What corporate mo--n decided booksellers should be walking cash registers? It was bad enough when they wanted us to carry those POS Nooks. Maybe the robots will be ready by the time the company is bankrupt.
18 replies (most recent on top)
EVERYONE IS LAUGHING AT US
Yes.
They are.
Not for the device you’re carrying.
They’re laughing at the joke BN has become!
If my stuff was stolen I would call the police.
Rash of ducks.
Haha
THEFTS
We had a rash of ducks out of our lockers. Someone actually caught the bookseller on the act.Guess what? It was a transgender employee. They were allowed to make restitution and she kept her job. Anyone else would’ve been fired. Barnes & Noble is so afraid of a lawsuit. It was a thief for God’s sake.I said I wanted to call the police. The manager took me in the office and told me that I could not .
I remember they cut me a huge break in music when i was doing CD returns, and accidentally forgot to scan or scanned several twice.
Obviously, the packing slip count was way off, they were notified, and LP realized it was human error. But i don't think there is a lot of internal theft from employees.
Our store actually had a spell of Blu ray & personal items theft, which was later attributed to one of the security guards!
We have a thief in our store. But because no one actually sees her take it, I’m told there’s nothing we can do.
Just because you’ve only seen one caught, doesn’t mean they’re not out there.
BN fires a bunch of great employees but a thief still has a job.
BN deserves what it gets.
Concerning theft (shoplifting), I remember the old days when a store running over a half a percent shrink was considered a "red flag" store--meaning, you'd have to stand tall in front of the LP bulls while they nosed around looking for any problems at all with receiving, paperwork, inside theft, you name it. And god help you if they found too many issues.
Today, or at least when I left, one and a half percent shrink was no big deal, and probably above that as well. Any goof knows that if you have twenty thousand square feet of floor space, policed by one bookseller (usually the MOD), one doesn't have to be a Moriarty of Crime to rip you off. If you're a hundred feet away from the entrance when the EAS goes off, you're unlikely to break away from your customer, who you are ringing up with your portable device, and dash to the entrance to stop the d--g addict who has boosted some Reading Socks and intercept the thief; more likely, the addict will have the socks on Offer Up before you can catch them.
Regarding internal theft, as posted by @Y0eLR24-2atf. In all my years at BN, I had only one bookseller dismissed because of internal theft. The booksellers still there are motivated by their love of books and the book trade, and certainly not for stealing things.
“Now they're crying about theft on the BN FB page now. Boo hoo”
Looked on the FB page ,didn’t see the theft posts.
What are the complaining about?
Are thieves stealing from their understaffed stores?
Is internal theft on the rise. Because unhappy employees tend to steal?
Theft is a huge issue, because in a big city store, you WILL be targeted.
The thieves were very patient when we had music & DVD staffed, but now it's
like leaving a buffet on the kitchen table & turning out the lights: The roaches are feasting.
Vinyl, Graphic novels....
You NEED security, you NEED staff.
Now they're crying about theft on the BN FB page now. Boo hoo.
“They walk around with these huge, full sized iPad type devices, wrapped over their shoulder and a mini credit card machine, plus the headset & PDT.”
Next they’ll be given a kazoo and they can get rid of the muzak....
Is every store having booksellers walk around as mobile registers? Guess those stores that still have 2 or more Head Cashiers can get rid of a couple.
“Valuing and investing in your booksellers may be a better investment right now.”
They threw out their BEST employees last year. They don’t give a damn about their employees.
They walk around with these huge, full sized iPad type devices, wrapped over their shoulder and a mini credit card machine, plus the headset & PDT.
What's next?
Have them lug a coffee shuttle on a cart, while punching in the sale?
JC Penney hired Apple's retail head. Ask how well it worked out for them.
Oh yes, it works so well with ONE freakin employee on the floor!
Emulating Apple? again?
The Nook tables and ship concept was inspired by Apple. We all know how well that worked.
Valuing and investing in your booksellers may be a better investment right now.
Consider Apple stores . All the floor staff have the ability to ring a purchase on their phone with a simple swipe . It actually makes the store experience better. There is no central checkout etc.
Every floor person is happy to ring your purchase . It improves their sales .
Last time I checked they are one of the most successful retailers in the world . They make technology work for them. And their prices are high ...nothing is ever on sale. You could probably buy an Apple item at a better price at Best Buy if you wait long enough for a gift card promotion. But people like the Apple store experience . Walk into one and count the hundreds of customers in a relatively small space. Count the customers in a Best Buy buying Apple ...a few maybe . I would borrow a page from Apple’s book .