I’m guessing you got the curt answer - that she gives 10 times a day - instead of “let me see what I can do” because
She knows there is nothing she can do
She knows that what she is having to tell you is stupid, and you know it’s stupid, but that is what she is to say
Possibly she is hoping, in the nicest way, that you get pissed and write a letter to the company and everyone else does too so maybe they change things and she doesn’t have to go through this rediculous song-and-dance 10 times a day anymore.
“Sir, I understand you are frustrated with the way X,Y, and Z were handled by our staff. I apologize for the aggravation and I will ask to have this process reviewed for efficiency and customer satisfaction.” would be repeating their concern and apologizing. “I’m sorry you feel that way,” is a bullshit response that takes no ownership of the problem.
I find it more than a little ironic that the OP, and AFAICT everyone afterwards, has missed what might be the most important point.
So… it’s worth nothing to you for this store (or any B&M store with online competition) to have ordered, shipped and stocked that book for you to put your paws all over before deciding to buy it? You should get a sale price because some other place - even the same store’s online arm - sells it cheaper to people who don’t need this level of expensive hands-on support?
You want them to go to all the trouble and expense of handing you a copy of the book - a book they might not sell ten of in a year, but provide floor space for - but then you want the price the nil-overhead sellers offer?
In a nutshell, this is why B&M retailers hate the online world… not for the competition, but because it leaves them being used, one way or the other.
And, as others have said, what exactly do you expect them to do in the face of a hundred such demands a day? Say, “You know what? You’re right. Go ahead and paw away… we’ll match Amazon/BN.com prices on anything you want”?
So who’s the thoughtless ass here… store staff doing the best they can in a bend-over-and-take-it situation, or buyers who abuse the setup?
I mean, you couldn’t even do your pawing and then politely go home and order it online?
“I’m sorry you feel…” will always piss people off.
That phrase does not communicate empathy, and the fact that the word “sorry” is used to pretend it involves empathy is even more annoying.
Anyone that trains someone to say that is training their employee to piss off the customer.
Regarding the price difference/policy:
B&N is clearly fighting a losing battle on this issue and they have to know it. This must be a conscious business decision to separate the two channels so that one can either go bankrupt/get sold while the other can independently survive/thrive. If they keep them together it will hurt the only one that has a future.
But that is still B&N’s problem, not the customer’s.
The customer isn’t expected to have to understand and calculate the internal costs for an organization and it’s various channels. It’s B&N’s job to create a business model that works, and if they have to train every customer how their system works then they are fighting a losing battle.
B&N is in a tough spot, creating a separate brand online would reduce confusion/frustration but would hurt sales. Setting consistent prices across channels would probably kill online. Lowering store prices would put the stores out of business even quicker. I’m not sure what a good strategy would be.
It’s basically the same as “I’m sorry you got mad when I poked you in the eye”. Not sorry for poking you in the eye but sorry that you’re handling your eye-poking so poorly.
Why are you taking out your frustration on someone with no say in the policy and who likely equally frustrated by it?
The clerk probably didn’t show ownership of the problem because she has no ownership of the problem. She didn’t set the policy and she can’t change it. And she is probably well aware that her workplace is a dying model and she’ll be pounding the pavement for a new job soon. So why should she “own” it?
If you need your ego massaged, don’t rely on people paid minimum wage to do it.
Sorry Stickler, I meant to address my mild jre at the OP.
My local bookstore charges crazy prices- well above the cover prices. They still sucker me in every time. There is nothing like getting your hands on a physical boom and taking it home right away.
I like going to Barnes & Noble but I’ll probably never buy a book there again. Not only is amazon cheaper, but I’ll probably buy a majority of my books on kindle. It’s a shame, but I feel that the days of Barnes & Noble as a brick and mortar store are numbered.
I for one completely understand that I am paying more at a Barnes and Noble brick and mortar store because I get the privilege of being able to pick up and look at a book and then walk out with it that day. That’s the point. It costs them more to provide that service and therefore I pay more.
Their website will clearly tell you that you have to pay brick and mortar prices if you order online but want to pick it up at a store - understandable. I was trying to game the system and they called me on it. I knew they had that book in stock at the store, and I knew I could place that order and walk over there and get it that day because it’s right there on the shelf, and I wanted to see if they would actually give me online price despite getting the brick and mortar service. They said no, getting it in store means store pricing. I don’t get loophole pricing. There’s no sense in getting mad over the fact I can’t game the system.
They have to compete with Amazon somehow and that’s to provide online pricing in competition with Amazon. Amazon has no (or didn’t have any last I checked) brick and mortar stores so Barnes and Noble is betting that this will give them a leg up - for people who want to look at a book NOW, and want to buy it and have it NOW, they have the advantage.
I was going to say that, since they are two entities, the store probably gets a delivery fee from the online side if you pick the book up there after ordering online. I’m not at all sure what to do with stores trying to charge full price for online order books or with stores shipping online books for free. The first sounds like a screw-up and the second like the work-around for a screw-up. But it’s hard to tell.
Above list price? How bizarre. Assuming these are new books published in America, I’m surprised the publishers even allow it.
And, addressing the other responses in the thread, there are plenty of situations where “I understand you’re upset about X; I’m sorry you feel that way” is a totally appropriate customer service response. The B&N clerk has zero latitude to change corporate policy, online pricing, in-store pricing, store policy, ad infinitum. What is she supposed to do when someone like the OP says, “That’s a stupid policy”? Well, there’s nothing I can do about it, I’m sorry you feel that way.
“I apologize for the difficult experience.”
“I’m sorry we are not able to meet your needs.”
“I’m sorry that I cannot provide you with the assistance you require.”
There are lots of ways to apologize without making it the fault of the customer which is what “I’m sorry you feel that way,” does.
And the list of stores that allow you to walk in and set your own price includes?
I have two experiences that are relevant - except that if I walk into a bookstore, I walk out with the books I want rather than making a list for online purchase or arguing the shelf prices.
I used to buy quite a bit of gear from a well-established speed shop. Their approach to online competition like JEGS and Summit was that they’d match regular catalog prices, even some sale prices… as long as equivalent shipping was included. Since a lot of speed parts are heavy and awkward, that made perfect sense and if they had the part I needed, I was happy to pay online+shipping for it.
Another local merchant was one of the last full-service camera stores around. They of course took an immense amount of abuse from people who came in to look at bodies, lenses, tripods etc. and then go spend hundreds or thousands less online. At one point, they had a huge WE ARE NOT YOUR INTERNET SHOWROOM banner across the parking lot wall. Worse, they were nearly impossible to deal with - I would go in, prepared to pay a premium for some item I needed (usually midrange things like field tripods, light accessories or lens adapters) and they Just Couldn’t Be Bothered To Wait On You, assuming you were another online browser. It’s been four years since I was there… I just looked and they appear to still be in business, but their ratings are pretty low, which says a lot about a specialty store.
I think the basic problem with books and bookstores is that buyers want it all - Amazon selection, service and price, along with walk-in convenience and pawing rights. It doesn’t worth that way, and while B&M BNs might be caught in a bad position by the current state of the business, it still doesn’t mean you can set your own buying terms based on what other sellers do. You have to paw and buy right now? Pay for those privileges and shut up.
Dangit, I drove to a B&N yesterday to exchange a gift book for one I wanted, The Prophets of Smoked Meat. It cost me around $32 or so. Now I look at B&N online and it’s $17.50 or near halfprice.
True, but in this case it was the fault of the customer. According to the OP, he was mad because the B&N employee “didn’t even try” to change the store’s price and failed to provide him with a 25% off coupon. Barnes and Noble isn’t a Middle Eastern bazaar where haggling is encouraged.