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/lit/ - Literature

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1466035 No.1466035 [Reply] [Original]

Some Q&A on this holiday, if you will, my /lit/ friends.

Ask a veteran Barnes and Noble employee anything.

>> No.1466046
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1466046

Why do no attractive people work at Barnes & Noble?

>> No.1466050

does management ever notice the huge amounts of shit i steal from your stores?

>> No.1466055

>>1466050

I want to know this too

>> No.1466054

So what are you reading right now?

>> No.1466061

>>1466046
Hello fellow employee (get it?).

Old people work at Barnes and Noble a lot, and most people don't age beautifully. I would say at my Barnes and Noble, there are about 35% beautiful people, and the rest are mediocre or ugly. (My perception of beauty is limited to facial construction and weight/height normality in this case)

>> No.1466070
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1466070

>>1466061
I guess 35% of them are beautiful if your standards are low enough.

>> No.1466069

>>1466046
Are you kidding me?
My B&N has a cute hipster chick and several (or at least two) other hot women. :B

>> No.1466072

>>1466050
We sure do. We have a nice list of most stolen sections as well as whats missing. Know that we check those sections more and more often and if you are ever caught, Barnes and Noble tries to lay as much blame on you as possible, trying to push it to felony theft amounts if possible. Please don't steal, I don't want your life to be ruined for something dumb like book theft.

>>1466054
His Majesty's Dragon
InkHeart (I work in Kids a lot)
Side Jobs
Innocent Mage

>> No.1466082

>>1466072
So what sections are stolen from the most?

>> No.1466088

>>1466072

What exactly is B&N's theft policy? Like if the alarm goes off when a thief walking out the door and lets say the thief just takes off, will he be pursued or will the police be called and given a description or what?

>> No.1466090

>>1466082
The sections with the most expensive books with the highest resale value, usually Medicine and the other parts of it.

>> No.1466097

>>1466090
For some reason I was expecting manga. But that makes more sense.

>> No.1466106

>>1466088
Our policy is that if the alarm goes off we will ask to see your bag or try and stop you in order to verify your receipt and items. If the alarm goes off and you bolt out of the door, a description will be sent out to entire staff asking them to ID you to management the next time you come in, so we can call the police on you while you 'browse'.

Some thieves on this board will most likely attest to stealing from Barnes and Noble for years and never getting caught, but it's always possible you will be. We have a poster in the back room telling this guy's story about how he stole books for over 3 years and made over 300,000 from it, but when he was finally caught he was convicted for that amount he stole and is now in prison.

>> No.1466111

>>1466088
That's why you remove the anti-theft sticker from the inside of the book before leaving, dumbass.

>> No.1466114

>>1466061
On the other hand, there is a sexy granny working at my local Borders that I would fuck the shit out of.

Suck it, B&N.

>> No.1466115

>>1466097
Young teenagers usually are very nervous looking and hate being told 'HEY Need some help!?' by any staff member. They will usually shake their head and leave. Older people who steal manga are already viewed by most of the staff as odd, so if we see someone +20 browsing manga they are most likely going to be watched until they leave. It's the sad truth of a misunderstood group; like I said, older people work at Barnes and Noble a lot and older people don't understand the influx of Japanese culture.

>> No.1466118

>>1466072
>I work in kids a lot

Oh hey there Michael Jackson.

>> No.1466120

>>1466111

Duh, I was just thinking hypothetically since they've been putting those new sticky ones in the books now.

>> No.1466137

>>1466118
Took you a while to think up that mature joke did it?

The Children's dept. at my store does our highest amount of sales, so we need people in it. I am, however, trained in all areas of the store, save receiving. Kids just needs me to work there most of the time rather than Cafe, Cashwrap, Nook, or Bookfloor.

>> No.1466160

when i go to bookstores and see the shitty books picked out by the staff to display cover-out on the shelf, i usually put those books back in (spine-out) and actually turn out good books so that they'd be more enticing to young perusers. do you guys have to change them back, or do you not even care?

>> No.1466178

>>1466160
It depends on how the store sets up their Staff display. Some stores don't even use books from their actual staff, by the way. If they are are closely packed together with some spines and some facing out, then you doing that will not be fixed unless someone really cares about their book.

>> No.1466179

>>1466160
Hahah, I do that too. I also like to fix the arrangement of the books when I see them out of order (like Candide being in the C's when the rest of the section is organized by author last name).

>> No.1466186

>>1466178
bitchin'

also, why do you fucks charge so much for cds? do people actually buy cds there?

>> No.1466190

Wait, BnN sells CDs?

>> No.1466192
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1466192

A/S/L

>> No.1466197

What do you guys look for when your hiring someone?
Also, is it hard to get a job with B&N?

>> No.1466199

do you have to have a good knowledge of different books and authors to get hired there or will they employ anyone??... do they work with school hours???

>> No.1466200

>>1466186
Buy ANY 2 DVD's get the 3rd free going n right now :)

It's not our choice to increase CD prices. CD's aren't sold anywhere close to what they were sold at several years ago, in terms of the quantity purchased. There hasn't been a CD that has released in a long time that people were just demanding off our shelves, and thats the trend of all CD's slowly on their way out, being replaced by virtual music accessibility. That unnecessary commentary given on CD's, I would suggest not purchasing CD's at our store. You can get great deals on DVDs and Blu-Rays though.

>> No.1466209

do you fucking hate Borders with a passion?

>> No.1466218

>>1466190
We do!

>>1466197
It's far harder than it should be. I've applied three times in my life before I got hired (and then it was just for Cafe). Barnes and Noble is basically looking for all the obvious cliche things when hiring like age (meaning over 18 is a huge plus) or availability. Saying you can work ANYWHERE in the store at ANYTIME that they need you boosts your chances. This is all assuming we need anyone, you really have to put an app at the right time, so always ask a manager, 'Are you hiring?'. If you are called back, accept whatever position they are interviewing you for and just answer all their questions right (you know what I mean).

I believe we have hired one employee per month for the last 5 months for various reasons and positions. There have been literally 30+ apps during that time though. If you apply, heres to hoping you get hired!

>> No.1466221

>>1466209
I honestly hate Books-a-Million far more. Borders is a little slapdash with their displays and their coffee is sub-par to glorious Starbucks, but I like them more than Books-a-Million.

>> No.1466237

>>1466221
i have never even heard of Books-a-Million. where the hell are you?

>> No.1466243

My local B&N sold vinyl records for about a month then stopped... why?

Also why is the current events section filled with so much neo-con trash?

>> No.1466245

>>1466237
The United States.

Books-A-Million is mostly in the southeast and southwest I think, though. Never seen one up north.

>> No.1466247

>>1466237
America. It's a terrible chain of book stores. Borders is by far superior but not quite Barnes and Noble level. In all honesty, you should forget I even mentioned as they will be declaring bankruptcy very soon.

>> No.1466250

>>1466243
>Also why is the current events section filled with so much neo-con trash?

That's what people buy, sweetie.

>> No.1466253

>>1466247
God, I hope so. BaM is like the K-Mart of bookstores.

>> No.1466251

>>1466218

I never actually applied to them. I was just curious about the hiring process. Thanks for answering my questions though!

>> No.1466258

>>1466243
see >>1466250

Europe has us by the balls with expensive magazines that everyone wants. It's the truth. There is a possibility that our magazine area will be completely removed soon do to fiscal issues with it.

>> No.1466264

I always stuff every copy of the National Review behind some stacks and put The Nation up front in the mag section, do you guys notice?

>> No.1466271

>>1466264
Not for such a long time that your doing it does actually have a purpose. Some other magazines would most likely be noticed far faster though. Stay away from People, US, etc ;)

>> No.1466277
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1466277

>>1466258

Not the person you were talking to, but seriously? I think BnA is the only place that sells ImagineFX where i live.

Where will i get it now? :(

>> No.1466284

>>1466277
I'm pretty sure Borders also carries it.
And Borders appears to have a higher budget to work with than the other chain bookstores imo.

>> No.1466286

Is it just me, or do a lot of gay people work in bookstores? And no, I'm not implying that OP is a fag. I seriously do notice that a lot of bookstore employees are gay.

>> No.1466290

Sometimes when i see a book and i don't have the money to buy it then, sometimes i'll take it and hide behind another book or something.

Do you guys get something like that a lot?

>> No.1466295

>>1466284

Not any of the Borders in my area. Trust me i've checked. I would rather go to Borders than BnA to get it since Borders is closer to my house.

>> No.1466296

Why no Ann Radcliffe in your literature section?

Why do you have only Tolstoy's more famous works and not Hadji Murad?

Also, why the fuck can't I find a copy of The Cardinal's Mistress by Benito Mussolini at any of the chain bookstores I go to? One of your stores needs to start carrying a reprint of that shit.

>> No.1466299

>>1466277
Just a rumor atm, but I'm sure they would do some kind of monthly order system that was customer specific instead. That's just my guess.

>>1466286
We have 1 or 2 gay employees (one may be, since the closet is hard to leave sometimes). Other bookstores I know have a few though definitely, it's actually something B and N kind of looks for, diversity. I don't make the rules, but being gay might give you an edge to being hired.

>> No.1466304

>>1466290
You can always give it to an employee and ask them to hold it for you... Additionally, we do find books like that many times a week, so it doesn't work too well.

>>1466296
If you give me your location, I can better answer that question.

>> No.1466310

>>1466299
Can I actually put that on my application? Because, I don't think they would pick up on it otherwise...

>> No.1466322

>>1466310
If you can find an appropriate area to mention it nonchalantly, I would certainly do it. If there are 'x' number of gay people at the store already, it wouldn't matter much though.

>> No.1466333

Are you Luke Lasalle?

>> No.1466336

>>1466333
That is not my name.

>> No.1466340

>>1466310
Just ask during the interview, "What's your diversity policy?" or "What are the benefits I would get as a minority?"
When they look at you askance or ask what you mean, tell them you consider yourself a sexual minority.

>> No.1466346

>Cafe, Cashwrap, Nook, or Bookfloor.

Wait, describe Cashwrap and Bookfloor for me, because I'm not exactly clear what these mean.

>> No.1466348

>>1466340
I don't know that that would be the best idea. Because then it almost sounds like you are implying that they have to give you a job, which Barnes and Noble will shut down with.

>> No.1466354

>>1466346
Cashwrap is the checkout area. You handle cash and wrapping (putting a book in a bag).

Bookfloor is anything that is not Childrens, Cashwrap, or Cafe and still deals with books, so basically most of the store is considered Bookfloor.

>> No.1466361
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1466361

Are you at store 1944?

>> No.1466362

>>1466354
I want to clarify these positions. At Cashwrap you sit in front of a register for 2 hours without leaving it until your 15 minute paid break. 2 hours after that you go on your 30 minute unpaid lunch. Then you return for 2 more, then a break, then 2 more, then go home. It's VERY mind numbing and is usually assigned to older people.

Bookfloor you have the freedom to move around the store, re-shelving books, helping customers and working out backstock. I also forgot to mention Music, which is its own department away from bookfloor.

>> No.1466364

>>1466361
Afraid not. My store's digit begins with a 5.

>> No.1466371

>>1466354
You must be in a damn big store, man, my Barnes & Noble has a tiny Nook counter, and a pretty mediocre collection of pop culture reads.

Also, aren't you disappointed with the influx of TOYS that are populating? The classical literature and poetry section of my local store was SHOVED into a corner to accommodate plastic toy shit and teen fiction. Sucks.

>> No.1466391

>>1466371
I am disappointed but Games are in the top 3 sellers for our store, so they're changing the store to accommodate for profit. Additionally, I work Children's which sadly encompasses a section called Teen Paranormal Romance, which I'm sure makes you rage as much as me. Not sure how big my store is compared to yours, we have about 30+ employees.

>> No.1466392
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1466392

>>1466361
Cool Texas Cloverleaf, bro.

>> No.1466452
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1466452

Why does the used section at my B&N do stupid shit like suddenly chuck a pretty sweet philosophy/science section? Imagine my horror when I went in one day to discover that they'd removed the used military history. Bastards. OP, if you had anything to do with that, I hope you die.

>> No.1466468

>>1466452
Depends on the size of your store and the sales of that area. I can't imagine they removed science or philosophy, we have 1-2 bays dedicated to each. Used military history is because there is so much bargain in the store, it has to be placed together eventually, have you asked an employee to confirm he sections are gone and not moved?

>> No.1466610

Well, this was fun fellows! I have jury duty tomorrow, so I must head to sleep now, Good Night!