Borders group employees

Closing tonight?
Store open past 6 PM this lovely holiday? 

When you get in don't forget to look up your DM's phone number and call them at some point to see if they are working too!  Don't forget to block it ;-)

Because I know, that I was sucked into working a few precious hours... I know that there are others as well. I created this account just today. To vent about being annoyed and fed up with BORDERS. Today, especially. 

I have been pretty mellow about everything going on lately but I just can't take it anymore. I am so sick of being nagged and ragged on and attacked. I'm just a minimum wage cashier but I'm the best they've got and though that may not seem like it's saying much. It's true. I am no longer going to "use names", invite people back, ask if they've found anything, ask about COFFEE, or rewards! I don't care anymore. That may seem super immature but it's just what they deserve. Why should I work so hard when you don't even respect me?! I'm tired of hypocritical b.s. from bitchy and dink bag service mangers. I don't care. I'm not doing it. I'm done with this place. I'll stick around til I finally don't have to. Like most everyone else who is searching for new employment. But, I am done doing all this stupid crap. done done done.

So, in light of everyone not being happy that they have to work there anyway but let alone having to work the 4th of July. I thought I'd make a little post so that we can share our stories of any customers we may have, of how you got treated today by them and by the people you work with. Enjoy. I will be sharing mine I know that for sure... I've needed a good vent for a very, very long time.

I got this email from my Staples rewards:

We apologize. The email we sent yesterday featured an Acer® notebook and Acer® wide screen monitor that are not available in your area. However, we do have other great deals available at your local Staples. Click here to view your weekly ad.

Anyone know  why the credit card between borders and chase came to an end? 

In light of TeamFinally's great ideas for store events to bring customers into the store and generate awesome community involvment in the store we came up with a few ideas ourselves;

1. Candy Hunt for the Kiddies

We take all the damaged, melted, moldy candies that we would normally dumpster (cost to store - zero dollars!) and randomly chuck them througout the kids section (set up time - one minute!. Moms will be elated at the interest their little geniuses display in books! Hint is to throw some in the IR section so the parents will be amazed at the levels of books thier 3 year olds are interested in.

2. Summer School Anatomy Class

In a secluded alcove somewhere in the store we set up a few chairs (set up time - five minutes!), and place stripped men's magazines(cost to the store - zero!, and invite teenagers in for a study session. Clean up is not a breeze though so immediately following this event we hold;

3. Borders Campfire

During our morning clean up (with regular clean up services only coming in only on Wednesday between 3:25 pm and 3:40 pm), we save all the leftover half drunk coffees, sodas and waters, In additon to that we also collect all the leftover bites of food from all over the store (cost to the store - zero dollars) and hold a campfire feast (no real fire though, that would require large costs) for all the homeless folks who are in our store daily. Although this had has no effect so far on our sales, trends indicate that we should see an upswing in homeless folks in the near future and when the economy turns around we anticipate that they will positively affect our bottom line. Clean up is put off until Wednesday between 3:25 and 3:40 (cost to the store - zero dollars!).

These are events which are a breeze to set up, cost nothing and really make our store into a swinging hotspot community service customer oriented extablishment. C'mon you all, get off your whining rear ends and single handedly turn this company around with zero minutes spent and zero dollars cost to the company.

Guess what? People were complaining today because...we barely have any CD's and movies left. 'What are we supposed to get?' 'You guys hardly have anything anymore.' Whoever the weirdo was that spread it that CD's and DVD's were dying sure didn't do any homework. This is ridiculous! It's fine to rearrange the store and clean it up and organize a little, but yanking band's CD's off the shelves, because of a rumor! I'm just a little unhappy, because the same thing I thought would happen today...has! People are mad, and with good reason! Barnes and Noble now officially has a better selection. And it's NOT supposed to be like that. Complete with bargain books in the sections....what are we a 'yard sale?'last time I checked we weren't Big Lots! Sadly, that's where we're headed.

I heard 5....5 people ask our staff if we were closing!

Borders : Some books and a cafe. Are the higher ups happy with making folks unhappy?

Are they under the impression that we take everything out but the Make Books and new releases?

BTW Janet's 15 book is selling like crap! Repeat of #14. So we'll end up with a boatload of books of hers that wont sell...ever!

Dean Koontz' book is a DISASTER! We have local authors who have sold better than his stuff. 6 copies in 2 weeks sold? Come on buddy!

James Patterson's book rotted on the shelf today. We ordered way too many copies.

Those authors are washed up anyway.

It is pretty bad when we have local authors who sell better than James, Janet and Dean's new books combined. TLU is funny to look at paltry stats for the newer books.It's sad they keep getting book deals.

Definitely many unhappy and grumpy customers today for lack of product. They really do notice these things. Where the heck are you supposed to go for DVD's and CD's now? The competition??

Why would Borders be looking to drive business away deliberately??? Any ideas??

We're running out of things to sell them....Thank god for our events and signings, that IS what gets people excited about coming to our store. This is our cue to have MORE. No reason to walk into the store and have it seem like a tomb/library/quiet...a quiet store is a dead one. I love setting up the band shows..it rocks. We always go around after and ask people if they had fun and 100% perfect ratings for our events. Well our CD's might have gone, but our live music will just increase. :)

We have to be able to give some kind of reasoning to these bands whom we're just yanking off the shelve.

Beth Nottingham, Zone 2 Vice President, is no longer with the company, effective immediately. There was a hastily arranged conference call for Zone 2 GMs at 2:00 to announce that and nothing else--DMs didn't even know until about 45 minutes in advance. New guy was hired from outside the company and will start next Monday.

Anyone have anything to contribute from a reliable source? Is your ZVP still with us? I think it would be useful to include your position in your reply (seller, Sales Manager, CEO, etc.) and what level you got your info from. I'm a Sales Manager and got my info from a GM.

Is anyone elses store staying open normal hours July 4th?  We are and we close at 11 PM, I want to know who in their right mind will be coming to the store after 6 PM on the 4th.  What's next?  Normal hours on all the holidays including Christmas Day & Thanksgiving?  I know things are bad, but another kick in the groin for the employees doesn't help much at all. 

This post is for Corporate folks, the people in the trenches in Ann Arbor who are probably under as much stress as we are in the field.  I know you can't post yourself because you must remain anonymous.  But you can comment!  So I opened this post for you.  DM's and GM's are welcome too. Can you please tell us what's going on?

The goal of a book store is to make money. A customer comes into the store with money in her pocket to buy a book. We put it in her hands and take her money. The rest is gravy. Greeting, upselling, candy, build the basket, EGC, BR etc., can only work if we can put that book in her hands.

Binc is failing to give us what we need to help her, so she is walking right back out the door with her money still in her pocket. And she will likely never come back.  This is why we are failing, and no amount of threatening or browbeating will change it.

We need books back in the stores. We need people to unbox and shelve them. We need sellers to find them and cashiers to take the money.

To those of you GM’s, DM’s and AA folks who’ve never actually worked in a book store, these are the basics. Until you have a clear understanding of these principles, we booksellers will have no respect for you. 

So, could you please study and master these simple steps before you throw another stupid plan at our heads, decide to rearrange the store, fire off a misspelled tirade, or fire another 700 people?

 Here are Borders customer comments posted on Dear Author, a genre fan site, regarding Borders’ failure to carry Lois McMaster Bujold’s new hardcover, Horizon.

---All I can say is that I wiggled out of work early to get my hands on Horizon and found out that all the Borders in my area were not going to receive a single copy. Which sucks for Borders, because I went across the street and bought not only Horizons but also another book from B&N. Even more sucky for Borders, the store was a giant, near-empty mess.

---Why wouldn’t they carry a new book by a popular author? That makes no sense.

---This apparently has happened to Jennifer Rardin’s 5th Jaz book “One More Bite” too. It’s available online at Borders but not in the store…very frustrating.

---I went to my Borders last night and got a “no one is carrying it” answer and that it hadn’t been released yet. So I called the B&N down the street, discovered they had five copies, and reserved one. Damn. I knew Borders was falling fast, but not to have the new Bujold?!

---I can’t tell you the number of books I wanted to buy in the last several months that were deemed “online only.” I sadly suspect we’re seeing the first of Borders’ death throes.

---This is infuriating. They’re not getting my money anymore.

---I had it happen several times over the Christmas holidays when I was wanting a specific book, only to find them either not available or order only. Forget that.

---I work across the street from a Borders, and half a mile from a B&N, so Borders is much more convenient…but if they don’t have what I want, what use is convenience?

---I’ve always gone to Border’s by preference over BN. I’m still just gobsmacked that even the A2 Border’s isn’t carrying Horizon. And not only did they lose the $$ that I would have spent there yesterday, in the future I’m less likely to even check there.

---The thing that really irks me is that my local stores are delving ever deeper into non-book areas (board games, toys, toiletries, bags, etc.). I feel sorry for the store employees, but horrible stewardship of the business could only lead to the worst outcome.

 

　

　

　 

 

Since I worked for Borders 10yrs ago and now for almost a year this time, one of the changes I've seen change is-

we used to have 'charge' accounts. The money would be added to our checks on the stubs, and we'd get about $30 a check for in store purchases. And actually we could go over sometimes. It was a nice touch to working there. I mean the money went back into the store, but still, it was ours.

Back then full timers got less of an employee discount than the PT people.

Also anyone remember when we had to 'flush' our sections? Pulling the books out to the edge of the case so that they never seemed pushed back. That was another WTF rule. I remember getting written up cause my section wasn't flushed.

And finally... back in the day we were assigned 'sections' or a couple sections to mind and manage and shelve. The sort room was split, and our books would be packed into sections for whatever yours was. They had a separate sorter, who just sorted books from boxes to your section, then you had 'section time' to do it and make endcaps, signs, ect. And keep them alphabetical and flushed. All the employees had 'sections' it wasn't an IPT dept where everyone just emptied boxes onto carts and people did whatever. If anything Borders has taken a step backward in terms of organizational skills and assigning staff.

Then again, we also used to have free coffee and tea in the cafe, and our own plastic thermoses. Valos anyone?

Now its 38 cents for a coffee.

Ohhh...my favorite....Borders Cafe used to sell...soda products.

Memories...

There seems to be a job at AA called the "fiction expert". I want that job. I've read a ton of fiction. I am an expert. Let me be it!

Alright..I missed the bus.Barnes and Noble is close...so I went in. Echo....hardly any customers. It's a small store, with a big kids area.

And they're headphones in the cd area to sample cds...they always work.

They still bug you..'can i help you find something'

First thing i notice..they have just as many dvds as they always have had...a lot. And back titles. Their music section is always spotless. No real gaping holes like our pathetic section post RPL. No wonderpeople think we're closing look at our missing stock!

I did notice that 90% of their Various artists section was cut....I'm not kidding. Theyre down to the NOW cd's and a few dance ones. That's it. It used to be huge. Thats the only seciton I noticed that was reasonable cut.

Otherwise the store is the same as it is normally. 70% bargain books.

Their Harry Carry book we have for 2.99...is 6.99 over there.

They have a standup display of Angel's Game, but nothing about City of Thieves, or any of the other Make Books.

Their shelves look..neat. I was surprised. No one looks out of breath, in fear for their jobs...its calm.

No live music, no events, which sucks....and they have no author signings...and turn away local authors...their idea of a local book is the ones Arcadia Puts out...lol. Lame. They dont have WiFi either. Then again we only have T-Mobil.

Their cafe has.....soup! Nice choice for winter. But again, their store is always clean..spotless...the bathrooms are nice. And theyre the number one book store.

I rarely see anyone shelving though. They dont have many employees. No ones racing around with V carts, tearing up sections...ect. No one's in fear there.

Now, I love my store. I do. I love the events we have, The live music, all of our authors...ect...but its an eye opener walking in a Barnes and Noble and not feeling like folks are in fear for their jobs. Or some sorry Make Books. WTF....remember payola from the 50's radio stations and labels paying stations to play the songs...thats illegal.

I hate that BN seems library-like. That people are reading in the store....Borders and BN are supposed to be 'current' and 'hip' places to hang out....well, not if its a hangout for newspaper readers and the 'professor' type.

The biggest WTF for both stores is their target audience......WW2 fans, baby boomers, and soccar moms. Maybe thats why the book store chains are in the can. The demographic HAS to change to a younger YA crowd. Look at Twilight and why that worked...it brought a new crowd into Borders...and yet the Make Books we've had...no one can relate to...they're WW2 themed books...and Horse Soldiers....Gurnsey....all for away older crowd. Even Janet's books sell to your 50 to 60yr old crowd. Jodi Picoults are for soccar moms.....good grief!!

Go for the Hot Topic crowd, the 16-22yr olds need to be courted! But, no, lets pick something to Make that no one's interested that was born in this century..LOL. Good move.

Getting back to Barnes and Noble. They have very few copies of books on the floor. You don't see 20 copiesof something, you see maybe 2 copies of each title. The rest are in the back, most likely. The shelves are tight, but it never looks like one book is more important than the others. The pro wreslting section is paltry...sadly. But they make up for it for having a much better pro wrestling magazine selection.

For some strange reason their magazine section is never cluttered. Ours are. With tohts strewn around half sorted ect....I dont know how BN does it, but you rately see them shelving and hurrying from one thing to another...Customers pick up on that.

The thing you notice, sadly, is that the workers are calm. Chilled out...and it makes an easier experience being there. Borders employees are always talking about being miserable and half baked DM's and ron marshall and 'insider stuff' on the floor! I mean if are chatting about the store closing, and insider stuff...folks walk in see half empty shelves, wierd new sections and half our DVDs and CD's missing....you'd ASSUME we're going out of business! And half the staff we normally have and I've been asked while doing the reg and greeting...'are u a one man show?' I just nod and say 'I can also perform weddings' all in good fun.

And again, BN doesnt emply greeters. Wal Mart does! What happens if we're asking if they need help and they say 'can you order a book?' or show me something in back of the store? what then? Leave the reg? And walk back to the back of the store....'hey guys...free money till I get back'....I geta kick out of that.

Moral of the story.,...I love my store, but any one...a German Sheppard could pick up on the fears in the air of closing...the blatant retooling and downsizing of inventory and staff...cutting most of the music and movies....since we are 'Books, Music, Movies and Cafe' Muiltiple RPLS will make us just......Borders: Some books and a Cafe.'

Sounds crazy, but this is what it looks like to an outsider coming into a Borders for the first time.

Just curious.

When they have those ridiculous Borders recommends cards that fit into the flexi holders. With the lamo descriptions of the books, they are supposidly from 'Borders Fiction Expert-Jennifer N.' Or whatever name they use. Would anyone be convinced that these are real people and buy it off the horrendous note?

Yikes.

Anyone else notice this?

And who are these people??? Does Borders hire 'Fiction Experts?'

Just curious, I know stores here in MA have been stressing about RM being in the area this week...as far as i had heard, yesterday he wasn't seen anywhere...were there any sightings of him today? I always half-suspect these field inspections are announced with little to no intent of actually doing them, more as a way of forcing the GMs to be sure their stores are in tip top shape.

You all may find this amusing, or perhaps just pointless and mean-spirited.  But in any case, here is Julio's infamous email, with my comments, as sent to BGI headquarters.  Enjoy.  Or not.

Dear Corporate Borders Types :

One of your DMs appears to have a little trouble with his English, not to mention his anger management.  In the spirit of public service and cross-cultural enlightenment, you may forward what follows to him.

-------------------------------------------------------

Hello Leaders,
I am going to beat the dead horse,

One usually beats a dead horse, not the dead horse.  In English, anyway.

because I feel the need of [try "to"] explain it again. This e-mail will not motivate you and it will not make you feel better.

My expectations and standards are:

[It's usually helpful to number lists.  Again, in English, anyway.]

You need to have flawless execution. I said flawless execution. You need to execute flawlessly and then some, but some will never come before flawless execution.

[This is an utterance made up of English words, all of which I recognize, but they don't add up to a coherent sentence.]

I will not accept excuses like: Anne approves it. Bill approves it. Kelly approves it. Or anything likes [What's that errant "s" doing there?] that. Now is me. Now is Julio. [What are you, a B-movie villain?] From now on it is what I say or the highway.

I ask you this.[Colons are your friends, Julio.] If I was [The English language does possess a subjunctive mood.  The proper verb here is "were", not "was".]  interviewing you because you were unemployed and can [could] not pay your debts, but have the GM experience and I ask you to do this job under the very worst circumstances.[Well, that sentence seemed like it would be intelligible when you started it...] Very little payroll. Section movements, High Standards, high expectations, flawless execution, high csi, high borders rewards, low shrink in the store and café, to be the #1 in make items, to be #1 in everything but giving you nothing. Just depending in your GM experience, talents and skills to meet these expectations. [These are not sentences, Julio; they're button points.] Will you take the job? Will you tell me. Julio. You have the right person in front of you! If you will say those words. Please stay, but if you are not willing to do what I need you to do. Please leave. [Oh, I get it--you're the Puerto Rican David Brent.  Seriously, Julio, what's in it for the prospective GM that you're postulating here?  Is this some kind of idiotic test of machismo--make bricks from straw because that's how a Real Man does it?]

Today I had a very nice conversation with a GM and she was telling me that she does not understand how Alex at store 231 make it with the little payroll that he has, the little mgmt structure that he has and how beautiful was his store and my response was.[Colon?  Where are you, my little dotty friend?] Because he has to.[Are you sure you're not Cuban?] Payroll does not fix the problem. Mgmt skills do. An excellent GM does not needs external motivation. [Then why are you trying to motivate GMs with this email?  Why not just get rid of all of them and find some "excellent" ones?]

If you are planning to complain to me. [You want a comma here, not a period.  I know they look really similar, though; all those punctuation marks do!] Don’t do it. If you are planning on telling me how difficult is the job.[Again...] Don’t do it. Just leave. [You know, I wish they would.  It would have been supremely entertaining to see you shit your pants, not to mention explain it to your boss.]

Let me tell you something else. I can talk and talk and talk, [You're demonstrating that quite well...] but if you haven’t understand [You mean "understood".  English has a past tense or two, just like Spanish!] the message so far.[This sentence appears to lack something; what is not clear, but you need to remember that for every "if" you must provide a "then".] I can talk and talk all day long and you will never understand. [I know exactly what you mean.] I am going to finish saying this: You know who you are. You know it. Don’t lie to you. Don’t lie to you.["Don't lie to yourself" is better English.  And why the repeat?  Rhetorical effect, or just sloppy writing?  Heaven forfend!] Leave and avoid the part of me letting you go.[Which part of you will let them go?] If you are planning to stay, you only can ["can only"] stay if you do everything I have written so far and then more.[Does that include incomprehensible ranting in broken semi-English?] A lot more!!! [Will there be a competition?] Or please leave.

Note: as I said. This e-mail is not intended to be rude. But if you feel offended, I am going to ask you: Why? Why do you?[Why do I what?] Please. Let’s have the conversation and I can tell you why, but that will hurt, because I will be honest with you. [Julio, my buddy, if you ever had a conversation with me, trust me : you'd be the one who'd walk away hurting afterward.]

Thanks
[But no thanks.]

Good grief. Did AA really, truly, honestly think they needed to send me a store perform to inform me that Janet Evanovich was expected to be a big seller? Duh…

One of my co-workers remarked the other day, "It's like they've even stopped pretending that they're not stupid."

And are there seriously any stores out there that don't get laydowns like Evanovich out on time?