annietupek.com blog

Ah, the end of a hectic workweek.  Spent three half-days training Kendra.  All I need to do to make sure orders and price quotes come to my desk is walk away from it.  During the twelve hours I was at the front counter or doing computer training I got in more price quote requests and Battle of the Books orders than the entire rest of the month.

And during those other hours I was learning how to do the deposit.  My brain is fried.  Kendra’s brain is fried.  Let’s go eat some fried food.  The fair starts next week, maybe I can get a deep-fried Snickers bar.  Mmmmm.  I was able to get the priority items done, but I don’t think I’ll be caught up on the minor tasks until the middle of next week.

Kimberly has gone to Seattle so I’ve been trying to keep up with her data entry and other weekly chore items.  All of my problems in life would be resolved if I could clone myself.  And Sommer.  She’s been coming in for mornings and taking care of pricing and shelving used books.  A godsend, she is, but I wish she could stay for longer than two or three hours.  But Mommy needs to be home with her Baby.  She needs a clone or two as well.

That’s what my superpower would be if I were a superhero; the ability to clone myself at will and reabsorb the clones when no longer needed, like that guy in X-men 3.  What about you, what’s your superpower dream?

I started training Kendra today; she’s a new full-time book clerk, and her café cross-training will start tomorrow afternoon.  The whole process reminds me of the infinite number of details to remember, the existence of exceptions to every rule, and the total mental-overload of the first day on the job.  Overwhelming to say the least.

Our customers are all exceptional people, patient and kind.  No one gave her a hard time for not knowing how to do things, and they all offered encouragement.  Thank you to the guinea pigs!  Tomorrow starts the special order training, and I will redouble my efforts to fry her brain.

The nice thing about training is it makes my day go by at lighting-speed.  The downside is the work at my desk piles up.  I saw my email in-box before I left today and there’s so much in it I’d rather not look at it tomorrow.  School is starting soon and the teachers are thinking about lesson plans and requesting books.  Poor kids, summer is almost over.  Classes commence on August 17th.  Is it just me or does that seem really early?

Like Mondays aren’t bad enough, this morning my computer didn’t want to talk to Ingram’s computer.  Even though Ingram’s I-page was down for a few hours, I still say it was my computer because normally theirs are open and communicative, where as mine needed to be rebooted a dozen times and is a cranky piece of machinery.  I guess GIGO (garbage-in-garbage-out) applies to attitude as well.  Took me almost an hour to send the two orders that usually take ten minutes, tops.

And I had left my morning Odwalla juice at home so I was bad and had a Coke (my teeth are still cringing).  It was shaping up to be a typical case of the Mondays.

But the nine o’clock opener was on time (early as a matter of fact), and the morning remained calm.  I was able to get to the New York Times Bestseller lists, but I didn’t get a chance to read all the articles in the Books section; I’ll have to take some time to do that tomorrow.

Garth Stein’s Art of Racing in the Rain is on the paperback list.  It’s told from the point of view of Enzo, a dog, and I sobbed the whole way through it.  A great read, but have some Kleenex handy.  The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Society is also continuing to sell strong.  I’ve got a copy and I hope to crack it open soon.  Too many books, too little time.  If only David & Maria would let me read all day at my desk.

In addition to the Bargain Children’s Sale, there are hundreds of much-loved used books that have been black-X’ed and are selling for $1 each.  Can’t use trading credit, but they all need homes.  I adopted one: Jeff Herman’s 2006 G2 Book Publishers, Editors, & Literary Agents.  It’s a couple of years old, but that’s okay.  Like I really need another Writers Market-esque guide.  But for a buck?!?  You almost can’t afford to pass up these deals.

I love Fridays when my desk is clear.  I got all my orders in and phone calls made by eleven o’clock this morning.  To change things up, I did some receiving (new Magnetic Poetry and some flip-books) and then helped Elisa shelve books in the Bargain Annex.  We chatted about books (of course) and the fall trade show.  Ken Scholes and Dale Basye are going to be at the author dinner.  I must sit at the tables they rotate to; I met them both at last year’s event, enjoyed their stories, and am eagerly awaiting the sequels.  It was a pleasant end to a busy week and now I can enjoy my weekend in peace.  Until the phone rings and someone asks me how to ring up a direct-to-home order…

Yesterday we were over our usual customer count by about 30.  No wonder my lunch break kept getting interrupted by calls for help at the front counter.  The books are flying off the shelves.  Tomorrow marks the beginning of a week-long special sale; all the Bargain Annex children’s books are an additional 25% off their already low-low remainder prices.  There are some Harry Potter sets and hardcover copies of Eldest that are sure to be bought up quickly.  Business is good, and this sale is sure to bump it up.

That being said, here’s a scary bit of information:  We got a call from a local author this morning; in the last two weeks she’s sent nine people to us for her book.  Seven were told that we don’t stock the book and cannot special order it.  The other two were told that we stock the book but the clerk couldn’t find it on the shelves.  The book is listed in the inventory as being on hand.  Maria found it on the shelf, right where it’s supposed to be, with the cover faced out.  Why do we have an inventory system?  There is no guesswork.  Look up the book.  The title is Our Journals and the author’s last name is Johnson (not the hardest words to spell).  Where does the computer say it is?  Go to that section.  Find the book, it’s alphabetized by author’s last name.  This isn’t rocket science, it’s book selling.

Enough of that.

The Food Lady is back.  Today she left a bag of Chinese take-out on the used book trading counter.  At least she’s not dropping unwrapped ice cream bars on the counters like a couple of years ago.  It’s a habitual thing with her, hence the nickname.  Is there a medical or psychological term for it?  She’s got to have an eating disorder or something.

She comes in, buys cards, and leaves food.  Except for the hottest months (which in Alaska is pretty much just July & August) she wears this big, thick, black, hooded parka, and I see her walking around town everywhere.  She’s sneaky and impossible to catch in the act.  She waits until there’s no one at the counter and then drops it.

One time a fellow customer thought she accidentally left it behind and called after her, ‘Hey, you dropped this!’  She ignored them and kept heading for the door at a brisk pace.  Most of the time it’s really aromatic Chinese food, but she’s also left boxes of cookies.  It’s too bad, the Chinese food always makes me hungry, and I’d eat it, except I don’t know where it’s been…

To end on a lighter note, an older gentleman, leaning on a cane, hobbled into the store.  Fiercely independent.  He wouldn’t use the lift to go upstairs, insisted on climbing all 18 steps himself, one at a time.  David, the owner, asked him if he needed help finding anything.

‘Large print books,’ the old-timer replied.

‘We’ve got some upstairs in the used book section.  Anything specific?’

To which the elderly man responded, ‘Erotica.’

Made the hotel and flight reservations for the PNBA Fall Trade Show in Portland.  This year I don’t have to go by myself; I get to bring Elisa.  I warned her that she should bring an extra suitcase.  Last year I didn’t take Maria’s advice and ended up with one checked bag that was 70 pounds and two overfull carry-ons that I could barely lift.  This year I’m going to bring a big suitcase and pack a smaller one inside it.  Screw the airlines and their luggage fees, I’ve got a company credit card.

David, the owner, and Maria, manager and partial owner, didn’t know if Elisa was really interested in going because she didn’t show a lot of enthusiasm when they offered her the trip.  She’s still new at the store and a little shy around them; not entirely comfortable yet, but that will change.  When I asked her, her eyes lit up and when I told her about the free books she almost exploded.

I’m still finding it a little strange to be this liaison between the book clerks and the owners.  However, I’ve been there longer than all but two of the book clerks, and neither Kim nor Breen are interested in doing what I do.  As much as I love being back in the office, I can’t help but feel disconnected from the customers.  I recognize names more often than faces and don’t get to do as much hand-selling as I used to.  But I’m working in a field I’m passionate about, and I still get to help out at the front counter when things get busy.  Besides, the back of the house is a lot more interesting than the front and I don’t have to censor my language.