Barnes and Noble

While they have the books I need for my clientele, I am reluctant to buy from them due to their poor customer service. Because they are local, however, I will use them in a pinch if I need a book right away. They do have a good educator discount program.

Strengths: Barnes and Noble usually has the latest titles of Young Adult novels that are sought after by our clientele. They are priced reasonably. Usually, if they do not have what I want in their store, they can get it for me. They often have good reference titles for our library on their discount tables.

Needs to improve: Customer service is lacking at B&N. They used to have book fairs where they would ask me for a wish list for our library that people could buy for our library during the book fair. The signage advertising the books in the store was barely visible. After the fair was over, an employee phoned me to say that I could pick up the books that were bought at the book fair. I picked up the boxes and then processed the books with our barcodes and stamps. A few days later, I got a call asking when and how I was going to pay for the books I was given. The employee who gave me the box of books assured me they were all bought by customers at the book fair. It turns out, they also boxed up the books that were not bought, but failed to inform me of this or remove them from the box. I already had marked up these books with our barcodes and stamps, and, therefore could not return them to the store. We felt that this was their error and that they should cover the difference. We went all the way to corporate to resolve the issue, but they would not budge. Since this issue, I am reluctant to buy from them.

We have purchased books both online and in store from Barnes and Noble to stock our library at our club for members. Books come in bulk and are brand new books. Barnes and Nobles has good customer service and in house expertise. They also have good prices and easily ship the books to you. The only negative thing that I will say is that the in store collection is much less than the online, so I recommend the online more.

Strengths: Books

Needs to improve: Store Selection is Limited, Online is Bigger