The Barnes & Noble Experience

Though it’s already been posted in a variety of places (I believe I first saw it at Bookslut), I couldn’t resist directing attention to “The Barnes & Noble Experience,” which is quite funny and makes for a fine workday diversion:

One of the first things I learned while working at Barnes & Noble was that you should never, ever pay for a book. You can read an entire goddamn novel in the store and we won’t bug you once. If you’d rather the convenience of reading at home, simply pay for the book, keep the receipt, and finish it within fourteen days. Even if you say “I didn’t like it.” they’ll take it back. If this surprises you, then you should be even more surprised to learn that this is B&N’s version of a strict return policy; recently changed from ‘If we carry it, you can return it; no questions asked.’ You’d be surprised at the number of people who do this; many seemingly consider Barnes & Noble a library that just happens to require safety deposits.

From these introductory insights, the piece gets funnier with detailed accounts of encounters with customers. Anyone who’s ever worked anywhere in retail is sure to appreciate it.

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