Borders Union :: View topic - Unfit For Command

This is G o o g l e's cache of http://www.bordersunion.org/BB-printview-t-1195-start-0.html as retrieved on Sep 1, 2004 09:43:39 GMT.
G o o g l e's cache is the snapshot that we took of the page as we crawled the web.
The page may have changed since that time. Click here for the current page without highlighting.
This cached page may reference images which are no longer available. Click here for the cached text only.
To link to or bookmark this page, use the following url:

http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:4NKXE4jckiwJ:www.bordersunion.org/BB-printview-t-1195-start-0.html%20Neandertals%20in%20fancy%20suits&hl=en

Google is not affiliated with the authors of this page nor responsible for its content.

These search terms have been highlighted:

neandertals

fancy

suits

Borders Union

Borders Books - Unfit For Command

Arabicon - Aug 21, 2004 - 07:17 AM
Post subject: Unfit For Command

Last night when one of our supervisors told a customer over the phone that we're sold out of Unfit For Command, the customer apparently heard either "don't have" or "don't carry". He said, "It figures you wouldn't have it, you're a liberal bookstore," then hung up.
Later in the evening, another customer claimed to have heard on the radio that we wouldn't be re-stocking the title for the same reason.
Leave aside that we bow to the almighty dollar like any good corporation and would sell How To Tap Dance Naked in Public While Engaging in Oral Congress with Rodents if it was a bestseller, does anyone know where customer #2 got this idea (I actually heard the same thing in the cafe later in the evening from another customer)?

Thanks, y'all.

tigrrrlilly - Aug 21, 2004 - 08:24 AM
Post subject:

We've gotten countless folks in the past 2 weeks who have said pretty close to the same thing to us at our store. Apparently it's pretty prevalent lately, which would explain BINC putting in writing their official policy on political books.
(if customers get pushy enough we're to make this available to them on an individual basis)

At the expense of sounding like I'm passing judgement, conservative types seem to fall prey to these type of conspiracy theories a little too easily. Now the democrats are in league with the nations bookstores and publishers and conspire to keep dangerous books out of the hands of inquiring readers..... Come on.

I've found that it's helpful to explain to these customers where books come from. The fact is that Regnery didn't have the foresight to print enough copies of books to meet the demand. The book is backordered- no one has it right now, and as soon as there are more printed, the book stores will get them in.

withrow - Aug 21, 2004 - 02:00 PM
Post subject:

You can probably get Regnery's corporate number from Books in Print or off the web. I'd keep it handy and then whenever a customer asks for this book, tell them that Regnery isn't keeping this book stocked and it may be because Regnery is a pinko-commie-fag publisher who's trying to bury this story by not printing enough copies of this book. Tell them you even read on the web that Hillary Clinton is on Regnery's Board of Directors.

And, after all, you did just read on the web that she's on the Board and that it's pinko-commie-fag publisher so you wouldn't be lying. Well, maybe you shouldn't use "pinko-commie-fag". How about pacifist lesbian outfit? Not that there's anything wrong with that.

guenevere - Aug 21, 2004 - 04:00 PM
Post subject:

We had two men come into the store about an hour apart to pick up the book (which, of course, we did not have) and became a tad nasty--one shouting "Then I will go to Barnes and Noble and get it!" (like that is some sort of threat).
However, we did have a college professor come in looking for it. She teaches a writing class and wanted to use it as an example of a "false book"--something perpetuated to be one thing but is actually something else. She said no way could h the fellow soldiers gotten together, written a book, sold it to a publisher and actually had it published in such a short period of time. She said there are loads of those books.
And isn't $27.95 a bit costly for such a skinny book?

dr_queerlove - Aug 21, 2004 - 10:14 PM
Post subject:

withrow wrote:

I love it. I'll be printing copies from BIP as soon as I get to work.

On a lighter note, we actually found a copy in our store today--SHOCKING--and the woman who bought it was nearly rabid in her zeal and excitement.

We should be able to charge extra, don't you think? I mean, aren't these neocons all about supply-side economics?

takahashi - Aug 23, 2004 - 12:30 PM
Post subject:

We're "finding" that most of the few copies we're getting are damaged and need to be sent back, so sad. Too bad, Bushies! Regnery needs to be more careful. I'm hearing from people at 2 other stores that this seems to be common.

Why should we help destroy what's left of our country?

redheadpixie - Aug 23, 2004 - 04:07 PM
Post subject:

We've had rabid people in our store due to this book too. From a week before it was even released, people had been coming in or calling every hour asking for it. Of course, we had maybe 20 copies IT to us, which we knew would be gone immediately. And they were (but for one copy on hold for an employee, which I told someone to take and sell--because if someone on staff wanted it that badly, they should have bought it that night).

We got in an additional seven copies, which 3 went to our SPO clerk to give to special orders (yes, only three rabid customers actually ordered it after being informed we were OOS). The other four were left in the back with a note: For Staff. That amuses me.

I personally dealt with two venomous customers, making the same accusation about being liberal and purposely not carrying it. Thankfully, I have a fabulous phone voice and can be sticky sweet in explaining that there simply were too few copies printed, that we had already sold out of the copies were had been sent, and would be getting some as soon as the made a second run. One guy asked when that would be, I pressed, "When they make a second run."

Aarontrz - Aug 24, 2004 - 07:49 AM
Post subject:

It's funny how these people react to you telling them there is no book for them today. Especially when they know "it's on the best seller list". I'm not sure who is taking more slack for this book, Kerry or the lowly booksellers who most likely wouldn't crack the book open if given a free copy. I want to get just one copy so I can tear it to shreds in front of one of these old grumpy men bent on conpiracy theory. I wish they really knew how little respect I have for them, even though they spent so long in the morning dressing the part of the right-wing a-hole
just for that trip to Borders. The funny thing is that when the hype has died down, there will probably be hundreds of copies in the back and a full shelf of these books that will remind you of these people everytime you pass by or have to shelve the occasional one that will fit.

takahashi - Aug 24, 2004 - 10:56 AM
Post subject:

You guys don't actually HAVE to sell the thing!

Just "carelessly" hide the boxes, "accidentally" drop them off pallets, "forget" to stock the ones you have, and then suggest a nice Al Franken or Micheal Moore book as a substitute. Borders wants those recommends, remember?

I don't care if these Neandertals in fancy suits get mad at me, they aren't regular customers anyway. Other than "Left Behind" books, they don't read. Anything you can do to make them feel unwelcome is only fair. They are the people pushing retailers to cut costs, don't forget. And they would censor your speech, your books, your music in a heartbeat, so give them a taste of it!

Don't get mad, get even!

makeitstop - Aug 24, 2004 - 11:41 AM
Post subject:

I've had people threatening to call Fox News, Bill O'Reilly, etc...one lady "warned" me yesterday that she and several others are trying to determine if BINC is involved in a conspiarcy not to sell the book and that they're calling bookstores everywhere.

BTW, we got the publisher's # from BOP as well...hopefully that will at least give them someone else to bother about it.

We have a Republican customer base [store is in a ultraexpensive shopping center where the only store the average BINC employee can afford to shop at is...Borders] so I'll have to continue to deal with this 10-15 times a day for a while now.

If the wingnut publishing company wasn't so unequipped to release books on a national scale there'd be no problem....

heron - Aug 24, 2004 - 02:40 PM
Post subject:

"If the wingnut publishing company wasn't so unequipped to release books on a national scale there'd be no problem...."

Not unequipped - they are doing it on purpose, and leaking rumors that Kerry is trying to keep the bk from being distributed. Take a gander at the other titles this publisher has put out, and you'll get some idea of their agenda.

I like Withrow's idea.

I don't support us doing anything but trying to get the book for customers. Franky that's acting too much like them. And they'd love nothing more than to catch us at it and "prove" that their paranoid ideas are correct.

The book cannot hurt or swing anyone. The only people buying it are the ones who are already voting for Bush. Since it not only insults Kerry, but also the vets who were with him, I think the book might actually cause a vet backlash against Bush.

And remember to vote and talk to all of you friends about voting! Believe me, every one of those nasty old men is going to vote!

makeitstop - Aug 24, 2004 - 06:18 PM
Post subject:

Without a doubt...it's much better not to validate them by playing into their little paranoid fantasies. We've already got enough trouble in my store with customers spitting on the Clinton books, etc....

But NOW I'm going to have to resist the temptation to tell them that the publishing company is deliberately making the book hard to obtain....I guess just saying that the publisher hasn't released enough copies will suffice.

rinkydink - Aug 25, 2004 - 05:27 AM
Post subject:

I do sometimes wonder too about how effectively the Company allocates the stock they have. My store's market is pretty conservative (though not rich), and while not the largest, we're probably in the top 35%. Hannity and O'Reilly fly off the shelves. We still have about half of our original allocation of Slick Willie (and a good 1/3 of our customers bought it to find evidence of additional crimes). Can't the buyers in Ann Arbor detect such inclinations in each store's market?

We haven't received our first copy yet, and we get much of the same commentary that you describe. I've been able to mollify most by offering a raincheck, but you all know how that goes; and that strategy is not very effective for the phone callers.

Redirecting criticism to the publisher strikes me as appropriate. It occurred to me that perhaps its a part of the marketing strategy, like the Harry Potters. Create a lot of excitement and make customers invest a lot of energy trying to get their hands on the few copies available. Then generate news stories, which will view the shortage of copies and efforts to get one a news story in itself...which in turn generates more excitement and publicity, etc.

I hope that this kind of strategy doesn't become a trend. If so common booksellers will have to take a lot of unwarranted abuse, like we did with the Harry Potters, over things we have no control over.

withrow - Aug 25, 2004 - 11:15 AM
Post subject:

takahashi wrote:

I really, really disagree with this point of view. Booksellers have an ethical obligation IMO to present different points of view and not get in the way of freedom of speech. What you're suggesting is a form of censorship, only worse, because you're not being up front about it.

I doubt that Regnery, which is indeed a right-wing publisher, wants to lose book sales. I doubt that they thought this piece of crap book would sell this many copies. They've never distributed so much tripe at one time before and they probably never will again, so I'd chalk this up to underestimating the gullibility of large sections of the American people. If these publishers had actually worked in retail, they'd know how far the gene pool stretches.

One commentator has suggested that what's going on here is that people who are right-wing because they say they believe in the military and jump at every opportunity to wrap themselves in the flag are conflicted because they can't bring themselves to believe that the Democrat is a genuine war hero, while their Republican candidate is a war wimp who quickly sends other people's sons and daughters into battle but neither he nor his vice-president could be bothered to serve themselves. So, these customers demanding this book are in the middle of a psychological dilemma. I would suggest treating them with the compassion they need, the poor saps.

Dogma - Aug 25, 2004 - 01:31 PM
Post subject:

For anyone wondering, according to those nutters over at Free Republic, we commie fag booksellers are indeed sitting on the titles in the sort rooms. Not just Borders mind you, but ANY store ANYWHERE that sells books. (As we all know, Wal-Mart is well stocked with communists.)

With that thought in mind, many of them are calling the books stores and tormenting people until they sell the mighty stocks that we are withholding from them. Not only that, but these useful idiots are being told by at least one talk radio show host that book stores have the book, and are simply sitting on it.

Frankly, many of my coworkers and I are growing very tired of taking abuse day after day about this stinking book. One of my coworkers (and while I agree with the sentiment, they shouldn't have said it) who was taking crap from a wingnut on the phone finally lost it and said something to the effect of, "You know, I don't know why you'd want to read it anyway. its all made up!" and hung up the phone. Everyday, we keep getting crap from them, and what the hell do we get in return? A note from Vin saying that no political coversation is allowed with anyone at anytime. (In case you were wondering, the store is not a very conservative one, but since its in the bible belt, they keep crawling out of the woodwork.)

That said, one of my managers told me the other day that Regnery is indeed sitting on it in order to boost demand. Any truth to that?

withrow - Aug 25, 2004 - 02:00 PM
Post subject:

Dogma wrote:

More proof that these people are mentally unbalanced and need help overcoming their paranoia. Just imagine. They actually believe every bookstore is against them-- that a tremendous left-wing conspiracy keeps honest people from knowing the truth. Imagine how alone they must feel.

It's really sad that these poor people would think the profit incentive is no match for our conspiracy not to sell their books, a conspiracy so well-concealed-- despite the vast thousands who are a part of it-- that no evidence for their claims can be found.

makeitstop - Aug 25, 2004 - 02:23 PM
Post subject:

It wouldn't surprise me a bit, though what I've heard is that they are just too small to handle the demand.

Sounds like a lot of the book's claims are falling apart under close scrutiny, but of course the people who buy the book won't care about that.

And yeah, the Clinton book sold very poorly here once his book signing was over at the local B&N. It sold like hotcakes for the weeks leading up to the signing because we were the only place in the area that still had copies--B&N sold out almost as soon as the event was announced. I'm so glad we didn't have to deal with those hassles--I heard it was a total PR nightmare. But now the books are just taking up space.

heron - Aug 25, 2004 - 09:28 PM
Post subject:

Commies at WalMart? Dang!

Arabicon - Aug 26, 2004 - 08:45 AM
Post subject:

withrow wrote:

Arabicon - Aug 26, 2004 - 08:51 AM
Post subject:

I'm sorry we're all putting up with sh*t over this thing but it's good not be alone. The other day a customer took one of our managers to tak because we had so many anti-Bush books on display. After a few minutes of his foaming rant she calmly told him to be glad that we had the few pro-Bush titles that we did because "it's almost impossible to say anything good about him."

OK, she actually told us this later in the backroom, but we all wished she'd said it to his face. I wouldn't have told a soul.

chaosincreation - Aug 26, 2004 - 08:24 PM
Post subject: i hate this book

the outrage over this book is ridiculous. i don't know if you guys have all seen the e-mail from vin altruda about political views in the workplace, but i know the east coast stores got it.

we are literally being asked to erase any views we have on anything political because some nut customer called sean hannity's show saying that our specific bookstore told her that we aren't carrying the book. we are now no longer allowed to have anything political on even on our lockers or personal desk space. i'm surprised we can even still wear our register to vote pins.

i've been personally attacked numerous times due to the book not being in store, and one of the other supervisors was chewed out for being a liberal, when, gasp, he actually supports Bush. not everyone at Borders is a Commie!

the only good point is that the Barnes and Noble down the road has been calling us for support because they're actually getting hit worse than we are. i guess more Republicans shop there or something...since we're so damn liberal.

i guess my "Commies for Kerry" button will just have to go on once i clock out...[/b]

dr_queerlove - Aug 26, 2004 - 09:41 PM
Post subject:

Egads! After reading all this, I'm glad my customers are mostly liberal and/or apathetic. I'm curious now, though, if I can get on one of the wacko call-in shows. Imagine the fun one could have making stuff up: "Why, I saw whole pallets of the book being tossed into the store's dumpster!! Boycott B&N!! Riggio is a Pinko Commie!" Fun times.

chaosincreation - Aug 26, 2004 - 11:02 PM
Post subject:

what a good idea! you've tempted me sorely. the things one could do to just keep the entire ludicrous situation aflame...ah, the possiblities. no more boredom at the info desk now! get on those phones and call Mr. Hannity!

classical-liberal - Aug 27, 2004 - 09:45 AM
Post subject:

Pardon me for mentioning this, but 'takahashi' seems to indicate that at least some Borders people ARE hiding, damaging and otherwise making the book unavailable. So there is a grain of truth to your 'rightwing nutcase' customers' suspicions! Our jobs as booksellers is to make sure the book gets its say in the marketplace...it is after all a tiny spot in a sea of anti-Bush-ness this season.

If things were reversed and you were looking for Michael Moore's book (if it had been published by a small press with a bad record of distribution) at a store run by Republicans, would you believe them when they said they were out? No, many of you would be saying exactly the same thing your customers are saying.

People, humor and common sense have kept me of any arguments. I say flat out that Borders' management are flinty-hearted, penny-pinching, stone-squeezing capitalists who would no more stand for the peons tossing sales out the window than they would poke themselves in they eye with a stick. This usually gets a laugh or at least a "Mmm, I guess so", and then I tell them that we sell lots of things we don't agree with, along with the opposing viewpoint. I take them to the section, point out some books on both sides, and wander off. Most of them buy something, and that's my job. And maybe some of them will indeed look at things in a more balanced way.

NoCoHo - Aug 27, 2004 - 08:49 PM
Post subject:

Actually, I hope that every person who buys it reads each slimy, sleazy insult, carefully edited half-truth and outright lie...and then returns the thing for a refund because they've decided they want no part of such uncivilized and immoral conduct. I will take delight in handing each one hir cash or credit with a cheerful smile and thanking hir MOST sincerely.

merry10 - Aug 28, 2004 - 11:59 PM
Post subject:

[quote="takahashi"]You guys don't actually HAVE to sell the thing!

Just "carelessly" hide the boxes, "accidentally" drop them off pallets, "forget" to stock the ones you have, and then suggest a nice Al Franken or Micheal Moore book as a substitute. Borders wants those recommends, remember?

You're doing exactly what conservatives suspect you of doing. Not only that, but the swifties have a right to criticize Kerry. Look at all those Moore LIes books that have sold. Did you want to hide those from the lefties that came in? no wonder you work at a bookstore, can't get a corporation to hire you?

heron - Aug 30, 2004 - 06:29 PM
Post subject:

I did some research and apparently not only did the anonymous caller to Hannity's show claim that Borders was refusing to carry the books, he said that Borders was trying to recall the ones that had been sold.

How's that for a laugh!

And, Merry, last time I checked, Borders is a corporation.

NoCoHo - Aug 31, 2004 - 03:23 PM
Post subject:

Do tell, Heron...what was Hannity's reply? Inquiring minds MUST know! cyclops

Powered by PNphpBB2 1.2a © 2003 based on phpBB 2.0.5 © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group
and by PNTheme 1.2 which uses Theme Graphics by Daz
and by Attachment-Mod 2.3.6