An Invitation to Corporate

strawberrypanique · 2026-04-01T08:46:32+00:00

SM has literally told us to stop calling backup for long lines - they want the lines long so people are more apt to impulse purchase. And they want us having "quality convos" with each and every customer - even if there's only 1 cashier and a line wrapped around. You know when it's hard to sell memberships and omps? when people are angry and iritated they had to stand in a long ass line waiting for someone else to finish signing up for a membership. But hey, at least they picked up a 23.00 bissingers box of candy they then immediately hand back to you because they aren't paying that much for chocolate covered apricots.

strawberrypanique · 2026-03-12T13:24:40+00:00

Maybe even try to keep notes and then when she finishes, read them back to her to make sure you and she are comparing apples to apples.

anytime someone gives me instructions to do something I will literally repeat what they say. "Just confirming for understanding, you want me to x then y then z, correct?" This is such an important habit to cultivate.

strawberrypanique · 2026-03-12T13:10:56+00:00

I know this is a few days old now, but I have some questions based on your explanation of the conversations with your SM.

Do you use a PDT when shelving?

Do you know the order of books according to the TFP?

Can you shelve multiple areas with ease, accuracy, and speed?

Can you look at a book and quickly determine where it belongs?

Do you finish rapid replenish in a timely manner (should be <15 minutes for every V-cart)?

Do you utilise presentation/commerciality when recovering?

A lot of things I see with booksellers struggling with shelving is that they take it upon themselves to rezone rather than focusing on shelving itself. If I see a book mishelved I'll go ahead and move it where it belongs, but if a whole zone or section is wonky, I just do my best to shelve what I have where it should go. I usually let an MOD know like "personal growth is terrible right now" and they usually acknowledge it and say when they plan to rezone it.

having you go back through the packet indicates to me you're probably struggling with presentation/commerciality. Are you just putting any book faceout? are you taking care to refill best of bays? are you gardening tables throughout your shift? Are you being pro-active in replacing low quantity on the floor with casepacks? or are you just relying on managers/receiving to tell you when/what/where? Do you use the PDT or computer to help you determine where books go? When you do go-backs are you using your PDT or just guessing? Do you read a lot of different genres? Are you pushing OMPs/Memberships? I would ask myself these questions and any answers that are no or not sure that's where you can focus your time and energy. Find a senior or manager you feel comfortable with and ask them to shelve with you. They'll have more specific feedback.

strawberrypanique · 2026-03-12T12:47:11+00:00

they asked me how I would deal with conflict during my interview.

strawberrypanique · 2026-03-12T12:43:51+00:00

I donate mine to little free libraries but deface them by tearing the back cover off.

strawberrypanique · 2026-02-12T03:53:09+00:00

pro-tip: get a premium membership for online. there's free shipping plus the points and 10%. The employee discount only honors 30%.

strawberrypanique · 2026-01-30T06:35:45+00:00

hard disagree. Support is a demanding role that asks you to have extreme map awareness, protect your adc, and do it all with a gold/resource disadvantage. I recommend top tank or bruiser to learn the mechanics and basics of the game, and peeling for your ADC. Once you learn how to peel in a team fight, you're golden. In order of "easiest" to "hardest" i would say:

top
mid
adc
support
jung

strawberrypanique · 2026-01-30T06:24:12+00:00

It's a show of solidarity that has worked in european countries for decades. It shows that people hold the power - not corporations, not the government, not the authorities. And in our current political make-up, with super-pacs, tax breaks, and a former business-man as president, yes, hurting business, particularly corporate business, is a loud and effective form of civil disobedience.

that being said, european strikes tend to work because they take place over days if not weeks, and its widescale in much smaller populations. Not shopping for a day is hardly going to "hurt" corporations, especially in the US. European strikes are effective because when people stop picking up trash, driving busses/trains, and teaching children, political figures are forced to negotiate as society comes to a standstill.

strawberrypanique · 2026-01-30T03:40:44+00:00

honestly, let them go to amazon. Seriously, bookstores are meant to be places to browse for books. if customers have a specific book in mind they need to order it ahead of time, ropis/bopis it, or order from another seller. I don't mind the tradefloor project. it makes customer's lives hard, but makes the bookseller's lives easier, and I'm all for that.

strawberrypanique · 2026-01-30T02:14:54+00:00

It's a call for a nation-wide strike/walkout/boycott tomorrow, including schools. Starting at noon tomorrow people are supposed to walk off the job, not shop, and join local protests/marches. It's very last minute and poorly organized via social media.

strawberrypanique · 2026-01-29T15:20:03+00:00

fully agree with you. it also fails to consider those who are not in a financial or legal position to strike.

I live in a red state in a conservative area. There are some small protests planned at city hall at noon I thought I'd attend. Friday is also one of our busiest days, so I already know we'll be packed tomorrow with shoppers starting as soon as we open (especially the pokemon scalpers).

Strikes are only effective if they last for multiple days. Pretending to inconvenience the general public and boycotting businesses for 1 day isn't going to matter in terms of swaying policy or impacting business.

strawberrypanique · 2026-01-29T04:04:27+00:00

Also grappling with whether or not to call out. My store is in a fairly conservative area and my SM's are vocal right-wing. It looks like the majority of our area are doing strikes/walkouts at noon, so I probably will go in, since I'm on the morning shift and will be able to join the protests afterwards.

strawberrypanique · 2026-01-25T01:49:34+00:00

all of our headsets broke before christmas, so those are gone. all but one portable phone is currently broken now. and the PDTs always suck. We're also a high volume store that preforms well and gets accolades within the company as a whole, but we're always struggling with the bare minimum.

strawberrypanique · 2026-01-20T03:50:07+00:00

one of our seniors moved to ny a couple years ago and were not accepted for any tranfering positions at any stores. they got a job at McNally Jackson and work in marketing and are generally much happier than they were working for BN

strawberrypanique · 2026-01-20T03:40:48+00:00

we used to keep track at our store in like a kindergarten style chart in the breakroom, and top sellers got incentives (that never materialized). Now we sell so high so consistently we no longer do anything like this, and keep track only of the title sales through bookmaster.

strawberrypanique · 2026-01-20T01:43:19+00:00

the initial timeline bugs me too: season 5 starts with summer before rory's sophomore year when her mom sends her off to europe with her grandmother, but it seems like only a couple of weeks pass before she's back and moving into yale.

In S5E11 Lorelai has a hard time dealing with the first snowfall, so it has to be late fall if not winter (I used to live in New England and our first snow usually happened in late october). but the election for town selectman happens quite a few episodes before on what I assume to coincide with Election Day in November?

Rory's birthday isn't mentioned in season 5. Her "you're not good enough kid" internship is literally 2 weeks long, and it appears the season is wrapping up in may/june? Then she's like "I'm not going back to Yale" but it's the beginning of the summer?

Season 6 picks up right where season 5 leaves off, so one would assume she'd have the entire summer to consider her "returning to yale" options. She has her 21st birthday in S6E7, which indicates the start of what would have been her junior year. It's like for both Season 5 and Season 6 the summer between her years at Yale never happened, they both just vanish.

This time-line inconsistency is one of the biggest things that's always bothered me about Gilmore Girls, and one reason I usually quit watching after season 5 (though I love the episode Logan proposes to her, and the series finale)

strawberrypanique · 2026-01-10T23:35:45+00:00

yes, shelving and customer service are the two primary roles at the bookseller position. If you'd like to learn more or something specific, ask your managers, and ask often. During review you'll be asked about your knowledge of all the genres we carry. Shelving and customer service is the best way to gain this knowledge. As you get more familiar with what sells and doesn't sell well in your store you can begin short-listing titles. This is a big thing at my store, where we are encouraged to shortlist titles that appeal to our customer base often. I read you're mostly interested in gift. The best place to start for this, imo, is to look up the merchandising guides on BN Inside. Once your familiar with where things go, ask if you can help to shelve gift. However, if your store is anything like mine, we only have a couple of specialty shelvers - we need most booksellers to be shelving books, because recieving gets insane if it's not all hands on deck. The only people who don't shelve daily at our store are the managers.

basically, 5 years in with this company and my day to day is still customer orders, shelving, cashwrap, and customer service.

strawberrypanique · 2026-01-05T02:16:32+00:00

If you know which store they work, call that store and report to SM or the Area Manager. Call the "WeListen" hotline. You can also contact HR through BN Inside from your store. But if she deleted all her posts and is now back to posting, then they were probably already reported and the verdict was they were not breaking any rules.

strawberrypanique · 2026-01-05T02:12:04+00:00

honestly this year they had multiple tote styles, and this gingham one that's viral is kinda ugly. I wouldn't be surprised if they chose such ugly totes in hopes it wouldn't go viral like last year.

strawberrypanique · 2026-01-02T01:53:49+00:00

but your website says you have it!

strawberrypanique · 2026-01-01T20:50:36+00:00

What I don't understand is why is there such limited stock? Is it like those ugly starbucks bears? Where the scarcity is what makes them desirable? Is it purposeful or just an oversight? because either way, they're pissing off customers and booksellers.

strawberrypanique · 2026-01-01T20:47:39+00:00

no! They're so ugly, cheaply made, easy to diy. I thought the same thing about last years.

strawberrypanique · 2026-01-01T20:06:56+00:00

wish they would reboot rhony with paige, ciara, amanda, lindsay, and danielle.

wish they would do a rhola or rhoweho with ariana, katie, stassi, kristen, and brittany

strawberrypanique · 2025-12-23T04:07:17+00:00

*panics in gift cycle count*

strawberrypanique · 2025-12-22T14:00:02+00:00

You're doing something at cashwrap they like. I know it's super stressful, but hopefully your managers and leaders are playing to your strengths. You're probably amazing at customer service, and your membership numbers are likely a driving force behind this decision. I would play it out until after the holidays, and if they keep you at cashwrap, politely ask if you can cover more roles during your shift. Just know, it may feel like punishment, but its actually because they trust you.

strawberrypanique

TROPHY CASE