12:noon 11/12/10
ATTENTION: PC police…. this post is stereotype laced…Just thought I’d warn you…that is all!
The Walden books of Barnes and Nobles…………
The Walden books of Barnes and Nobles…………
I am waiting to have my Mac looked at and since I am an hour early, I find myself once again drawn to the siren song of the book store…not the intellectual haven one might find in San Marco, in some cozy, slightly mildew scented nook with a old gray haired caretaker who looks like he might smell like hemp (I am not intellectual NOR hip enough for that store)…
No, my stop is that yuppie heaven/java bean bastion of commercialism addicting Voracious reader everywhere…(Drum roll Please……………) Barnes and Noble!!!
I admit it; I am a media junkie. Over the last couple of years I have found myself drawn to the nearest B&N or Walden Books, or Borders ,Mac Store, Best Buy, Comp USA, Circuit City or the like whenever I am nearby. Today, it's B&N based solely on vicinity. It’s one of the few places I can loiter, thumb through books I will not purchase, make my self comfy on the furniture AND expect a yummy super small, caffeine laced quadruple toffee mocha something supreme (with soy) .Though I benefit, I still marvel at their commitment to customer service to the point of allowing us to freeload.
One might think by the post above that I am somehow anti-bookstore…. quite the contrary…my frequency of visit is a testament to my love of the Media “all you can eat”. Though I must admit I used to come in to look through comic books (excuse me, graphic Novels!) then I started thumbing through computer software learn-its, then I moved to autobiographies then I got to the point where I could come in, have an amaretto or a Venti something, sit in the Grandpa’s chair and skim the afternoon away on something with words in it.
Who knew after all this college studies focused on images, color and computer, that I still had a little bit of a love affair with words…(and a tall coffee of course)
I agree with you, in the sense that a free book and coffee go well together. These stores are so successful, because they give the customers a feeling of being treated too well... a rarity these days. Our grandparents would have walked into any Sears, told them they didn't like a previous purchase and the customer service rep would have apologized and returned funds. Now, you try to return something legit broken and you are made to feel like a crook, "must have receipt, license, and only store credit. My downfall is Starbucks, there's a stereotype, they are always so friendly. I can go to read, chat, or through the drive through. And, if something is wrong they apologize till it's sad. The effect: I don't complain! Great blog, John, I enjoyed reading!
ReplyDeleteactually I don't get there to just sit anymore, but Starbucks is my weakness too.
ReplyDelete