Hello all!
As promised, here is a link to my Final Presentation. I gave my presentation this past Saturday and I think it went pretty well! Thank you to those of you who came to see it!
Finally, I just wanted to thank everybody who has been following my journey over the past few months. I've definitely enjoyed sitting down to write my blog posts at the end of each week! I hope you all enjoyed reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them.
P.S. It wouldn't really be a post on my blog if I didn't end with this: Happy Reading!
Monday, May 9, 2016
Monday, May 2, 2016
Chapter Thirteen: The Final Chapter
I officially had my last week at the Phoenix store, meaning that my internship has come to a close. Here's how I spent my last week!
I spent most of my time helping out at front information, taking orders, putting books on hold, and just generally answering questions. I've definitely come a long way from when I was too afraid that I would answer the phone and not know how to help someone! Pro tip: never hesitate to put someone on hold if you're unsure about something. It saves you from sounding clueless and it gives you a little time to ask some of the other employees around you! The largest order I had to complete was when a man came in looking for 7 different books! We didn't have any of them so I had to order them all, and I even had to do and access order on a few of them, meaning that there were only a handful of copies in the warehouse and I had to hold one of them until the book buyers place an order. It was a very long process, ad luckily it was for a man who was right in front of me, not on the phone, so he was extremely patient while I filled out all of the order forms!
I also got to do some shelving. I definitely was able to become comfortable with the layout of the store in Phoenix a bit faster I did at the Tempe store, probably because it's a much smaller store. There was also much less shelving to do in Phoenix since there are fewer, smaller sections, and I was able to whip through shelving in Phoenix whereas in Tempe I had to spend a good chunk of time.
Additionally, just as I did at the Tempe store, I conducted a customer survey. Most of the questions I asked were the same as the Tempe, with just a couple that referenced thing unique to Phoenix. Also, one of the questions asked if the customer had ever been to the Tempe store. I asked this to try to see if the Phoenix store is its own independent entity or just an extension of the Tempe store. A lot of the customers I talked to had been to the Tempe store before, but a portion of those people only visited the Tempe store because they shopped at the Phoenix store and loved it.
Finally, my last day was pretty special. There were even cupcakes waiting for me when I arrived from a bakery down the street (which were delicious, by the way). Bill Walton was also having a book signing and I got to talk to him for a bit and even got a picture with him!
It was a really great end to a really great internship. I couldn't have asked for a better experience and would do it all over again if I could! Everyone at Changing Hands really did everything they could to make me feel at home. I'll be posting my final presentation soon, but until then, happy reading!
I spent most of my time helping out at front information, taking orders, putting books on hold, and just generally answering questions. I've definitely come a long way from when I was too afraid that I would answer the phone and not know how to help someone! Pro tip: never hesitate to put someone on hold if you're unsure about something. It saves you from sounding clueless and it gives you a little time to ask some of the other employees around you! The largest order I had to complete was when a man came in looking for 7 different books! We didn't have any of them so I had to order them all, and I even had to do and access order on a few of them, meaning that there were only a handful of copies in the warehouse and I had to hold one of them until the book buyers place an order. It was a very long process, ad luckily it was for a man who was right in front of me, not on the phone, so he was extremely patient while I filled out all of the order forms!
I also got to do some shelving. I definitely was able to become comfortable with the layout of the store in Phoenix a bit faster I did at the Tempe store, probably because it's a much smaller store. There was also much less shelving to do in Phoenix since there are fewer, smaller sections, and I was able to whip through shelving in Phoenix whereas in Tempe I had to spend a good chunk of time.
Additionally, just as I did at the Tempe store, I conducted a customer survey. Most of the questions I asked were the same as the Tempe, with just a couple that referenced thing unique to Phoenix. Also, one of the questions asked if the customer had ever been to the Tempe store. I asked this to try to see if the Phoenix store is its own independent entity or just an extension of the Tempe store. A lot of the customers I talked to had been to the Tempe store before, but a portion of those people only visited the Tempe store because they shopped at the Phoenix store and loved it.
Finally, my last day was pretty special. There were even cupcakes waiting for me when I arrived from a bakery down the street (which were delicious, by the way). Bill Walton was also having a book signing and I got to talk to him for a bit and even got a picture with him!
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| He's so tall that he told me to put my shoulder in front of him so I wouldn't disappear! |
Monday, April 25, 2016
Chapter Twelve: An Eventful Week in Phoenix
This week I got to experience a lot of new things! It's been really cool to be able to witness firsthand the differences between Phoenix and Tempe.
I started off by sitting in on the Teen Advisory Board meeting. The Teen Advisory Board is a group of around ten teens that meet with two staff members of Changing Hands to talk about things they want to change about or introduce to the teen section of the store. The meeting I sat in on was actually the group's first meeting, so I got to listen in as they discussed making various displays highlighting local authors, incorporating a graphic novel section in the teen section so that they are more accessible to teens, and having two meetings a month rather than just one so that they can also make the group a book club. It was really cool to see all of these teens who had such a strong love of books; much of the meeting was spent talking about books they loved and just nerding out in general.
Next, I helped set up an event for Frank Beddor's first book in a prequel series to The Looking Glass Wars, which is a series targeted towards teens. The setup that Phoenix is able to do for events is extremely different from the setup Tempe can do. Since the Phoenix store has access to the Commons for events, they have a designated event space that doesn't require them to rearrange shelves in the store (which is what happens in Tempe). The Commons also allows for more creativity with even setup. For instance, for the Frank Beddor event, the space was set up with rectangular tables with tablecloths, top hat centerpieces, and table confetti that went with the theme of the book. Additionally, during the event, there was a magician doing tricks and even a ballet performance by a local company! The event space in the Phoenix store is extremely unique, which is something that I think helps Changing Hands get that competitive edge against other venues that might be vouching for authors.
Over the next few days, I spent a lot of my time interacting with customers, both in store and on the phone. I was able to overcome my initial borderline-crippling fear of answering the phone and was able to answer questions with more ease, not afraid to put someone on hold to ask a manager or another employee for help. I got really good at putting books on hold in the system, which is something that people asked about a lot. Other than that, I put a good amount of time into ordering books that we didn't have in-store for people.
I also did some more section maintenance. This time, I worked on the science, social issues & politics, social issues & economics, and teen sections. The science section in particular was a lot of fun to work on because the entire top shelf is dedicated to display, so I got to choose from all of the books in the section to put up there! All of the science books have gorgeous covers, but I think I was especially partial to the books about space.
Some of the things I do at Changing Hands are a little less glamorous than most of the things I talk about. For instance, the other day I was given the task of going down to the basement to shred things until the shredder overheated. After two shredding sessions, I was able to tackle all of the bags, which was extremely satisfying. Another thing I did was stamp paper shopping bags with the Changing Hands and First Draft Book Bar logos.
This may seem like just another tedious task, but it's really good free advertising for Changing Hands. And, on top of that, it adds just another personal touch to the shopping experience.
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It was another eventful week at Changing Hands! Next week is my last week at the store as well as the last week of my Senior Project, so I just wanted to take this time to thank everyone who has taken the time to read my posts every week. Next week I will be sharing a link to my final presentation slides, but until then, happy reading!
Over the next few days, I spent a lot of my time interacting with customers, both in store and on the phone. I was able to overcome my initial borderline-crippling fear of answering the phone and was able to answer questions with more ease, not afraid to put someone on hold to ask a manager or another employee for help. I got really good at putting books on hold in the system, which is something that people asked about a lot. Other than that, I put a good amount of time into ordering books that we didn't have in-store for people.
I also did some more section maintenance. This time, I worked on the science, social issues & politics, social issues & economics, and teen sections. The science section in particular was a lot of fun to work on because the entire top shelf is dedicated to display, so I got to choose from all of the books in the section to put up there! All of the science books have gorgeous covers, but I think I was especially partial to the books about space.
Some of the things I do at Changing Hands are a little less glamorous than most of the things I talk about. For instance, the other day I was given the task of going down to the basement to shred things until the shredder overheated. After two shredding sessions, I was able to tackle all of the bags, which was extremely satisfying. Another thing I did was stamp paper shopping bags with the Changing Hands and First Draft Book Bar logos.
This may seem like just another tedious task, but it's really good free advertising for Changing Hands. And, on top of that, it adds just another personal touch to the shopping experience.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was another eventful week at Changing Hands! Next week is my last week at the store as well as the last week of my Senior Project, so I just wanted to take this time to thank everyone who has taken the time to read my posts every week. Next week I will be sharing a link to my final presentation slides, but until then, happy reading!
Friday, April 15, 2016
Chapter Eleven: New Week, New Store (New Me?)
This week I had my first day at the Phoenix store! I was a bit nervous going into it, but I ended up having a really great day!
When I first walked into the store, I was relieved to see some familiar faces. Brandi, Camilla, and Daniel were working at the Phoenix location today. A lot of the employees at the Tempe location actually also spend some time in the Phoenix store. They help transfer stock between stores and overall just help the much newer Phoenix store run smoothly.
I started off by getting a tour of the store from the manager, Elisa. The only way I can really describe the Phoenix store to someone who has never seen it is that it is a modern bite-sized version of the Tempe store. Also, while the Tempe store is attached to Wildflower Bread Company, the Phoenix store sports First Draft Book Bar, which serves alcohol, coffee, tea, and other light refreshments. Customers can even shop around the store while drinking their beverage from the bar!
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| Sorry for the low-quality picture. I couldn't get the lighting right but still wanted to share this awesome sign!! |
Another exciting aspect of the Phoenix store is that the offices and break room are located in the basement, affectionately nicknamed the bat cave, which has the oddly satisfying feeling of a bunker.
After touring the store itself, Elisa showed me The Newton itself, which is the center that the store is located in. Right off the bar is the community room where Changing Hands holds its events. However, the space is not exclusive to Changing Hands and can be rented out for private events, something that I hadn't realized before. There meeting rooms down the hall that can also be rented out. Changing Hands also shares the complex with Southern Rail Restaurant, Southwest Gardener, and a consulting company. It was really cool to see how the center was a sort of haven for small business, something that I though reflected the spirit of Changing Hands.
After my tour was completed, Elisa and I went back up to front info, where I helped answer a phone call! This was pretty nerve-wracking for me since I felt like I wasn't knowledgeable enough to help customers, but I was able to put a book on hold for the customer, which made me feel very accomplished.
Although I never encountered them much in Tempe, Changing Hands does have some regulars. One of the Phoenix regulars actually emails Elisa with a list of books to be ordered for her, some of which don't come out for a few more months. I helped write out order slips for her latest list and placed a book that we actually had in stock on hold for her. It's pretty amazing to see the kind of customer loyalty that Changing Hands has.
Next I went down into the "bat cave" with Heather to shadow her while she makes a list of event books to order for the month of June using information in the event calendar. For signings, she not only adds the authors newest book to the list, but also other recent and/or popular books by the author. Once finished, this list will be used to place the book orders themselves.
After doing a bit or shelving, which was a bit difficult because I'm not yet completely familiar with the store, I actually did some section maintenance for the World Religions section. There's a bunch of different subsections packed in there, but overall it wasn't too difficult.
Finally, I helped Daniel out by labeling some cards. This may not seem very exciting, but I got to use the fancy price gun, which made me feel pretty awesome and official.
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I had a really great first day at Changing Hands in Phoenix! I can't wait to get to know it better! I have two more weeks of my project to go, but for now, happy reading!
Sunday, April 10, 2016
Chapter Ten: Farewell to Tempe
This week marked the last of my time at Changing Hands' Tempe location, a bittersweet thing because although I am excited to move over to the Phoenix location for the final three weeks of my project, I really enjoyed working with and getting to know all of the people in Tempe. Here's what I did during my final week in Tempe:
Day One
Today I got bounced around a bit, which I didn't actually mind because it meant I got to work on a bunch of different things throughout the day rather than just one or two like I had been doing for the past couple of weeks. I started by entering a batch of used books until I had to get out of the way so that a new used book trader could be trained.
I then moved over to the children's section to do a bit of section maintenance. The children's section is by far the largest section in the store, basically a miniature version of the store since it has almost all of the same sections and genres for kids as there are for adults throughout the store. Because of this, all of the shelves require constant maintenance to get them into their proper orders, especially since kids probably pay the least attention to alphabetization of all of Changing Hands' customers. I worked specifically on the kid's graphic novels section, a section that I had noticed was never quite in the right order every time I tried to shelve there. Although that section only consists of one bookcase, there are a few different sections within it, making its organization a bit tricky. However, I did manage to get all of the serial graphic novels in order (alphabetical by series title) before moving on to the next project.
Next, got to help out Jazmin again with a new project of hers. If you'll recall, Jazmin is one of the gift buyers, and last time I worked with her, I helped both Faith and her with some spring book and gift displays. This time, Jazmin was working on the beginning of a new display system for all of the cards that the store sells. By the end of this project, the idea is that there will be a uniform, color-coded labeling system for all the different types of cards for various occasions. The occasion I helped out with was birthday, so I helped fold a pretty hefty stack of card holders. Here's a look at what I was doing:
Day One
Today I got bounced around a bit, which I didn't actually mind because it meant I got to work on a bunch of different things throughout the day rather than just one or two like I had been doing for the past couple of weeks. I started by entering a batch of used books until I had to get out of the way so that a new used book trader could be trained.
I then moved over to the children's section to do a bit of section maintenance. The children's section is by far the largest section in the store, basically a miniature version of the store since it has almost all of the same sections and genres for kids as there are for adults throughout the store. Because of this, all of the shelves require constant maintenance to get them into their proper orders, especially since kids probably pay the least attention to alphabetization of all of Changing Hands' customers. I worked specifically on the kid's graphic novels section, a section that I had noticed was never quite in the right order every time I tried to shelve there. Although that section only consists of one bookcase, there are a few different sections within it, making its organization a bit tricky. However, I did manage to get all of the serial graphic novels in order (alphabetical by series title) before moving on to the next project.
Next, got to help out Jazmin again with a new project of hers. If you'll recall, Jazmin is one of the gift buyers, and last time I worked with her, I helped both Faith and her with some spring book and gift displays. This time, Jazmin was working on the beginning of a new display system for all of the cards that the store sells. By the end of this project, the idea is that there will be a uniform, color-coded labeling system for all the different types of cards for various occasions. The occasion I helped out with was birthday, so I helped fold a pretty hefty stack of card holders. Here's a look at what I was doing:
After folding to my heart's content, I worked on restocking the displays in the front from backstock. I feel like I was kind of terrible at this because I would forget what needed to be brought to the front by the time I got to the back. However, after a few haphazard trips back and forth, one of the employees, Leah suggested that I take pictures of the displays to look at once I got to the back. This made my productivity go up significantly, and eventually I finished up and moved onto the next activity.
For my penultimate activity of the day, I got to work with Joel and see how ticketing and promotion for events works. First, we printed out the tickets for an upcoming event and labeled them with the different letter groups that are used to put the line in order. Then, Joel showed me the template he uses to create the posters for events and how he fills it in with all of the specific information for different events using the information that is put on Changing Hands' website.
Finally, as my last project of the day, I worked with Faith on putting together donations for various organizations. These consisted of giftcards and Changing Hands mugs wrapped up all nice and pretty. This put my bow-tying skills to the test, but at the end of the day I managed to make all of the packages look nice, so that's all that really matters, right?
Day Two
Today was a bit of a slow day at Changing Hands because some shipments were going to be arriving late because of a truck malfunction. Thus, I spent the day yet again entering used books. Something I never really mentioned before when I talked about entering used books is the advantage of being one of the first people to see what books are coming into the store. Today, I saw a copy of Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews come in, a book that I had been wanting to read for a while. Since it is a very popular book, used copies never stay on the shelf for long, so I or course took advantage of this and grabbed it for myself. Also, when I was putting some used books on the shelf at the front of the store that holds more of the popular books that come across the used book counter. While I was there, I noticed that there was a signed first edition of The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, which I was pretty excited by until I noticed a signed first edition of Seveneves by Neal Stephenson. If you remember, I mentioned in a previous post that I saw this book in the science fiction section and was really interested in reading it. Since the used, signed copy was half the price of a new one (and a one-of-a-kind copy in the store), I couldn't help myself and just had to pick it up.
Day Three
I spent my last day at the Tempe Location conducting a customer survey. I was asking questions about how often customers shop at Changing Hands, what their book-buying habits are, and why they chose to come specifically to Changing Hands. I got 25 responses, and although I haven't gone through all of them yet, the overwhelming consensus of all of the customers I talked to was that the store was someplace that they felt was important to stay open.
In between getting survey responses, I helped out a bunch of customers at back info. A few customers were asking for book recommendations, something that I should have been super confident in since I love reading, but actually ended up being one of the most difficult things to help with. Every time someone asks me for a book recommendation, for some reason my mind goes blank and I forget pretty much everything I've ever read. However, with the help of some of the other employees and a quick look at the shelves, I was able to give out some recommendations for books I truly did enjoy.
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I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the Tempe location and and so grateful for the amount I was able to learn and experience. Next week I will be writing about my escapades in Phoenix, but until then, happy reading!
Friday, April 1, 2016
Chapter Nine: Customer Service Extraordinaire
This week was especially fun and festive because Changing Hands turned 42. Here's what I got up to this week!
Day One
Today I spent all day at back info helping customers with the other trainees. They especially made an effort to let me help most of the customers that came up to us since I had spent less time training then they had. This helped me get more accustomed to using the inventory search function of Booklog as well as more comfortable in general with talking with customers. The most rewarding customer interaction was when a woman came to the back info station asking for help finding a book that she had read in German but didn't know the name of. She was able to tell me enough about the premise of the book that finally, after many far-fetched Google searches later, I was able to identify the book and find the one we had on hand for her to purchase. It was truly an experience unique to an indie bookstore purely based on the amount of personalized attention that I was able to give the customer. She was extremely excited when we found the book and left a satisfied customer, which is everything a bookseller could ever ask for.
Today I also spent some time doing shelf maintenance on the science and fantasy & science fiction sections, which was fun because I got to see some new books that I want to read, including A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab and Seveneves by Neal Stephenson. I read one of V. E. Schwab's other books, Vicious, about a year ago and loved it, darkness and all, and can't wait to pick up this one!
Day Two
Today I was again working at back info, this time with just a couple of the trainees. I again got to help a bunch of customers, which was again super satisfying. When things got a bit slow, I completely organized the yoga and body section. Here's what my finished product looked like:
Thanks for checking out my blog this week, and a special thanks to everyone who nominated my blog post for blog of the week last week!! That's all for now, folks, and until next week, happy reading!
Day One
Today I spent all day at back info helping customers with the other trainees. They especially made an effort to let me help most of the customers that came up to us since I had spent less time training then they had. This helped me get more accustomed to using the inventory search function of Booklog as well as more comfortable in general with talking with customers. The most rewarding customer interaction was when a woman came to the back info station asking for help finding a book that she had read in German but didn't know the name of. She was able to tell me enough about the premise of the book that finally, after many far-fetched Google searches later, I was able to identify the book and find the one we had on hand for her to purchase. It was truly an experience unique to an indie bookstore purely based on the amount of personalized attention that I was able to give the customer. She was extremely excited when we found the book and left a satisfied customer, which is everything a bookseller could ever ask for.
Today I also spent some time doing shelf maintenance on the science and fantasy & science fiction sections, which was fun because I got to see some new books that I want to read, including A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab and Seveneves by Neal Stephenson. I read one of V. E. Schwab's other books, Vicious, about a year ago and loved it, darkness and all, and can't wait to pick up this one!
Day Two
Today I was again working at back info, this time with just a couple of the trainees. I again got to help a bunch of customers, which was again super satisfying. When things got a bit slow, I completely organized the yoga and body section. Here's what my finished product looked like:
Day Three
Today I worked on a little bit of shelving and then for the rest of the day I worked on entering used books--two carts worth! However, today I also got to see another aspect of retail: shoplifting. This kind of thing happens very rarely, but is still sadly something that comes along with running a store. After all of the excitement died down, my time at the store this week was over.
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Thanks for checking out my blog this week, and a special thanks to everyone who nominated my blog post for blog of the week last week!! That's all for now, folks, and until next week, happy reading!
Saturday, March 26, 2016
Chapter Eight: Tackling Trades
This week left me feeling even more at home in the store. Here's a look at what I got up to!
Day One
Today I was working with the three other trainees. We were with Heather manning the front information station. Things weren't too busy while we were there but we did get to help an elderly woman find some of the books she needed for her book club and give people books that they had ordered or were on hold for them.
Then, the rest of the crew changed over to back info while I worked on entering used books so that they would have shelving to do. While I was entering, I noticed that a book came up around three or four times while it wasn't in the system at all when the woman from earlier was looking for it. This made me think about the upsides of many of Changing Hands's employees working in various roles because that way, they become more familiar with all of the ins and outs of the store, even down to the specific books that it carries.
Next, I met back up with the rest of the trainees as Sarah gave us a much more in-depth tour of all of the store's sections (and some of the quirks that come along with them). I ended off the day by working yet again on some shelving.
Day Two
Today I got to Changing Hands bright and early a couple of hours before it opened to work with Lauren on the weekly Ingram book order. Ingram is the distributing company where Changing Hands and other bookstores get most of their books. Every Wednesday morning, Lauren goes into Booklog and pulls up what has sold in the last week. Then, she will order replacements based on how well the book has been selling and how many there still are in stock. This is also when she looks at the special orders that have been placed throughout the week as well as any books that an employee marked as "TBO" or "to be ordered". An employee will TBO a book if it is a book they feel like the store should sell because they like it, customers have been asking for it, or a combination of the two. Not all TBO requests end up getting ordered, but it's important to consider them and take into account what books employees are excited about selling. Another thing Lauren does when she is working on the order is go and look at which books are low on the bestseller and staff picks display wall since it is important to keep those displays well-stocked.
After Lauren finished up working on the order, I worked on some shelving until more of the other employees started trickling in (not many people come long before the store opens at 10). Then, once the other trainees arrived and were also tackling the shelving cart, I moved over to the used book counter to tackle the seemingly never-ending shelf of books to be entered (but this time I took pictures!!).
Here's a look at my entering station at the used book counter:
I spent an hour or two entering and creating more and more ambitious stacks of books. Here's what one batch looked like all stacked up:
After a very successful entering session, I ended up with a full cart and a slightly emptier shelf:
Day Three
Today I spent most of my time entering used books, although the shelf was much emptier today so I was actually able to clear it off completely! However, today my ambitious book-stacking reached its climax as halfway through one batch of books two stacks came tumbling down. Now, things could've been a lot worse: I could've just finished an entire three huge stacks that I would then have to pick up and label, or I could've accidentally banged up some books. Luckily, I was dealing for the most part with picture books (which, now that I'm thinking about it, may have been the source of the problem what with their inherent lack of stability--and apparent lack of stackability) so no books were harmed by my chronic clumsiness. Nevertheless, it was slightly irritating to have to painstakingly search through the roll of labels to find the right one for the now out-of-order books. But we live and learn. I I finished off all of the rest of the books on the shelf, careful now to make more stable stacks. I then helped shelve the books I had entered until it was time for me to leave.
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I'm having such an amazing experience at Changing Hands and can't believe that I'm already halfway through my time there! I'll be back next week with another update, but until then, happy reading!
Day One
Today I was working with the three other trainees. We were with Heather manning the front information station. Things weren't too busy while we were there but we did get to help an elderly woman find some of the books she needed for her book club and give people books that they had ordered or were on hold for them.
Then, the rest of the crew changed over to back info while I worked on entering used books so that they would have shelving to do. While I was entering, I noticed that a book came up around three or four times while it wasn't in the system at all when the woman from earlier was looking for it. This made me think about the upsides of many of Changing Hands's employees working in various roles because that way, they become more familiar with all of the ins and outs of the store, even down to the specific books that it carries.
Next, I met back up with the rest of the trainees as Sarah gave us a much more in-depth tour of all of the store's sections (and some of the quirks that come along with them). I ended off the day by working yet again on some shelving.
Day Two
Today I got to Changing Hands bright and early a couple of hours before it opened to work with Lauren on the weekly Ingram book order. Ingram is the distributing company where Changing Hands and other bookstores get most of their books. Every Wednesday morning, Lauren goes into Booklog and pulls up what has sold in the last week. Then, she will order replacements based on how well the book has been selling and how many there still are in stock. This is also when she looks at the special orders that have been placed throughout the week as well as any books that an employee marked as "TBO" or "to be ordered". An employee will TBO a book if it is a book they feel like the store should sell because they like it, customers have been asking for it, or a combination of the two. Not all TBO requests end up getting ordered, but it's important to consider them and take into account what books employees are excited about selling. Another thing Lauren does when she is working on the order is go and look at which books are low on the bestseller and staff picks display wall since it is important to keep those displays well-stocked.
After Lauren finished up working on the order, I worked on some shelving until more of the other employees started trickling in (not many people come long before the store opens at 10). Then, once the other trainees arrived and were also tackling the shelving cart, I moved over to the used book counter to tackle the seemingly never-ending shelf of books to be entered (but this time I took pictures!!).
Here's a look at my entering station at the used book counter:
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| The shelf on the right is where the books I'm entering com from. As you can see, it gets pretty full when trades get busy!! |
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| The empty cart I started with...the calm before the storm if you will. |
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| Things were getting a bit precarious!! |
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| All of the labels for the above books |
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| Keep in mind trades were going on and books were being added all while I was entering. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself!! |
Today I spent most of my time entering used books, although the shelf was much emptier today so I was actually able to clear it off completely! However, today my ambitious book-stacking reached its climax as halfway through one batch of books two stacks came tumbling down. Now, things could've been a lot worse: I could've just finished an entire three huge stacks that I would then have to pick up and label, or I could've accidentally banged up some books. Luckily, I was dealing for the most part with picture books (which, now that I'm thinking about it, may have been the source of the problem what with their inherent lack of stability--and apparent lack of stackability) so no books were harmed by my chronic clumsiness. Nevertheless, it was slightly irritating to have to painstakingly search through the roll of labels to find the right one for the now out-of-order books. But we live and learn. I I finished off all of the rest of the books on the shelf, careful now to make more stable stacks. I then helped shelve the books I had entered until it was time for me to leave.
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I'm having such an amazing experience at Changing Hands and can't believe that I'm already halfway through my time there! I'll be back next week with another update, but until then, happy reading!
Friday, March 18, 2016
Chapter Seven: Training to Be the Very Best Bookseller
It was another eventful week at Changing Hands! Here's a look at what I was up to this week:
Day One
Today started off with me finishing up organizing the history section. After a little over an hour of wrestling with the unruly military history section, I finally got it to a point that I was satisfied with.
Next, I went under the guidance of Danny, one of the managers of the used book trade counter. He showed me how to input used books into the store system (a.k.a. Booklog), a very important aspect of running the store that I was extremely excited to be able to help with. Inputting used books involved many of the same steps as receiving new books, gifts, and remainders. However, I had only observed other people performing those tasks, so I had to get the feel for doing it myself. The first thing I did for each batch of books was create a P.O. (or purchase order) for the books to be entered into that indicates that it is for used books. Once I do that, I can begin to enter used books.
Before scanning a book, I had to type a "U"into the ISBN field so that all of the used books that I input will have an ISBN that begins with the letter "U", indicating to employees that they are, in fact, used and not new copies. Next, I scanned a book. Sometimes, it is a book that has been traded before and is thus already in Booklog. That case requires the least amount of work as I don't have to input any additional information. However, if a book has never been traded before, I have to manually input all of the book's data into Booklog. The most challenging part of this is knowing the which section the book needs to be shelved in. When a trader first takes books, they label the book's category and price using a more old-fashioned labeller. On this label, each section in the store is given a three-number code that corresponds to a three-letter section code that I need to type into the computer. I had a cheat-sheet that helped me out, but after a while I began to remember the codes for sections like Literature and Mystery since they came up more frequently.
After inputting almost two carts worth of used books, my day was over.
Day Two
Today I got to work again with Brandi, the Kids Book Buyer. We first put some signed books from an off-site event onto the floor and packed some of them up to be sent to the Phoenix floor. After we had finished that, I got to help her out with doing some actual book ordering. This was probably one of the hardest yet most fun things I got to experience at Changing Hands so far. It was fun because it involved a lot of flipping through adorable picture books. However, it was so hard to decide how I liked each book because they were all cute in their own ways; some books had great illustrations but kinda "meh" stories and vice versa. Brandi has such a strong knowledge of which kids books sell well and what customers will enjoy, something that is necessary when making an order. She definitely didn't need my help, but she warmly listened to my input on certain certain books and took my comments into consideration.
After reading picture books to my heart's content, I finished off my day by sitting in on a training session led by Leah and Joel with three new hires. This session focused on Booklog and some of its most commonly-used functions such as inventory search.
Day Three
Today was also spent training, this time with two of the three new hires and focusing on customer service. First, Joel and Leah sat with us and explained protocols for talking to customers (and even dealing with disrespectful or inappropriate customers) and filling out the store's various forms. Then, we actually went out on the floor and stood at the back info desk so we could practice actually helping customers. The three of us followed Joel around wherever in the store he went to help customers since we were still being trained, so we were sometimes jokingly called ducklings and even his minions! One of the most rewarding customer interactions I had was when a customer was looking for a book that was in the Military History section. If you remember from my last post, the Military History section and I have spent some time together, so I probably know that section the best out of all the sections in the store. Thus, I was able to walk with the customer right to the shelf and hand her the very book she was looking for! This was one of a handful of customer interactions like it that I got to participate in today, but that one was particularly special since I actually felt like I had a good knowledge of how to help her.
Next, the other trainees and I got to man the front info desk with Leah. Unlike the back info desk, the front info desk must be manned at all times to keep an eye on customers entering and exiting the store and also to help those customers if they need it immediately as they enter the store. We also practiced using the phones to page other stations in the store as well as over the loudspeaker.
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I learned a lot this week, and it's nice to learn more about the store alongside some pretty cool people! I'm sure I'll keep on learning new things next week, and I'll be sure to tell you all about it in my next post, but until then, happy reading!
Day One
Today started off with me finishing up organizing the history section. After a little over an hour of wrestling with the unruly military history section, I finally got it to a point that I was satisfied with.
Next, I went under the guidance of Danny, one of the managers of the used book trade counter. He showed me how to input used books into the store system (a.k.a. Booklog), a very important aspect of running the store that I was extremely excited to be able to help with. Inputting used books involved many of the same steps as receiving new books, gifts, and remainders. However, I had only observed other people performing those tasks, so I had to get the feel for doing it myself. The first thing I did for each batch of books was create a P.O. (or purchase order) for the books to be entered into that indicates that it is for used books. Once I do that, I can begin to enter used books.
Before scanning a book, I had to type a "U"into the ISBN field so that all of the used books that I input will have an ISBN that begins with the letter "U", indicating to employees that they are, in fact, used and not new copies. Next, I scanned a book. Sometimes, it is a book that has been traded before and is thus already in Booklog. That case requires the least amount of work as I don't have to input any additional information. However, if a book has never been traded before, I have to manually input all of the book's data into Booklog. The most challenging part of this is knowing the which section the book needs to be shelved in. When a trader first takes books, they label the book's category and price using a more old-fashioned labeller. On this label, each section in the store is given a three-number code that corresponds to a three-letter section code that I need to type into the computer. I had a cheat-sheet that helped me out, but after a while I began to remember the codes for sections like Literature and Mystery since they came up more frequently.
After inputting almost two carts worth of used books, my day was over.
Day Two
Today I got to work again with Brandi, the Kids Book Buyer. We first put some signed books from an off-site event onto the floor and packed some of them up to be sent to the Phoenix floor. After we had finished that, I got to help her out with doing some actual book ordering. This was probably one of the hardest yet most fun things I got to experience at Changing Hands so far. It was fun because it involved a lot of flipping through adorable picture books. However, it was so hard to decide how I liked each book because they were all cute in their own ways; some books had great illustrations but kinda "meh" stories and vice versa. Brandi has such a strong knowledge of which kids books sell well and what customers will enjoy, something that is necessary when making an order. She definitely didn't need my help, but she warmly listened to my input on certain certain books and took my comments into consideration.
After reading picture books to my heart's content, I finished off my day by sitting in on a training session led by Leah and Joel with three new hires. This session focused on Booklog and some of its most commonly-used functions such as inventory search.
Day Three
Today was also spent training, this time with two of the three new hires and focusing on customer service. First, Joel and Leah sat with us and explained protocols for talking to customers (and even dealing with disrespectful or inappropriate customers) and filling out the store's various forms. Then, we actually went out on the floor and stood at the back info desk so we could practice actually helping customers. The three of us followed Joel around wherever in the store he went to help customers since we were still being trained, so we were sometimes jokingly called ducklings and even his minions! One of the most rewarding customer interactions I had was when a customer was looking for a book that was in the Military History section. If you remember from my last post, the Military History section and I have spent some time together, so I probably know that section the best out of all the sections in the store. Thus, I was able to walk with the customer right to the shelf and hand her the very book she was looking for! This was one of a handful of customer interactions like it that I got to participate in today, but that one was particularly special since I actually felt like I had a good knowledge of how to help her.
Next, the other trainees and I got to man the front info desk with Leah. Unlike the back info desk, the front info desk must be manned at all times to keep an eye on customers entering and exiting the store and also to help those customers if they need it immediately as they enter the store. We also practiced using the phones to page other stations in the store as well as over the loudspeaker.
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I learned a lot this week, and it's nice to learn more about the store alongside some pretty cool people! I'm sure I'll keep on learning new things next week, and I'll be sure to tell you all about it in my next post, but until then, happy reading!
Saturday, March 12, 2016
Chapter Six: Learning the Ropes of Remainders & Shelf Maintenance
I'm three weeks into my internship and I'm still learning new things every day! Here's what I learned this week.
Day One
I spent all of today helping Jason with receiving remainders. As I mentioned in a previous post, remainders are books that booksellers can purchase at a wholesale price in order to sell them at a discounted price. For example, a remainder book might cost Changing Hands $1, so they can mark it up so that it is still less than what it originally sold for. Thus, though Changing Hands might be making less money off of these books because they're cheaper, they are getting a bang for their buck with very large profit percentages.
Receiving remainders is a lot like receiving normal books except remainders tended to come in fives and tens rather than just one or two. Also, remainder books can sometimes be in a little dirty or a little banged up from being transported, but since they are going to be sold at a discounted price anyway, Jason is more lax about condition. Although we did have to wipe a little dirt off of some books, in the same batch we received some books that were still in the box from the publisher and were in pristine condition.
Day Two
Today I was again working with Jason, although he didn't have much to do for remainders. It was kind of a slow day, so he had me help out with shelving for most of the day. Doing this has really helped improve my familiarity with the store, and because of this I've been able to help a few customers find what they're looking for (or direct them to someone else who can).
Next, Jason introduced me to section maintenance. In theory, all of the shelves are in the correct order, but because of browsing customers replacing books in the wrong place as well as incorrect shelving, sections can get a little out of order. I was put in charge of making sure the Philosophy section was in correct alphabetical order. This was only one shelf, but it still took me a good chunk of time. Even when you get all of the books in the proper order, you have to make sure that you fill any extra space by placing some books face-out.
I also got to help Jason replenish the mystery section on the sale carts outside. These carts hold hardcover remainder books that cost anywhere between $5.95 and $9.95. A good amount of these books had been bought throughout the day and there were some holes that needed to be filled. This task did involve a lot of walking back and forth between the outdoor carts and the indoor mystery section, but I still enjoyed it because I got to mix it up and put out some books by different authors rather than another book by John Grisham or James Patterson.
Finally, I got to help Jason out with checking the remainder backstock. The online inventory system that Changing Hands uses shows the quantity on hand (QOH) of a certain book, but it can't tell how many of those are actually on the floor. For example, Changing Hands might have five copies of a book on hand, but if all of those are in the back, they obviously won't sell. The job of checking the backstock is a two-person job, so Jason would call out the title of a book and I would search for it in the store inventory and tell him how many books the store has. He would then decide how many he should put on a cart to be shelved out on the floor.
Day Three
I started out today by meeting with Gayle, one of the owners of the store as well as my site mentor. We talked about some of the projects I could work on when I have down time. She also signed me up for subscriptions to the Shelf Awareness and Publishers Weekly daily newsletters, which contain the latest news about the book industry. From now on, I'll be reading these for around an hour a day as a part of my time on-site at Changing Hands. I'll also be taking notes on any questions that come up so I can ask Gayle. I'm really excited for this because I will receive a lot of information about the book industry that will help me out with my project.
After that, I spent the majority of my day doing section maintenance on the history section. The organization of the history section is a bit confusing because it's split up between U.S. History, U.S. Presidents, Ancient History, World History, Military History, and General History. And to make it more confusing, the U.S. Presidents section is ordered alphabetically by president; the Ancient History section is split between Egypt, Greece, Rome, and General Ancient history; the Military History Section is ordered chronologically by war starting with the American Revolutionary war; and the World History section is ordered alphabetically by country. Finally, on top of that all of the sections are ordered alphabetically by author within the subsections. So it was quite a task. The only part of the section I didn't get to was the Military History section, but I made it through the rest, stopping once to take a break and do some shelving for a change of scene.
Here are some pictures of my handiwork:
Day One
I spent all of today helping Jason with receiving remainders. As I mentioned in a previous post, remainders are books that booksellers can purchase at a wholesale price in order to sell them at a discounted price. For example, a remainder book might cost Changing Hands $1, so they can mark it up so that it is still less than what it originally sold for. Thus, though Changing Hands might be making less money off of these books because they're cheaper, they are getting a bang for their buck with very large profit percentages.
Receiving remainders is a lot like receiving normal books except remainders tended to come in fives and tens rather than just one or two. Also, remainder books can sometimes be in a little dirty or a little banged up from being transported, but since they are going to be sold at a discounted price anyway, Jason is more lax about condition. Although we did have to wipe a little dirt off of some books, in the same batch we received some books that were still in the box from the publisher and were in pristine condition.
Day Two
Today I was again working with Jason, although he didn't have much to do for remainders. It was kind of a slow day, so he had me help out with shelving for most of the day. Doing this has really helped improve my familiarity with the store, and because of this I've been able to help a few customers find what they're looking for (or direct them to someone else who can).
Next, Jason introduced me to section maintenance. In theory, all of the shelves are in the correct order, but because of browsing customers replacing books in the wrong place as well as incorrect shelving, sections can get a little out of order. I was put in charge of making sure the Philosophy section was in correct alphabetical order. This was only one shelf, but it still took me a good chunk of time. Even when you get all of the books in the proper order, you have to make sure that you fill any extra space by placing some books face-out.
I also got to help Jason replenish the mystery section on the sale carts outside. These carts hold hardcover remainder books that cost anywhere between $5.95 and $9.95. A good amount of these books had been bought throughout the day and there were some holes that needed to be filled. This task did involve a lot of walking back and forth between the outdoor carts and the indoor mystery section, but I still enjoyed it because I got to mix it up and put out some books by different authors rather than another book by John Grisham or James Patterson.
Finally, I got to help Jason out with checking the remainder backstock. The online inventory system that Changing Hands uses shows the quantity on hand (QOH) of a certain book, but it can't tell how many of those are actually on the floor. For example, Changing Hands might have five copies of a book on hand, but if all of those are in the back, they obviously won't sell. The job of checking the backstock is a two-person job, so Jason would call out the title of a book and I would search for it in the store inventory and tell him how many books the store has. He would then decide how many he should put on a cart to be shelved out on the floor.
Day Three
I started out today by meeting with Gayle, one of the owners of the store as well as my site mentor. We talked about some of the projects I could work on when I have down time. She also signed me up for subscriptions to the Shelf Awareness and Publishers Weekly daily newsletters, which contain the latest news about the book industry. From now on, I'll be reading these for around an hour a day as a part of my time on-site at Changing Hands. I'll also be taking notes on any questions that come up so I can ask Gayle. I'm really excited for this because I will receive a lot of information about the book industry that will help me out with my project.
After that, I spent the majority of my day doing section maintenance on the history section. The organization of the history section is a bit confusing because it's split up between U.S. History, U.S. Presidents, Ancient History, World History, Military History, and General History. And to make it more confusing, the U.S. Presidents section is ordered alphabetically by president; the Ancient History section is split between Egypt, Greece, Rome, and General Ancient history; the Military History Section is ordered chronologically by war starting with the American Revolutionary war; and the World History section is ordered alphabetically by country. Finally, on top of that all of the sections are ordered alphabetically by author within the subsections. So it was quite a task. The only part of the section I didn't get to was the Military History section, but I made it through the rest, stopping once to take a break and do some shelving for a change of scene.
Here are some pictures of my handiwork:
It might not look like much, but those shelves are (at least for now) in perfect order, the result of hours of work. It's safe to say I'm now a little protective of these shelves, but had to go through the disheartening experience of watching a customer pick up a book and put it back in the wrong place on a shelf I had just organized.
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That's all for this week! I'll be back with another post next week, but until then, happy reading!
Saturday, March 5, 2016
Chapter Five: Culling, Events, and Receiving, Oh My!
After another exciting week at Changing Hands, I've gotten to experience even more than I did my first week. Here's what I did:
Day One
Today I got to experience what it's like when the store opens each morning. It started off with a staff meeting led by Heather, the store manager, in which she discussed specifics for deals the store was offering that day (there was a special sale since it was Leap Day) as well as the event they are having later tonight. After the meeting was finished, all of the employees pitched in to help move the carts of sale books outside.
For most of today, I got to work with Brandi again. She began by giving me an extensive tour of the children's section, which includes the teen section. She also explained what remainders are and how they work. Remainders are books that can be bought in bulk at a discounted price. Changing Hands then sells them at a sale price, but if they don't sell, the store is stuck with them because they can't be returned.
However, for most of our time together, Brandi and I were culling new books. The process of culling is the same for new books as it is for used books except instead of being discounted like used books, the new books can be returned directly to the publisher. Also, since Brandi is the children's book buyer, she showed me how she looks through the list of books to be culled and sometimes takes books off of the list for reasons such as the author is local, there is an event coming up for a specific author, or she thinks that the book was just put in the wrong section (since some sections tend to overlap). Her extensive knowledge of the books and their authors definitely came in handy for this.
Next, I worked at the used book counter again, this time with Sarah (know affectionately by her coworkers as Buddha). As she worked on some trades that people brought in, she informed me of some of the ways that the process had been sped up over the years, including inputting all used books into the system so that employees don't have to physically leave the counter to check if they already have a copy of a particular book.
I ended off the day working with Daniel in gift receiving. His self-proclaimed job is "opening boxes", and that's what we did. He would check the P.O. (Purchase Order) from a particular company and then make sure that all of the items that were ordered were received and not broken in the boxes. Then, I helped put price labels on the items. Also, since all orders are received at the Tempe location, we set aside a designated amount of each product and packed them up to be transferred to the Phoenix location. I could see how repeating this process could get monotonous, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
Day Two
Today started off with me working with Daniel again.The receiving department was a man short because someone called in sick and they were behind on ticketing merchandise. Thus, I was again put in charge of putting price labels on items, even working around a buggy label printer that Daniel tried to fix a few times to no avail. We did make significant progress, getting through a good stack of boxes. While we were working, Daniel told me about the significance of the gift department at Changing Hands. He explained that there is no way that indie bookstores like Changing Hands would be able to survive without the gift department because they contribute majorly to the their overall sales. This is especially the case around the holidays, but just in general, indie bookstores often offer merchandise that is extremely unique and might be hard to find at bigger stores.
Another major aspect of Changing Hands' identity is its events. I got to help Lauren out with one of these events, a signing for Lita Ford's new memoir, Living Like a Runaway. I not only helped set up, but I also got to work during the event itself handing people's books to Lita for her to sign. I even got to wear an official volunteer badge!
There were three other volunteers who were working the events, all of whom had experience working events at the store in the past, so they were able to talk to me about some of the past events they've gotten to experience, including ones by Ozzy Osbourne, Tyler Oakley, and Lindsey Stirling. Here's a little look at what the event itself looked like:
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| Since this was a ticketed event, customers received tickets with a letter that corresponded to one of the signs in the line. This makes the whole process of lining people up more organized. |
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| Lita in the process of signing books |
Overall it was a pretty awesome experience, and although I hadn't heard of her before the event, the receptive way in which the interacted with her fans made me wish that I had.
Day Three
Today I started work bright and early by working with Michelle in book receiving. As we were waiting for a shipment to arrive, Michelle explained to me that after working at Changing Hands for a few years, she has accumulated various different job titles. She used to be one of the store's gift buyers, and now she still is in charge of the lines she brought in, including incense, magnets, and magazines. Since she always has multiple projects on the back-burner for when she's not busy with receiving, her days never look the same and she's always learning something new. Michelle also mentioned that this is an aspect that is unique to smaller stores and would most likely not be seen at a larger bookstore.
Finally, a shipment arrived from Ingram, the company where Changing Hands gets its reorders and special orders. If a customer is asking for a book but it isn't currently in stock, Changing Hands can actually special order it. This adds a layer of customer service that is very much inherently "indie". After inputting the books into the system and putting price labels on them, two more shipments arrived, this time directly from the publishers. These shipments included advanced reader copies (or ARCs) for upcoming releases as well as books for upcoming store events which were set aside and marked with the date of the event.The only thing different about event books is that there is typically more of them ordered since sometimes around 300 or more people will come to events and there is no price label put on them since they are already designated for customers.
After finishing up working with Michelle, I worked behind the back info desk shelving books. I had a little difficulty with this at first because I wasn't sure of all the three-letter shelf designations. However, after starting with the ones that I did know, I was eventually able to shelve most of the books. I was even able to help a few customers find what they were looking for! Slowly but surely I am getting more accustomed to the layout of the store.
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Day Three
Today I started work bright and early by working with Michelle in book receiving. As we were waiting for a shipment to arrive, Michelle explained to me that after working at Changing Hands for a few years, she has accumulated various different job titles. She used to be one of the store's gift buyers, and now she still is in charge of the lines she brought in, including incense, magnets, and magazines. Since she always has multiple projects on the back-burner for when she's not busy with receiving, her days never look the same and she's always learning something new. Michelle also mentioned that this is an aspect that is unique to smaller stores and would most likely not be seen at a larger bookstore.
Finally, a shipment arrived from Ingram, the company where Changing Hands gets its reorders and special orders. If a customer is asking for a book but it isn't currently in stock, Changing Hands can actually special order it. This adds a layer of customer service that is very much inherently "indie". After inputting the books into the system and putting price labels on them, two more shipments arrived, this time directly from the publishers. These shipments included advanced reader copies (or ARCs) for upcoming releases as well as books for upcoming store events which were set aside and marked with the date of the event.The only thing different about event books is that there is typically more of them ordered since sometimes around 300 or more people will come to events and there is no price label put on them since they are already designated for customers.
After finishing up working with Michelle, I worked behind the back info desk shelving books. I had a little difficulty with this at first because I wasn't sure of all the three-letter shelf designations. However, after starting with the ones that I did know, I was eventually able to shelve most of the books. I was even able to help a few customers find what they were looking for! Slowly but surely I am getting more accustomed to the layout of the store.
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This week really gave me a good look into the sense of community at Changing Hands as well as some things behind-the-scenes that help the store run smoothly. I'll report back with what I learn next week, but until then, happy reading!
Friday, February 26, 2016
Chapter Four: A Crash Course in Bookselling
This week I finally started at Changing Hands in Tempe! Here's what happened during my first three days:
Day One
Today started off with me receiving my very own Changing Hands email account!! This account gives me access to the work schedule, employee manual, and various other documents associated with the store. I actually spent a good portion of my first hour reading the employee manual, which was probably the least exciting thing that I got to do today. However, it was interesting to read a little more about Changing Hands' history (and various previous locations) and compare the store as it is now to how it used to be.
Next, I spent a little time learning about how barcodes on books and shelving works. Changing Hands sells both used and new books, so the barcodes are slightly different on each. On new books, the barcode labels are placed on the back of the book (usually where the barcode is printed on the actual book) and are white. However, for used books, the barcode label is put on the front of the book and is white and green and a colored dot sticker is put on the spine. As for shelving, all of the different book genres have a three-letter shorthand (i.e. LIT=Fiction, MYS=Mystery, KTN=Teen/Young Adult Fiction, etc.).
However, I spent the bulk of my time today helping make displays in the Children's section. Some displays are seasonal (like the spring gardening display), others are related to upcoming events (like the Kate DiCamillo and The Cat in the Hat displays), and the rest are just dependent on the types of books and merchandise the store has in stock. Overall, I really enjoyed this part of my day, especially because I got to work with Faith, the woman in charge of the Children's section displays and the storyteller to end all storytellers (Dinotrux and The Princess and the Pony are my new faves).
After grudgingly leaving the Children's section, I got to see how Staff Picks work at the store. Staff Picks are book reviews written by Changing Hands employees that are put on the shelves with the books in order to tell customers a little more about books and why they should consider buying them. Lauren, who is in charge of printing these out (among many other things), explained that the Staff Picks are a way of making the book-buying experience more personal for customers. With the help of these and the knowledgeable employees, customers can receive personalized book recommendations that are simply not possible with the use of algorithms.
Finally, I got to help Joel set up for an event that was to happen later in the night. This was a smaller event of only around 35 people, so the setup was pretty straightforward: some folding chairs facing the front of the room , a chair and whiteboard for the speaker, and a display of the books written by the speaker. The whole setup only took the two of us around 20 minutes and it was a good view into how events are handled at the store.
Day Two
For the majority of today, I was put in charge of culling used books. When Changing Hands takes people's books at the used book counter, it is always taking a gamble. An employee will look at if Changing Hands already carries or carried the book and how well it sold. Sometimes, though used books don't sell like they were expected to ad rather sit on the shelf for more than 9 months. This is when culling come in. The books that haven't sold are taken off of the shelves to be moved to the sale section and, if they still don't sell, to be donated. I culled books from the science fiction, science, and children's sections.
I also got to take a break from culling and work with Brandi, who is the children's book buyer. It was really interesting to see how she chose how many of which books to buy. A lot of times, she would only purchase a handful of copies, maybe only one.It all depends on past sales history and what customers have been asking for.
Day Three
Today I spent the majority of my day with Jazmin, the Assistant Gift Buyer. She showed me all of the different gift displays around the store, explaining how the gifts had to cater to Changing Hands' diverse customer base. Next, we changed over some of the displays in the children's section (even one of the displays I had worked on just two days ago). She explained that the displays are constantly being altered to try to highlight different products. The displays we worked on involved a new shipment of rabbit stuffed animals and were spring-themed.
Day One
Today started off with me receiving my very own Changing Hands email account!! This account gives me access to the work schedule, employee manual, and various other documents associated with the store. I actually spent a good portion of my first hour reading the employee manual, which was probably the least exciting thing that I got to do today. However, it was interesting to read a little more about Changing Hands' history (and various previous locations) and compare the store as it is now to how it used to be.
Next, I spent a little time learning about how barcodes on books and shelving works. Changing Hands sells both used and new books, so the barcodes are slightly different on each. On new books, the barcode labels are placed on the back of the book (usually where the barcode is printed on the actual book) and are white. However, for used books, the barcode label is put on the front of the book and is white and green and a colored dot sticker is put on the spine. As for shelving, all of the different book genres have a three-letter shorthand (i.e. LIT=Fiction, MYS=Mystery, KTN=Teen/Young Adult Fiction, etc.).
However, I spent the bulk of my time today helping make displays in the Children's section. Some displays are seasonal (like the spring gardening display), others are related to upcoming events (like the Kate DiCamillo and The Cat in the Hat displays), and the rest are just dependent on the types of books and merchandise the store has in stock. Overall, I really enjoyed this part of my day, especially because I got to work with Faith, the woman in charge of the Children's section displays and the storyteller to end all storytellers (Dinotrux and The Princess and the Pony are my new faves).
After grudgingly leaving the Children's section, I got to see how Staff Picks work at the store. Staff Picks are book reviews written by Changing Hands employees that are put on the shelves with the books in order to tell customers a little more about books and why they should consider buying them. Lauren, who is in charge of printing these out (among many other things), explained that the Staff Picks are a way of making the book-buying experience more personal for customers. With the help of these and the knowledgeable employees, customers can receive personalized book recommendations that are simply not possible with the use of algorithms.
Finally, I got to help Joel set up for an event that was to happen later in the night. This was a smaller event of only around 35 people, so the setup was pretty straightforward: some folding chairs facing the front of the room , a chair and whiteboard for the speaker, and a display of the books written by the speaker. The whole setup only took the two of us around 20 minutes and it was a good view into how events are handled at the store.
Day Two
For the majority of today, I was put in charge of culling used books. When Changing Hands takes people's books at the used book counter, it is always taking a gamble. An employee will look at if Changing Hands already carries or carried the book and how well it sold. Sometimes, though used books don't sell like they were expected to ad rather sit on the shelf for more than 9 months. This is when culling come in. The books that haven't sold are taken off of the shelves to be moved to the sale section and, if they still don't sell, to be donated. I culled books from the science fiction, science, and children's sections.
I also got to take a break from culling and work with Brandi, who is the children's book buyer. It was really interesting to see how she chose how many of which books to buy. A lot of times, she would only purchase a handful of copies, maybe only one.It all depends on past sales history and what customers have been asking for.
Day Three
Today I spent the majority of my day with Jazmin, the Assistant Gift Buyer. She showed me all of the different gift displays around the store, explaining how the gifts had to cater to Changing Hands' diverse customer base. Next, we changed over some of the displays in the children's section (even one of the displays I had worked on just two days ago). She explained that the displays are constantly being altered to try to highlight different products. The displays we worked on involved a new shipment of rabbit stuffed animals and were spring-themed.
After we finished the displays, Jazmin showed me how she does gift buying. Most of it has to do a lot with experience, knowledge of the products, and knowledge of what customers have been asking for. She tries to make sure that there are constantly unique products in stock that set Changing Hands apart from its competition.
Jazmin is also one of the six girls in charge of the Changing Hands Instagram account. She showed me the schedule that they use to coordinate posts (the account is for both stores) and I even got to help her make a post.
Unfortunately, my time with Jazmin eventually came to an end, but I'm positive I will be working with her again sometime in the future. However, I did get to help out behind the used book counter with Robert. There were a few people who came in to trade their books, so I got to see how the selection process works. I mentioned this a little bit when I was talking about culling, but Robert mainly used sales history to determine if he should take a book to be sold. Again, a lot of the decisions relied on his experience as well as his personal knowledge of books. After deciding which books he'll take from a trade, he'll mark them with prices and tally all of the prices up, giving the customer 50% of what he will sell them for in the form of store credit.
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In my first week at Changing Hands, I already got to learn so much about the store and how it works. Everyone has been very inviting and patient as I learn the ropes. I can't wait to see what next week holds, but until then, happy reading!
Thursday, February 25, 2016
Chapter Three: Nashville's BookManBookWoman
The last stop on my trip was Nashville, Tennessee. I had an awesome time visiting the Country Music Hall of Fame and the world-famous Ryman Auditorium, a.k.a the Mother Church of country music.
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| As you can see, it was much warmer in Nashville than it was in Boston and New York |
The bookstore I visited in Nashville was BookManBookWoman. As is suggested by the title, the store is owned by a man and a woman and sells both new and used books. Before they opened the store, Larry and Saralee Woods were well-known book collectors in Nashville, but they wanted a place to expand their collection of books, so they opened a bookstore.
The store is just one level, but it consists of a series of interconnected rooms that are all full of floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. Even though it's a smaller space than the other two stores I visited, it's definitely not lacking in books! There was handful of people in the store when I visited, and most seemed to be college-aged (the store is right between the Belmont and Vanderbilt campuses).
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| There's a cart outside of the store where kids can pick a free book each time they visit! |
Nowadays, the books come from things like estate sales and private collections. In fact, as I was talking to one of the employees, the "bookman" was unloading boxes of books from his car. The employee told me about the history of the store that I mentioned earlier and also a little bit about how the store works.
Since the store carries both new and used books (as well as some textbooks), it caters to most customers. In fact, there is a special shelf of books that students often come in searching for, housing titles such as The Bell Jar, The Giver, and 1984. However, I was interested to learn that if a customer is searching for a particular book that BookManBookWoman doesn't carry, they will actually refer them to other stores, even the Barnes & Noble at the Vanderbilt University campus down the street. And, even more interestingly, the Barnes & Noble will sometimes also refer customers to BookManBookWoman if they don't carry a more rare book! The relationship between independent and chain bookstores, at least in Nashville, is much less straightforward that I had thought.
Of course, I couldn't leave the last bookstore on my trip empty handed, so I picked up five books. The Wise Man's Fear is the sequel to The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (an amazing, beautifully written book that you all should read), so I'm super excited about that book. I picked up The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman because I had just finished one of his other books and fell in love with his writing. I picked up the two books by David Eddings because he is probably one of my favorite authors (The Belgariad and The Malloreon were my first "real" fantasy reads that I would recommend everyone reads). Finally, I picked up A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon because I read his first book, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, last year and loved it, so I'm excited to see how his second book compares (which I am currently reading and thoroughly enjoying thus far).
I hope you enjoyed my bookstore-hopping trip! It was so fun to see how the different bookstores were shaped by their cities' cultures and histories. I'll be back tomorrow with a post about my first week working at Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe, but until then, happy reading!
Friday, February 19, 2016
Chapter Two: New York's Strand Books
Hello all! At the beginning of this week, I was in New York! It was definitely a different kind of winter than I'm used to: over the weekend, conditions were arctic with a high of as low as 0 degrees with wind chills of as low as -20 degrees. So I bundled up, and overall managed to go un-frostbitten. I also didn't let the weather stop me from visiting Times Square (and I even managed to take a jumping picture after it warmed up to a high of 40 degrees).
Additionally, after inquiring, I learned that the most expensive book in the store is $45,000. It's a rare 1935 copy of Ulysses by James Joyce with illustrations by Henri Matisse (yes, that Matisse). When he was asked to illustrate Ulysses, Matisse was under the impression that it would be the original Greek story. Thus, his illustrations don't exactly match the story, though they are nonetheless beautiful. Here are some pictures of the more expensive books Strand has to offer.
Most importantly, while in New York I visited The Strand (a.k.a Strand Books). Strand has gained fame over the years for its "18 miles of books". It consists of three floors as well as a basement, all of which are full of books.
The basement, first, and second floors focus on books of all genres you could imagine (including a particularly unique shelf I noted which housed books concerning the occult). Everywhere you turn, there are floor to ceiling shelves of books, becoming maze-like towards the edges of the store, as well as tables of books that all adhere to different themes, such as previously banned books, staff picks, and books about travel.
On top of books, Strand also sells a wide variety of bookish items, including a selection of hilariously relatable book- and reading-themed magnets. This part of Strand is definitely where I spent the most time (and the most money). But we'll get back to my purchases later.
The third and final floor of Strand houses its collection of rare and antiquarian books and is only accessible by elevator. The books (and other items such as prints) on this floor had a very wide range in price, with there being some pretty affordable options as well as the obviously expensive rarer books. This floor also featured some pretty cool book art that you'll be able to see below.
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| The "book art" |
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| A $2,000 first edition copy of Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut |
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| Issue #10 of Picture Magazine |
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| A $1,100 signed limited first edition (1/850) of The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King and a signed limited edition (1/1200) of The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands by Stephen King |
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| A $1,500 set of the early American editions of vol 1 &2 and a first American edition of vol 3 of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien |
On top of its mammoth size, Strand was also absolutely full of people. The main floor was probably the busiest of all four with a steady flow of people coming into the store and the third floor was probably the quietest with only a couple of people in it. Overall, the Strand felt like much more of a big-box store than Brattle did. This probably has to do with the way they have marketed themselves and established their brand. For one, Strand has very active social media accounts (including a tumblr account that often posts pictures of their rare books). Also, the store has set up kiosks in Central park, getting its name out more to the casual buyer.
To close, I would say that Strand Books seems to be thriving with the help of its global fame and insane stock of books. Strand has made itself an integral part of New York, a hub for book-lovers from all over the world to flock to in search of cool books (and adorable merchandise). I hope you enjoyed my post, and until next time, happy reading!
P.S. As promised, here's what I picked up at Strand Books:
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