The holiday season was busy at Annie Bloom’s Books. A steady stream of customers flowed in, which was good. What’s not so good is when too many people are ready to make their purchases at the same time. The traffic of commerce starts backing up and shoppers are forced to stand in line. Line formation …
Years ago I was driving in the Bay Area and saw a sign for “Gas ‘N Jeans.” It was an old filling station and the owner had converted the service bays into an apparel showroom, so customers could top off their tanks and shop for pants in one convenient stop. I’ve always liked the dual-purpose …
We at nwbooklovers.org are excited to announce a live show by our very own Shelf Talker columnist, Jeffrey Shaffer! His one-man show, “Night of the Living Humorist,” will be at O’Connor’s Annex next door to Annie Bloom’s in Multnomah Village in Portland on Wednesday, June 5 from 7:00- 8:30. Shaffer is the author of I’m Right …
My copy of The Best and the Brightest by David Halberstam is filled with notations I’ve scrawled in the margins during repeated readings, and one of my favorite lines is the opening sentence of Chapter Eight: “The essence of good foreign policy is constant re-examination.” In fact, this concept holds true at all levels of …
Every day there are customers making their first visit to Annie Bloom’s Books and I’m always interested in finding out why they haven’t been in previously. “I’m from out of state” is a common reason along with “I don’t get over to this side of town very often.” And sometimes a person will pause and …
There’s no official list of standards and practices for customer behavior at Annie Bloom’s. We do have a small note posted on the front door that says “Please leave all large bags and packs at counter” but it’s more of a guideline than a rule. I can pretty much guarantee that none of my co-workers …
People sometimes ask, “What’s it like working at Annie Bloom’s?” and my answer is, “Mostly it’s a gift.” As an example, customers often make comments that are so interesting I write them down on little scraps of paper. It’s like getting a free one-liner to use in a future conversation, which is exactly what I …
I started reading about modern warfare in elementary school and have kept at it steadily for more than five decades. One result, which I began to notice back in the 1970s, is that military thinking has become the default setting in my brain. Battlefield diaries and the memoirs of former combatants are filled with lessons …
There are times when a customer is so thrilled to find a particular book that a tsumani of joy resonates throughout the store. I’m not talking about a big grin and happy eyes. I mean the emotional equivalent of fireworks and bombs bursting in the air. I like sharing those moments of spontaneous, visceral satisfaction. …
One thing I’ve learned about making unsolicited contact with customers is that my outgoing personality (or “Loose Cannon Syndrome” as some friends call it) can be perceived as intimidating. A young couple and their toddler came in not long ago and headed back into our children’s section. The little boy was in one of those …
