Weird Things Customers Say In Bookstores [Hardcover]

Some things were made to go together. Peanut butter and jelly, steamed crabs and Heineken, rootbeer and vanilla ice cream, me and Zoe Saldana, John Williams and high trumpets, Irish Spring and hot water, and this book and ANYONE who has worked or is working (*ahem*) in a bookstore.

This book (page 38) is a glimpse of just some of the stupid, weird, jaw dropping, sphincter clinching, WTF, and "you gotta be kidding me" questions and comments that bookseller go through on a daily basis. Let me repeat that... on a daily basis. In my eight hour shift there is always one person who makes me wonder if their parents are brother and sister. I keep a copy of this on our front counter for two reasons. 1. To read when I should be working and 2. Hand selling books don't come any easier than this.

As I alluded to earlier, this book is perfect for book sellers, book lovers, people who love book lovers, and more importantly, people who are looking for that perfect book to get that impossible to buy for bibliophile. (page 38) Christmas is coming and aside from a gift card from their favorite indie bookstore, or a hammock on an island next to a stack of books, this book is the next perfect choice.

This book is broken into chapters each with a different category filled with the comedic absurdity that we call 'work'. Read it. Not all at once though. Share it. Laugh at it. Laugh with it. Take notes to send in for part two. (I have no idea if there will be a part two). If you want more, Jen has a blog and is on Twitter.

Eight hours later: (in my Spongebob voice) I just checked her blog this morning and she is indeed (page 38) working on a part two! So if you missed sending in your entry for this one then do not miss #2. Also, if you are on Twitter then please check out the hashtag #bookstorebingo for more funny and insane bookstore comments.

Oh... if you're wondering why I keep putting "page 38", buy the book and see. :-)

A few examples of what this book has to offer:

Girl: "Dad, can I have this book for my kids"?
Dad: "You don't HAVE any kids"!
Girl: "I know, but in case you die I want them to have something from Grandpa".

HS Girl: "I'm looking for Anti-Gone" by Shakespeare
Me: "Do you mean `Antigone' by Sophocles?
HS Girl: "Yeah, whatever".

I have to say this was such a joy to read; as a book lover I really appreciated all the weird things customers say in bookstores. I would love to be a bookseller for many reasons but to experience this kind of silliness would really make my day. Well worth a read. You will get some great laughs from these customers with ones like;
"Do you have this children's book I've heard about? It's supposed to be very good. It's called Lionel Richie and the Wardrobe."
"Do you stock Nigella Lawson under `Sex' or `Cookery'?"
"Is this book edible?"
"Did Anne Frank ever write a sequel - I really enjoyed her first book?"
Plus many, many more.

"Weird Things Customers Say in Bookstores" by Jen Campbell. This was a fun book. It is a book with a compilation of things that people have actually said in bookstores. While it had some weird things in it that people have said, none of it surprised me. Some of it made me laugh, but nothing surprised me. At my age, I think I have heard it all. I've never worked in a bookstore, or in any type of retail, but I have worked in customer service in different capacities, and I know how stupid customers can sound. (I don't think they realize how stupid they sound.) In fact, after seeing for myself how stupid and ridiculous customers sound, it has made me make a conscious effort to become a good, sensible customer whenever it is me that is the customer. In fact, I've gotten compliments for my niceness (people actually appreciate nice customers, after having to put up with all these stupid customers).

So while this was a very fun book to read, none of it surprised me. But it was so fun, I do highly recommend it.

I've worked mostly in medical customer service. Some of the weird things I've encountered:

"Will my medical insurance cover my dog so I can take him to the vet?"

"My husband died, so now I don't have to pay these bills." (Bills still have to get paid, even if the person dies. Do you realize how much money the health industry would lose if they canceled all the bills of the deceased?)

"Can you cancel the bill, because the service was bad?" (How was the service bad? The customer had no answer.)

There were many more, but I'll save those. Those are some examples that are more common.

"Weird Things Customers Say in Bookstores" is a really fun, enjoyable book. I enjoyed every minute of. Some of the things were ridiculous and stupid. Anybody who's ever worked in customer service, in any capacity, knows how stupid and ridiculous customers can sound.

Read it! You don't want to miss something so good!