Have you heard the kerfluffle about Amazon’s delivery drone project? Many indie bookstores have gotten questions and comments from customers. At Queen Anne Book Company, I told a customer, “We’re not looking into drones, but if you live on my walk home and call at the end of my shift, I can get your purchase to you in half an hour.”
The photo above is from Inklings Bookshop in Yakima. Owner Susan Richmond posted the following on the store’s facebook page December 5:
Just thought you’d like a pic of our genuine drone at Inklings Bookshop in Yakima, WA. We hung it above our registers as a conversation starter for our smart, independent employees who are far from drones. We have 12 employees on our payroll who live in the community, support the economy and pay taxes and are excellent at helping customers face to face.
We are also using the drone to highlight the fact that 95% of the books we order every day are in the store the next day around noon and the whole experience for our customer is bracketed by delightful exchanges with real human beings every step of the way.
Proudly independent and drone-resistant,
Susan Richmond
Inklings Bookshop
Yakima, WA