Caroline Scutt Every bookseller knows the importance of great customer service BUT do we really get how important costumer service is, or is it? We pride ourselves on going the extra mile, on being knowledgeable and helpful. BUT let’s face it as consumers we have all gotten accustomed to, accepted even, what is at best lacking and … Read more
Gone are the days of the printed book. Like vinyl records books will continue to be produced on a small scale for those eccentric, nostalgic readers who plan their vacations around visits to the few remaining Indie Bookstores. True or not so true? According to a Pew Survey, “E-Reading Rises as Device Ownership Jumps,” more … Read more
Here are the facts: There were almost 300,000 books published in the U.S. in 2012 according to our friends at Wikipedia. Nearly half of those titles are self-published. Publishers Weekly counted roughly 12,000 bookstores in the U.S. in 2013. Do the numbers and it isn’t difficult to see why retail booksellers are often overwhelmed with local … Read more
We’ve all had wide-eyed moments when we find ourselves thinking Really, did this person standing in front of me actually just say that? And being the customer-focused, benefit-of-the-doubt-giving, gentle bookseller souls we are, we respond with a nod and a smile and keep our sarcastic comebacks to ourselves. The good news is I wanted to … Read more
Every Saturday morning at 10:00 am magic happens in The Book Garden. We join harrowing hunting expeditions on the African Plains, discover and rediscover the miracle of child birth, face death and then turn and walk in the other direction, share demons and desires. We return to favorite childhood moments and wrap ourselves in others’ … Read more
When visitors step through the imposing 12-foot-high front doors of this1860s Painted Lady Victorian, they often comment on the lovely house, the intricate woodwork, the faux-marble mantels. As they wander through the shop they remark on our “Blind Date with a Book” display, the staircase-turned-stack of favorite books and the “read-in kitchen” that is home … Read more
“What pop-up books do you have?” a customer asked a few months into my new gig as a bookseller. “Pop-up books? You mean for kids?” I asked back. He didn’t have any kids with him; just a woman who I assumed was his wife. “For kids, for adults, just pop-ups. You should have pop-ups.” He … Read more
I walked into the shop one afternoon a few weeks after we settled into our new bookstore and Robert hurriedly handed me a letter. “You have to read this and tell me what you think.” I couldn’t tell by the look on his face if this was good news or bad. I looked at the … Read more
