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| Hearsay: |
Bookstores are starting to cut back on the comfy couches for customers. The reason? Rudeness. Oh, and need.
Just a decade ago, the trend in the bookstore industry was to fit nooks and crannies with big chairs for browsing, which, it was hoped, would spur buying. The idea was to recast the bookstore as a community place or an extension of the home. Out with sterile bookstores where customers stood at attention to check out a book; in with warm, sinking chairs where book lovers could be by their lonesome.
But now the availability of so-called “soft” seating – overstuffed chairs and sofas – is on the decline at some bookstores, done in by various complications: homeless squatters, overly enthusiastic young lovers, food trash left behind.
“We were finding people staying for hours and hours and not necessarily buying books,” says Juliana Wood, district marketing manager for the Borders chain. “We obviously hope browsing turns to purchasing, but that’s a chance you take when you offer people a really comfortable setting.”
In recent years, Borders has cut its soft seating by as much as 30 percent. Backless seating – magazine benches, step stools – no longer takes the back seat. Also, given the choice between book space and seating place, books win every time. As Wood says, “You can’t sell a chair.”
Soon all that will be left is a stick with a dildo on it. This is part of a concerted effort to literalize the symbology behind big box bookselling. Luckily the kinds of bookstores I frequent are too small to have comfy couches, so I’m at a zero loss here. However, I’ll be upset if they take the big lounge chairs out of the kids’ area at the local Crapters. As I’ve said before, as a long-time hater of Indigo/Chapters, I find myself curiously drawn to its children’s section on rainy days. I bring the boy in there and let him play with the Thomas trains, read some Triple D (Dora/Disney/DC) product tie-in books that I’d never let sully his shelves, and finger the impulse merch, then I pop down the road to the independent and buy him something to take home. It’s deliciously vengeful.
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July 27th, 2007 at 9:24 am
“[...]Also, given the choice between book space and seating place, books win every time. As Wood says, “You can’t sell a chair.” ”
He obviously hasn’t been to Loblaws. Who needs food when you can get baby clothes and cheap glassware? Just think!
July 27th, 2007 at 9:57 am
Ugh, yes, down with the seating!
As someone who worked at Chapters for a couple years, and had to re-shelve carts and carts and carts of the books people take off the shelves, leave sitting around, and damage (people would come in and do their homework using books in the store even!), I’m all for this. Not to mention the 10 baskets full of magazines.
July 27th, 2007 at 10:23 am
As a former employee who used to work the kids’ section occasionally, I seriously recommend you wash your kid REALLY WELL after he touches those trains.
July 27th, 2007 at 10:26 am
Oh and the kids’ section… we used to find erotica books discarded in there. Ew. :\
July 28th, 2007 at 12:39 am
We have many regulars who hang out reading, every Monday night for instance, yet never buy a thing. They stay through all of the announcements and wait until the last possible moment to leave their slightly damaged books lying on the tables or floor. I’ve never seen an analysis of the value of providing this service. As annoying as it is to clean up after them I find it even more insulting that these folks, who should know us all by now, haven’t the courtesy to exit the premises five minutes before closing, thereby facilitating our smooth and timely departure from work.
July 30th, 2007 at 7:26 am
My boyfriend takes our daughter to the trains at night as well when it’s too late or rainy to go outside to a park. The chairs aren’t the draw, very utilitarian, no couches or armchairs which we’re not partial too anyway.
I know that all of the employees hate us because we don’t buy our books there
because they take the time to come by and show it consistently.
Unfortunately for you, you work in a place that has factored this behaviour into its profit margin.
I get it, it sucks, you hate everyone, but c’mon, relax, at least its just dirty poets and not poets and bums like the lot at the public library.
July 30th, 2007 at 7:27 am
–I had meant to type ‘to’ not ‘too’