I don't typically have bad things to say about members of the Ponce business community, but I can only bite my "Spanish" tongue for so long on this one. The Borders on Ponce is terrible.Strike 1: They Don't Carry What I Buy Three times in the past 6 months I have gone into the store only to find that they DID NOT HAVE what I was looking for.
At Christmas I was looking for a copy of Amy Sedaris' wildly popular "I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influnce" (on CD)...not a single one in stock (kudos to Outwrite for having a ton). Then I was looking for a cool book on Tattoos that I had spotted at a Barnes and Noble...never even heard of it (thank you Virgin Megastore--San Fran for stocking plenty). And last, but definitely not least, I was in last month looking for a new copy of Down On Ponce to give a friend, but NOOOOOoooooOOOO...none, zilch, nada (Amazon had to provide that one).
Strike 2: They refer me to the (damned) Buckhead Borders for book signings
Um...'scuse me...if I wanted to live, work and play in Buckhead (or if it was magically 1990 again), I would have moved to Buckhead, BUT I live here, in this neighborhood, and you are supposed to sell books and have events HERE on Ponce. I'm already a little pissy over the fact that such a strip mall exists in the neighborhood as it is, but at least don't ACT like such a bland chain store (Whole Foods doesn't, now do they?).
Wanna guess when the last event at the Borders on Ponce was? Try March 3rd (some 3 months ago) and they actually have a regional Marketing Manager, you say? How about helping me get him to pay attention to this part of the region by sending a quick email requesting that our store get some immediate attention? Email Matt Schweers
Strike 3: Seattle's Best Coffee just sucks (there, I said it!)
I have tried and tried to not be a coffee snob, but their coffee really doesn't appeal to me--even if it IS owned by Starbucks. Talk about false advertising..."Best", my ass!
Don't just take my word for it that Borders stinks, because the only thing better than hearing customers complain is to get an insider's view and see how much the employes are kivetching...
Astounding and Musings on Rewards Marketing
And last, but not least, Borders has been pissing off their shareholders too. Last week they announced their 5th straight quarter of significant losses.
Dead to me. 'nuff said.
7 comments:
You gots to keep it independent -if you can- when it comes to the bookstores. Nuff said.
Well i see your first problem, It's based in Atlanta Georgia, as well all know it's no new york :)...maybe you should return your business to barnes & nobles...i hear they are friendly yet less gay
-NY reporter
For Down On Ponce, you should have gone to A Capella Books. After reading your blog I went down there and they had 3 copies, one of which was signed by the author.
What did you expect of the A-T-L (what the "cool" people here call Atlanta [what a joke!]) or Buckhood?
Best way to see Atlanta is in your rear view mirror or from 30,000 feet :)
anonymous (from 1:14pm today) -
Thanks for adding to the discussion, but obviously I don't share your opinion and think that Atlanta has a great deal to offer, in fact (else there wouldn't be an ISIOP blog).
Borders Group is a mass book retailer based in Ann Arbor, Michigan; so hardly representative of Atlanta (which was the point of the original post).
Maybe you're just living (or working) in a part of town that isn't to your liking. Or, maybe Atlanta isn't right for you, but we like it here on Ponce.
My experience has been the same. In the early 2000s (!) my two preeteen daughters had to spend extended periods of time in Atl. My children fell in love and want to return for college, and I rediscovered the area. On breaks from our 'business', the 'strip' was perfect. We could buy pet treats, visit with the pets when we were missing ours back home, get ice cream, and a variety of good food at Whole Foods. Actually we loved Market One alot, and were sorry to see them go, too. The Borders was great for my book a holic kids, but I do remember being amazed that they didn't carry a specific Atlanta title I wanted. The clerk was helpful and looked it up, but had never heard of it, which shocked me. I do love the sit down spots in borders and Whole Foods. If you want to enjoy white sand beches and make a killing, come open a Whole Foods with benches here in PC FL. We have nothing like it here.
I forgot to mention! A Capella is FANTASTIC! He even tracked down an author to have him sign my purchase for me, and delivered the book to my friend's shop so I could pick it up!
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