Sorry, I'm frustrated and need to vent.

[Cyber Burn]

I have been working in a high school Special Education Program for a lot of years now. For the last 8 or 9 years, we have taken our students into the local "Barnes and Noble" bookstore for some of our community outings. Our routine has always been to go into the seating area (which I admit is reserved for Starbucks), sit down, and take a head count. Next, a few of our staff members will help get some of the students' books, while allowing the remainder of the students to browse the store and visit the music station. It's usually at this time, that all of the adults order from Starbucks. By the time we leave, at least half of our group has purchased books, magazines, movies and/or music, or food. Yesterday, however, as soon as we got there, as soon as we sat down, the store manager told us that our students could not sit in the Starbucks area and read unless they were purchasing something from either Starbucks or the bookstore itself. She came across as being rude, almost hostile towards me. I wasn't really given time to explain our situation before she left as abruptly as she had arrived. I could understand if we had been taking up seats that other people needed, but the area was pretty much empty. I could understand if we were being loud and noisy, but our group was really well behaved. I could understand if we had been there for an extended period of time, but again, we had just sat down. After a staff discussion, it was felt that maybe the new store manager did not realize that these were special needs students, and some accommodations were needed. Unfortunately, when the teacher I work with introduced herself to the new store manager, she was informed that the current store policy was that people are no longer allowed to sit and read in the store. (Are you serious? a bookstore that doesn't want you to read?). After leaving the store, she contacted the corporate office, was left on hold for half an hour, and was then refused the opportunity to speak to a supervisor. After calling again and waiting on hold for twenty minutes, she was finally allowed to speak to the supervisor for customer service. She was told that each store has the right to conduct it's own store policies, end of story. Up until yesterday, "Barnes and Noble" has been one of my favorite stores, I love going and just being able to sit down and read. Sometimes I'm able to make a purchase, other times I can't. I hate to say it, but as of now, I will take my business elsewhere. I have also called customer service at the corporate level with the same results as my teacher, I am hoping that others who have recieved poor treatment will speak their mind so that store policies and customer service will improve. Vent over...thank you to anyone who has taken the time to read this.

[BlueBard]

The Borders bookstores around here actually have seating among the bookshelves.

Yet another reason I prefer Borders to Barnes & Noble...

[BentonGrey]

CB, that's inexcusable.  I am sorry to hear about that.  An encounter like yours would leave me really frustrated too.  I encourage you to take your business elsewhere.  If they continue to treat customers that way, you won't be the only one.  I too prefer Borders to Barnes and Noble, now more so than ever.  I'd write a real, paper letter, send copies to both that store and the coroprate office complaining of that experience and informing them of your decision.  Letters are so rare these days that they command quite a bit of attention.

[Figure Fan]

Sorry about what happened, CB.

I think her behavior was pretty lousy and especially bad for her business. I shop exclusively at Borders (They have better coupons, imo), and they always have plenty of seating around their shelves and in designated reading areas. There's also seating in the cafe, which is really meant for you to spend money on a drink/snack and READ. I'm not sure what planet that manager that you spoke to is from, but a book that you can't read through some and become interested in is a book that you aren't going to buy.

[captmorgan72]

I second what Benton said about writing a paper letter to them. This will get more attention then a phone call or email. Maybe even mention you are thinking about posting a article in the local paper about this.

[John Jr.]

One more vote to the letter. The only way to make the "geniuses" behind this idea change their politics is make them realize they'll lose clients. Let them know you make your insatisfation public and maybe they learn something  from this.

[Tawodi Osdi]

Hey, I used to work with special needs kids, and I've seen a lot negativity, even from teachers.  Perhaps, you could get a petition going on popular social networks media, like Facebook and Twitter.  Get the word out over a large segment of the population, and if you do, let me know.   I'm in.  I used to work with special needs kids and I do have a soft spot for them, and I know a few others that are of a similar vein.

[Reepicheep]

I wonder if that store manager has ever gone book shopping before.

[cmdrkoenig67]

I agree...The manager's behavior and the company's response is just plain wrong (and a crappy way of doing business).  I say complain to the powers that be yourself as well, CB...And inform the local paper about it too.  Customer mistreatment like this needs to be addressed and they need to be taken to task.

Dana

[BentonGrey]

Yeah, actually, if you wanted to make a complaint to the local chamber of commerce, that might not be a bad idea either.

[Cyber Burn]

Great idea Benton.

Thanks for all the support guys. There are not a whole lot of safe/enclosed places where we can take our students, so we really appreciated being able to go to Barnes and Noble. I will defenitely take everyone's advice and follow up with a letter. I'm not looking for an apology or anything from the company, I just want to be able to know that anyone can enter the store and feel welcome, regardless of how much money they currently have in their pocket.

[BentonGrey]

Darn right CB.  My current comic book store is my current store because they, unlike the other store in town, are friendly and perfectly willing to let me browse, flip through books, and generally enjoy my time in there.  Because of that, they get my small monthly comics expenditure, plus whenever I can afford to spend more, they get that too.

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

Actually, I have another solution.  Put this story in the public eye.  This is exactly the thing that news station like to cover and that people like to pass on as viral news.  As soon as they company gets embarrassed by it, they will then actually start treating it seriously.

So my advice would be to take it to some local news sources.  A local talk show host would probably be the easiest, but you can try all the traditional sources.  Get someone to blog about it and I'll start passing the link around and let the news spread that way and hope it goes viral.  I can even link to this post, but I think a different site might be better.

If you don't want to go that far quite yet, then simply threaten to do so in your letter.  In the nicest possible terms, of course.

[MJB]

Stories like this make me ill. Hope they get what they deserve.

Be sure to write someone about this. It's the only way to fix things.

[GhostMachine]

You know what? I've never actually set foot in a Barnes & Noble, and after reading this, I don't think I'd want to. (We have one here, but I usually shopped at Waldenbooks before they were all closed down)

See if there's a Books A Million or Borders in your area, and if there is, call them and talk to the manager and explain your situation to them and see if they are willing to accomodate your students. And if you use Borders, you and the rest of the group should get Borders Rewards cards. They're totally worth it, and can also be used online.