Not in Stock?

“I can’t believe you don’t have it in stock!”

When I hear that phrase a little piece of me curls into a ball. Knowing what is popular and what customers are looking for is my job and I do it to the best of my ability, but the sad truth is, I am human and sometimes mistakes are made. Or are they?

Each time someone complains about having to order a title they were hoping to pick up today, I have to step back and look at the larger picture. Is this a regular customer? Someone from one of the communities I serve? I say “communities” because, although the shop exists in one community, I serve a number of different communities who all have very different needs.

For instance, I sell to school districts in twenty six states. I’ve found products I believe in, locked in the best possible prices, and have begun to know these schools and what they are looking for. They in turn, share their knowledge of what is needed in the school market and guide me in the best practices for that market. It’s a win/win situation.

I also have a community of retailers who count on me to find the products their customers are interested in. They know that since I am also a retailer I will find a way for them to be profitable while making their jobs as easy as possible. I can find them many products from many sources, hand deliver them and give them the convenience of one simple invoice. They open my eyes to different trends in different areas and share great ideas for my own retail location.

There is an entire community of online shoppers who know me and trust that they will receive what they order. They know that if they are not fully satisfied, I will do whatever I can to change that. This was a huge learning curve and I am grateful to all of these patient customers who have shared their knowledge of the best ways to package and ship as well as how to describe the items for sale. Each morning is a thrill to come into work to discover what sales occurred while I slept.

These different communities all make up what I do and who I am, but a customer that walks into the store doesn’t know or care about that. Why should they? They care about their experience and the service they receive. When I don’t have something they are looking for I feel like I have failed them. Like I made a mistake. Not all of these instances are mistakes, but I do learn from them.

If a regular customer is looking for something I currently don’t have in the store many times they order it. By doing this they are telling me what authors or subjects they enjoy. Next time that author has a new book out or there is a new addition to that series, you can bet that I will have one in stock waiting for that particular customer. The entire store selection is built around the customers. I may not have every “bestseller” in the store at all times, but I do my very best to have just what my bookstore community is looking for. Each book is ordered with a customer in mind. If you walk through the door and find exactly what you are looking for, just know I was thinking of you when I ordered it. Thank you for selecting the perfect books to place on the shelves of your community bookstore!

Customer Types

Many people from all walks of life visit bookstores for many different reasons. In a small town bookstore it is easy to identify the different types that walk through the doors.

We have those in a hurry. They walk in, grab or order what they want and walk out.

Others have no idea what they want, but feel fortunate to have an independent bookseller to help them. These are the customers who are frantic because Sally’s birthday is tomorrow and they haven’t found a gift yet. Luckily, I know immediately from other visits who Sally is, how old she will be and what books she has enjoyed in the past year.

The browsers have yet to realize there is a difference between a library and a bookstore. They plop down in a chair with a stack of books and learn how to bake a pie or build a deck or decorate their house all while sitting in the bookstore. One such patron finished Breaking Dawn in its entirety the week it was released. Every day this high school student would sit in the back and read until we closed. Her friends would call and she would say “Can’t hang out today. I’m at the bookstore. Have you read the Twilight series?” She never bought the book, but I can’t pay for that kind of marketing!

Finally there are the chatters. They stop in every week or every month just to chat. They have never made a purchase and probably never will, but they have to be on top of whatever is happening in town. They stand by the counter or follow me from shelf to shelf complaining about life, their health, the government. They believe if no one is waiting to be checked out I have absolutely nothing to do, so they deserve my undivided attention.

I had one such customer, if they can be called customers, yesterday. Unlike most, this one is only in first grade. He has been coming in to visit since the day I opened over four years ago. By himself! It gives him something to do while his mom is in the bar across the street (parents, be careful what you tell your kids – they will most likely share the information).

In our usual routine he wandered the front of the store chatting away while I nod and say “really” and “hmm” in the appropriate places. Suddenly by the tone of his voice I realized something was different. He was no longer telling me about his day, he was sounding out book covers. This little boy was reading!! He was excited to show off his newly acquired skill, even though he “still likes football more than reading”.

Easy fix. I took him to the children’s section and showed him books about football. There is a book about Brett Favre? He LOVES Brett Favre!! Too many words, though. The Clifford early reader was perfect. We sat at the children’s table as he sounded out each word, using the pictures as his guide. I couldn't come up with a single task more important than that moment. Soon he read the entire book! He promised to return today to read me another story. Maybe as an incentive I will let him keep the Brett Favre book as soon as he is able to read it on his own. No one else in Wisconsin would be interested in it anyway.