Bare bones and little pricks
There are 18 days left to grab a seat for the launch of Raising Kane. Click one of the links below to let me know you’re coming.
RSVP here for February 26th at Owl’s Nest.
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I hope to see you there!
Good morning friend,
I only had one shift last week at the bookstore, but holy heck was it a good one.
I walked into the staffroom to be greeted by an ARC (advance reader copy) of Heather Marshall’s upcoming novel, Liberty Street. Heather is an auto-read author for me, so I might have screamed a little when I saw that book waiting for me to take home.
We had a couple of sick calls, making me one of four people working the closing shift. Bare bones staffing meant there were periods when I was the only person on the sales floor. This is not an issue for me. I like to keep busy and when you are the only visible person, you get asked ALL the questions.
I helped a dad find The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. I showed a couple of teenagers where to find the NeeDoh (sensory squishy stuff that is all the rage among this demographic). I put a copy of Stephen King’s The Wastelands into the hands of reader who wasn’t able to locate it. I made recommendations for memoir, romance, and history. I talked to a couple who were curious why Kobo is better than Kindle (short answer: Kobo connects to Libby).
When I was on cash, I had time to really engage with customers. One woman hadn’t updated her email or phone number on her Plum account for six years.
“I don’t want to alarm you, but that’s a lot of 20% off birthday coupons you missed,” I said. “Let’s make last year the last time that happens.” I updated all the things in her account, including adding her birthdate. I reviewed the program benefits for her to ensure she could get the most out of her free membership.
It took me a few minutes, but there was no line, and I firmly believe customer retention is just as important than acquisition. Before she left, I advised her to make a list of books she might want when she comes back in April for her discount.
When I asked a gentleman if he had a Plum account, he immediately said no. This is a trigger response for anyone who doesn’t shop Indigo on a regular basis. I always follow up by asking if there is a phone number I can look up for anyone in their household. Often, a wife will have the account. Or the mom. Or the uncle. Or the sister or brother. This man standing in front of me shrugged then shook his head.
“I don’t think so. It’s fine.”
Normally, I would then pitch they sign up, but something made me ask him this: “Throw me a phone number and let’s check.”
“Okay,” he acquiesced, reciting a number. Yep, he was in our database, and he had enough points sitting in his account to redeem for $10 off his purchase. Yep, he was super thrilled I pushed.
I told the next customer who tried to shrug me off about the last guy who did that and almost walked away from a $10 reward. That person had $5 in redemption points. I was giving away money.
But the absolute—ABSOLUTE—pinnacle of the night was when a woman came to the cash register with a couple of mugs. I tuned the first one over to scan the bar code on the bottom and something fell out onto the counter.
I picked it up and could not stop the laugh that ERUPTED. It was a tiny, 3D printed penis. Complete with flat-bottomed balls so it could sit upright.
I paused to examine this inch-and-a-half marvel and the customer blurted out, “Is that a penis?”
“Yup. It just fell out of the mug.”
We looked at each other for a moment. Eyes wide. And then we were laughing together. My eyes, and hers, were tearing up. It was a joyous moment shared between strangers.
“Do you want to keep it?” I asked. She did not.
My colleagues were delighted when I shared my little discovery. According to my manager, this is not the first time a little prick has been found in the store. Cue even more laughter, not only at the pun, but at the visual in my head of tiny penises surreptitiously planted throughout the store.
Good lord, I love this job.
XO Dana
PS: I’m going on vacation, so the next newsletter won’t be out until March 1.