Barnes and Noble Problem

[JohnG]

Given that any member of the public can read the forums without needing to be an actual member of SegwayChat, I wouldn't exactly believe everything told to you by a corporate entity that you've had less-than-positive dealings with.

John

[segsurfer]

Originally Posted by KSagal

While I like a good fight as well as the next person, and some may say more than the next person, I sometimes wonder at all this...

If Barns & Nobel has a service or book you cannot otherwize get, then by all means, go there and continue to patronize their store as much as you like...

But if their corporate policy is at odds with your values and you can get the same products and services from another retailer that is more friendly to your values, why not go there?

For me, I might come up with a plan where I go to B&N and scope out the new releases, check out what's hot and what's not, all on the segway, but then when it is time to buy, glide on over to Borders, or Mom & Pop Books, and buy.

After all, this is a retail business, and forcing this or that is nice, and makes us feel good, but buying stuff is what makes them feel good...

IF you show up to sit in their lounge, with a starbucks coffee, read their magazines, then leave it is very different than going there, having them treat you poorly, and still giving them your money...

I know I am just showing myself to be a pain in the rump, but all the corporate back room dealing and lawyers are just overhead to these people. The bottom line is the bottom line. Having them buy wheel chairs which they should own to facilitate their own policy is nice, but getting everyone you know to frequent the competition is even better, if you feel that they are not providing you with the services you want or that they are required under the law to provide....

Do not refuse to attend their store, just do not give them any money. For gifts, to convince your family and friends to frequent other places, give gift certificates to the competition...

Just my personal opinion... Oh yeah, do not be bashfull about explaining to them why you buy elsewhere. I suspect the Store manager is also compensated on the bottom line...

You always seem to put things in perspective Karl. Good job

[Suzined]

If I were a big, bad guy who ran over old folks, women and children with my inherently dangerous etc., etc., I'd camp out of this listserv and listen carefully to every word, write it down and use it to develop a killer opposition. Fortunately, I'm meek and mild...wouldn't hurt a fly. John makes excellent sense. There is a lot to be said for not saying anything...or at least too much.

[Nelda]

Eric, I thought of you today as my husband and I went up and down every aisle in Barnes and Noble in the largest mall in Portland, Oregon.

I only received smiles as I glided up to the counter to ask for a book. They suggested I take the elevator down to the second floor. So, not only did we talk to many employees but we went up and down both floors without a hitch. We were both on our 'p' segways.
p.s. I didn't buy the book....

Nelda

[quade]

Originally Posted by Nelda

p.s. I didn't buy the book....

Do you think it helps or hurts your case to not buy a book there?

I understand a form of protest where you'd like to "use" the facility and then not actually buy anything from them. Ok I get that.

However, what would actually make a better impression to the front line worker that could be fed back up the pipeline; being, as some have suggested, a slightly "in your face" user but not customer or simply being another customer that actually purchases something?

Minorities sometimes talk about equality, but then sometimes seem to go out of their way to prove that they're anything but equal, anything but normal, but rather just angry. To me, that has never made any sense whatsoever.

Pretty much no employee of any company ever really wants to have to deal with the angry customer because they usually understand that the angry customer is the one that can get them fired. Not directly, but by complaining to their boss. It's not a matter of them wanting to then please the angry customer, but rather just avoid them as much as possible. So, with that in mind, does it ever really make sense to appear as a "user" but not purchaser? Doesn't that just make the employees want to avoid you the next time?

[Mr_Laurenzano]

They don't have book stores in many locations, can you order
Code Name Ginger, Hard Back?
What do I do with this 200.00 credit from the 2002, with amazon purchase, of my segway.
I want a t-shirt and a book.
well 100 of them.
Im just sitting here...watching the wheels go round and round.
Crash

[Suzined]

Interesting analysis of political motivation in not buy a book. On the other hand, maybe she just didn't see a book she liked. "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar."

[quade]

Originally Posted by Suzined

Interesting analysis of political motivation in not buy a book. On the other hand, maybe she just didn't see a book she liked. "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar."

Well, then, expand it to the suggestion made by others in this thread.

[KSagal]

Originally Posted by quade

Do you think it helps or hurts your case to not buy a book there?

I understand a form of protest where you'd like to "use" the facility and then not actually buy anything from them. Ok I get that.

However, what would actually make a better impression to the front line worker that could be fed back up the pipeline; being, as some have suggested, a slightly "in your face" user but not customer or simply being another customer that actually purchases something?

Minorities sometimes talk about equality, but then sometimes seem to go out of their way to prove that they're anything but equal, anything but normal, but rather just angry. To me, that has never made any sense whatsoever.

Pretty much no employee of any company ever really wants to have to deal with the angry customer because they usually understand that the angry customer is the one that can get them fired. Not directly, but by complaining to their boss. It's not a matter of them wanting to then please the angry customer, but rather just avoid them as much as possible. So, with that in mind, does it ever really make sense to appear as a "user" but not purchaser? Doesn't that just make the employees want to avoid you the next time?

I did not read that post and get the same message. I read that they had a pleasant experience, and eveyone, both patron and shop workers thought of it as a possitive experience. I often go to stores, and if I do not find what I want, I do not buy.

I did not get the "in your face" feeling from that post.

Furthermore, while I do not work in retail, I am an engineer who has worked my entire career in customer service. My specialty is the more difficult cases. I understand that commercial clients are different than retail customers, and surely if I loose big clients for my companies, my job might be at risk, but the impact is different, and the immediate fire/appeasement thing does not really exist. Still, I love the challenge of taking the angry or unhappy client and turning them around. It is more about the challenge for me than the fear, more about the personal accomplishment of turning them around, than even the finances for the company.

Of course, each of us are different. My reactions may be atypical.

[quade]

Originally Posted by KSagal

I did not get the "in your face" feeling from that post.

Certainly not as "in your face" as you had suggested.

In the context of this thread and her use of the phrase, " . . . up and down every aisle in Barnes and Noble in the largest mall in Portland, Oregon", lead me to believe it was a more passive aggressive style.

After all, if you're in a bookstore looking for a specific book, there's hardly ever a reason to go "up and down every aisle". If I was working a bookstore and saw someone on a Segway doing that, I'm pretty certain I'd think they were trying to do something other than looking for a specific book.

Perhaps she can clarify for us.