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The unnecessary demise of Barnes and Noble

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Re: The unnecessary demise of Barnes and Noble

#251

Post by PostOnce »

joekrill wrote: post #235

> The people who lost their jobs had been actively assured this would NOT happen for the past several months. My last employer did this. Not so much the exact scenario, but they constantly assured us they were fully committed for the long-term to our satellite office that they opened. They went out of their way to reiterate this quite regularly and put a good of effort into it. Until one day they showed up and shut d…

they do it so employees don't quit beforehand, so that they can keep using them to make money until the last second, while not giving them any opportunity to find a new job so they don't miss rent the week after they're fired

if it's not illegal it should be, and I'm sure there is some ground for a civil lawsuit in the fact they they assured them they would not lose their jobs, thereby costing them thousands in lost income when they're laid off and having nothing else lined up, in this case it could be a class action.

We have no compassion as a society anymore (if we ever had any), its been supplanted by greed.

Re: The unnecessary demise of Barnes and Noble

#252

Post by rotten »

joekrill wrote: post #235

> The people who lost their jobs had been actively assured this would NOT happen for the past several months. My last employer did this. Not so much the exact scenario, but they constantly assured us they were fully committed for the long-term to our satellite office that they opened. They went out of their way to reiterate this quite regularly and put a good of effort into it. Until one day they showed up and shut d…

I've been through probably 3 DOZEN layoffs so far in my career. If management comes in one day out of the blue and assures you there won't be layoffs I can 100% guarantee there will be soon. (Especially when it is an executive from corporate or _military_ HQ) It happens every time. It is one of the biggest red flags of an impending layoff. You have much better hope if they are not saying stuff like that.

Re: The unnecessary demise of Barnes and Noble

#253

Post by tzs »

It would probably help some if their website didn't GIVE YOU LINKS to places you can buy the book you are looking at for less.

I was looking up a book I'm thinking of buying, and right below the customer reviews section on the page they have a Google ads block, and the first ad was for the book at thriftbooks.com. The ad touted it for cheap used there, but clicking it also shows they have it new, too, for $25 (B&N online price is $30).

Below that is another block of Google ads with pictures of the book and links to other sellers. Those ads show the new price right in the ad. Two are $25 (the aforementioned thriftbooks.com and biblio.com) and two are more than B&N's price.

WTF? Why would they do this?

PS: Here's a picture showing this: https://imgur.com/a/Pg5eL

Re: The unnecessary demise of Barnes and Noble

#254

Post by KevanM »

phil21 wrote: post #6

I was out shopping 3-4 days before Christmas this year, and happened to be near a Barnes and Noble so figured I'd grab a copy of a magazine I've been wanting to read for a while. Grabbed the magazine, wandered the aisles a bit and picked up another book then went to check out. Basically I was their marketing department's dream - walk-in traffic coming to buy something cheap and specific who made an impulse retail buy…

This happened to me yesterday - I ordered a book from Waterstones and popped out at lunchtime to pick it up.

The collection desk is the same desk as the front of the store (there are payment desks on each floor of the store) and it was rammed. I ordered on Amazon instead of waiting.

All they have to do is put a sign saying collections are on X floor and it would be a better all round experience.

I also noticed that people were queuing and then asking if so-and-so book was in stock. How is this efficient?

Re: The unnecessary demise of Barnes and Noble

#257

Post by gaius »

blhack wrote: post #39
rayiner wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But the rest of the year, the stores are empty. Which validated the company's decision: why have a bunch of full time employees, when what it really needs is part time and flexible employees to handle holiday surges (probably caused by waiting for Amazon shipping to not be an option).

Not the one near me (in Phoenix, near Arizona State University). It's a major anchor in a shopping center, and is busy every time I'm ever in there. The employees are also really helpful. This Christmas, I was trying to find some books as a christmas gift, and the staff made a bunch of suggestions based on books that they had actually personally read. Sidenote: finding appropriate books for 8-14 year old girls is rea…

finding appropriate books for 8-14 year old girls is really freaking hard.

Start with The Hunger Games and if she likes it that’s next year sorted too, buy her a bow.

Re: The unnecessary demise of Barnes and Noble

#258

Post by goldenkey »

mattmanser wrote: post #244
wnevets wrote: post #205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just another case of business being penny smart and dollar dumb. "Traditional" media did the exact same thing when faced with competition from the internet. They reduced the quality of their service & product when they saw a reduction in customers which only fueled a further reduction in customers, rinse and repeat til death.

It looks more like the idea that paying CEOs lots of money because they are worth it really isn't working. Because they aren't worth it.

Well a good CEO would ideally be someone who understands the intricacies and drawbacks of cost-cutting measures. Unfortunately, the intersection between CEOs with large personal networks, and actual chops is vanishingly small. Most experienced employees working at B&N could probably do a better job than the current CEO. But they don't play golf and know the CEOs of other large companies.

Re: The unnecessary demise of Barnes and Noble

#259

Post by goldenkey »

gaius wrote: post #257
blhack wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not the one near me (in Phoenix, near Arizona State University). It's a major anchor in a shopping center, and is busy every time I'm ever in there. The employees are also really helpful. This Christmas, I was trying to find some books as a christmas gift, and the staff made a bunch of suggestions based on books that they had actually personally read. Sidenote: finding appropriate books for 8-14 year old girls is rea…

finding appropriate books for 8-14 year old girls is really freaking hard. Start with The Hunger Games and if she likes it that’s next year sorted too, buy her a bow.

Why not Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter? Less violent and more inspirational.

Re: The unnecessary demise of Barnes and Noble

#260

Post by eludwig »

phil21 wrote: post #6

I was out shopping 3-4 days before Christmas this year, and happened to be near a Barnes and Noble so figured I'd grab a copy of a magazine I've been wanting to read for a while. Grabbed the magazine, wandered the aisles a bit and picked up another book then went to check out. Basically I was their marketing department's dream - walk-in traffic coming to buy something cheap and specific who made an impulse retail buy…

>>Two cashiers working out of 8 or so possible registers

And the worst part about this is that each cashier seems determined to relentlessly pester me with annoying questions at the register! Did I want to join this loyalty program? Did I realize that I could save $5 by signing up for so and so. Do I want to get on the B&N mailing list? Really aggressive questioning.

Oh my God. I realize that the cashiers have been ordered to do this (I assume) but knock it off already! This is so consumer unfriendly. I just want to pay and go. I'm sure that this also delays checkout times significantly over the course of a day.

This is one of the main reasons I use Amazon when possible. Retail checkout in the US has become a one-way grilling. You end up leaving the store feeling like a murder suspect.

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