Saturday, March 08, 2008

Bookshop blether part four thousand and sixty seven

My first customer of the day walked around the counter, spotted the 'gay fiction' sign, and dragged his wife from the shop proclaiming that he wasn't going to stay somewhere where they allow 'filth like that.'
I knew it was going to be a grand day!

A woman approached me for a book written by someone with 'A strange name. I'm not sure how it is pronounced but it is spelt C L A R E. Clar, perhaps, or Cla ray?'
'Claire?' I ventured, 'Claire doesn't have to be spelt with an I'
'Yes, Claire, that's it. Do you have a book by someone called Claire?'
'Is that a surname, or first name?'
'First.'
'Right. Well we arrange our books alphabetically according to surname, do you have any more information? No? Oh!'

The fifty millionth customer asked me where we keep Shakespeare, and I told them his plays are...yup, you guessed, with the plays, not the classic novels. How come nobody knows that he wrote plays?

A woman asked for the Magic Bus series for children, and I misread the computer screen and thought there was one called 'The Magic Bus explodes'. I thought it wouldn't be that jolly! (It was The Magic Bus Explores)

My manager told me that with stock take coming up I need to clear out my reservations pile. I totted up how much money I'd need to buy my stash of books, and when I hit the £100 mark I figured I'd best put some back!

5 comments:

pierre l said...

Perhaps you can put some of them back in your reservation pile after the stock take...

Gonçalo Veiga said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Gonçalo Veiga said...

Same thing happening here! It costs me more working on a bookshop than being a normal costumer almost! I do eventually put them back after careful deliberation though :p

Anonymous said...

I had a customer once (a man) who got all hot and bothered when he realised we had a lesbian section. I was feeling a bit rude at the time so I said "Oh really, most men like it" Luckily he saw the humour in it and I wasn't told off.
Know what you mean about the reservations, constantly have much more aside than I can afford, even after discount, but I do find that if I keep them long enough then they start to lose their appeal. (I'm talking after a year or so....)

Unknown said...

That's true, they do lose their allure if left long enough...only to be replaced by more shiny newness.

I have the limited edition Douglas Coupland that can't go back, but I suppose all the rest could.

Ha! I like the lesbian comment. I couldn't have made that quip with this guy that's for sure.

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