenkind: Egging them on is tempting, yes, but then they might never leave. And at some point, it becomes necessary, for my sanity, that they leave.<br /><br />Tony: Fair enough!<br /><br />Rohan: I get similar demands based on very little information: "You know, the book about the guy and his kid!!!!" (Incidentally, I got that one correct once - it was McCarthy's The Road, but the only reason I was able to make the guess is that the film had just come out and people always want the book after they see the film.)<br /><br />I've had some success with book recommendations but then there are the instances such as this "I read Bel Canto on your recommendation but found it really boring - nothing happened! Can you give me something more exciting?". Sigh.Bookphiliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05155882653615842141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4972764383963459152.post-10492342512998475302009-08-06T09:57:52.650-04:002009-08-06T09:57:52.650-04:00Ah, retail. I worked in a classical record store f...Ah, retail. I worked in a classical record store for six years, full and part time (and yes, it had actual <i>records</i> when I started). You'd think a specialty store of that kind would insulate you a bit from the nut jobs, but we sure got all kinds. My favourite was a woman who had decided she wanted to learn about classical music (a common phenom in the store, actually, usually quite a nice thing to work with someone on). But her plan was to start with music that had just one instrument and then build up to a full orchestra. Well, that's not an impossible plan, given the range of options in the chamber music genre, though between an octet and, say, a chamber orchestra, I think there would have to be a leap. But she was convinced she could <b>choose</b> the instruments herself and simply would not believe me when I said that there were, in fact, fairly conventional combinations that she would have to follow (you know, piano and violin, then add a cello, and so on). Eventually she insisted on seeing the owner and stormed out when he too informed her that no, indeed, her plan was a non-starter.<br /><br />One of our pet peeves was people who would rush in and demand "that piece I just heard playing on CBC"--but could not tell you who it was by, what program they were listening to, or anything else about it. And of course the CBC folks were terrible about playing recordings that were no longer available, so a lot of time was spent persuading people that in fact the recordings we had of something like <i>The Four Seasons</i> really would sound about the same as whatever ancient LP they had just heard on the radio. And don't even get me started on the people who could not accept that LPs were out and CDs were in.<br /><br />My greatest retail success, though, was a stroke of sheer intuitive customer service genius. A woman came in asking about a piece she had heard once that was "just a woman singing." That's all she knew. I immediately pulled a copy of the Bachianas Brasilieras No. 5 for her, played a few minutes of it--and it was the right piece. She was very impressed.<br /><br />Actually, sometimes, despite all the craziness, I miss the directness of retail work. There's a real satisfaction in finding what someone wants, or introducing them to something they love (I remember a woman coming in once and coming right up to me, saying "You recommended such-and-such last year and we all LOVE it, so I'm hoping you can help me find something else.) Maybe that's why I like doing student advising: there's the same sense of meeting someone's concrete needs.Rohan Maitzenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12111722115617352412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4972764383963459152.post-72495789861290477542009-08-06T05:31:05.745-04:002009-08-06T05:31:05.745-04:00I think I'll stick to reading (and blogging).....I think I'll stick to reading (and blogging)...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07546287562521628467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4972764383963459152.post-36644348520881964502009-08-06T01:37:26.681-04:002009-08-06T01:37:26.681-04:00The second story made me lawl. :D That's the ...The second story made me lawl. :D That's the type of person I would totally egg on. I'd be all like, "Really?! Tell me more! What other characters did Woolf borrow?" This is why I'm not allowed to talk to crazy people.Heidenkindhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09494625457587427781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4972764383963459152.post-15985109728279894642009-08-05T14:11:01.477-04:002009-08-05T14:11:01.477-04:00Here's to the "mutually molestation-free ...Here's to the "mutually molestation-free relationship" as a worst-case, and many more interesting discussions on mutually-loved literature as the norm :).<br /><br />This post actually reminds me a little too much of my Radio Shack days, which are surely not to be romanticized either...Yuri...https://www.blogger.com/profile/05953730861431844529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4972764383963459152.post-34526036729494121452009-08-05T13:43:40.009-04:002009-08-05T13:43:40.009-04:00I don't think any one will ever be able to pro...I don't think any one will ever be able to properly express their faith by force; screaming, certainly, is ridiculous. I think the best way to show what we believe is through our actions, our smiles, our loving one another. I believe in God, and Jesus, with all my heart, but I wouldn't force it down your throat ever.<br /><br />It must be wonderful to own a bookstore. Or, even work in one!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4972764383963459152.post-45251423707358985322009-08-05T08:49:05.062-04:002009-08-05T08:49:05.062-04:00mel: Sure, the Folgers are alright; when I taught,...mel: Sure, the Folgers are alright; when I taught, however, I found the Pelicans to be the most usable and useful. But as I don't teach anymore, I imagine I'll just stick to my Riverside when I'm able to look at the Shakespeare again without barfing.<br /><br />raych: You are welcome to be my co-author of customer abuse ANY TIME. That would be more fun than I have the vocabulary to describe.<br /><br />Book Psmith: You have a point about her being beyond the help of the new age book. It's a good thing I didn't think to tell her that though, or she might have cut me! (By the way, I was gifted Psmith in the City for my birthday!)<br /><br />J.G.: I think I'm okay for avoiding the twitchy, bug-eyed thing myself - I've got Dickens and a billion other authors to keep me sane and happy. :) But I'll be sure to take mental health days just to be sure.Bookphiliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05155882653615842141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4972764383963459152.post-48319635341281863122009-08-05T07:38:36.172-04:002009-08-05T07:38:36.172-04:00Clearly I did not work in a bookstore long enough ...Clearly I did not work in a bookstore long enough to get the full effect. Thanks for sharing the details I missed.<br /><br />Just don't let them make <i>you</i> all twitchy and bug-eyed.J.G.https://www.blogger.com/profile/02806805528636359436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4972764383963459152.post-7971834136082261152009-08-04T22:23:29.546-04:002009-08-04T22:23:29.546-04:00Umm...even if she ended up liking that new age boo...Umm...even if she ended up liking that new age book, I don't think it could really help a psycho-chick like that. Good to know these are not everyday occurences. I think you and Raych should team up...safety in numbers.Stacyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12387313238448432017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4972764383963459152.post-15234637271682225492009-08-04T20:36:17.363-04:002009-08-04T20:36:17.363-04:00I want to come and run this bookstore with you - b...I want to come and run this bookstore with you - be your lackey, as it were. We could sit and make fun of people all day, and not even just the crazies. ALL PEOPLE!!<br /><br />Also, my word-verification is 'wingie.' How droll.raychhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08321213376462899047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4972764383963459152.post-74610448162534451982009-08-04T20:10:39.916-04:002009-08-04T20:10:39.916-04:00Do you like the Folger Library paperback editions ...Do you like the Folger Library paperback editions of Shakespeare? Most of the complete sets of the plays are in too small a print or too big a book to make for easy reading.Mel uhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08714473754458914681noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4972764383963459152.post-15633391346195943732009-08-04T18:48:35.981-04:002009-08-04T18:48:35.981-04:00I think your black belt in Cormac McCarthy is much...I think your black belt in Cormac McCarthy is much cooler and more hard-ass than a PhD in anything...except maybe Cormac McCarthy.<br /><br />I'm intrigued to hear this entirely appropriate proposition.Bookphiliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05155882653615842141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4972764383963459152.post-14397719261023511872009-08-04T17:32:36.635-04:002009-08-04T17:32:36.635-04:00Thank you, Colleen! I appreciate this glimpse into...Thank you, Colleen! I appreciate this glimpse into a world that my imagination decorates with silver and gold spangles. A Ph.D. in Shakespeare? That sounds more official than my black belt in McCarthy. I'll ping you offline with a proposition (totally appropriate). KevinKevinhttp://jkneilson.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.com