Bookstores
She Said Boom
She Said Boom features two locations under once linked, but now separate, ownership. Both stores have been around for over ten years, with the College Street location acting as one of the pioneers of the used books and music trend that has since taken hold throughout the city.
In my last visit to the Roncesvalles location, I noticed that they're carrying a bit more in the way of vinyl, the thinking being that it serves as something of an attraction.
But for those who are bibliofiles first and foremost, rest assured that the majority of the store's holdings are of the literary kind. Good selections can be found of Fiction, Eastern Philosophy, Religion, Poetry, and Drama.
Both stores are deeply entrenched within their neighbourhoods and find themselves well-equipped to negotiate the current recession. After all, if you don't have that much money, there are worse ways you could spend it than on used books and CDs.
Discussion
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While I was browsing there, I moved a curtain back from one of the book shelves (it's not like I entered a back room that had a sign that said "DO NOT ENTER"), and the gentleman that works there walked over to me and, as if trying to intimidate me, said over and over "Can I help you with something?" After saying that I was just browsing he continued with his attitude, so I left. Definitely not the way I would expect to be treated as a returning customer.
I guess if you do go there, just make sure you don't touch anything. The gentleman is very sensitive about his curtains apparently.
True that!
There are no curtains in she said boom on roncy, maybe you were trying to sneak into the back room or something. The sales people there have always been laid back and polite,They have a good selection and it's an easy place to be.
Even as I tried to calm things down by stessing that I liked and do want to support the store. The salesperson was smug enough to say that they have a large returning clientele and they didn't need 'the types of clients' like me.
Sure, you're allowed to think that, but don't show it to your clientele. Especially when your store is full. Your peevs about your client and the stresses of running a small shop are your own. Anyone in customer service knows that all you have to do is calmly state the store policy on the request. Keep it professional and certainly don't go flying off the handle because of your own reactivity. That just screams of deeper problems that you have. (In the store.)
Some of these small shops that we idealize as being worth supporting really don't deserve it. Why put up with the paper thin hip and relaxed atmosphere if they are so arrogant? They may think there are other clients but there certainly are other bookstores.
In the past I had had some decent experiences with staff there but the last few times I went in I had nothing but too-cool-for-school meets used-record-store-burnout attitude. I asked to listen to a used jazz record and I was told "we don't do that." I guess potential sales aren't as important as listen to your own Nico records on the store's soundsystem while talking to the other staff.
If you sell used records and don't have listening stations, it's not such an odd request for a prospective customer to ask an employee to play one record - one. How else are people going to know if the songs are any good (other than tracking down tinny samples on your iPhone, if you can find any for older jazz records) or if the vinyl is in good condition (other than looking for egregious surface ware)? Not allowing customers to sample records is no different from not allowing your customers to open the books and read a few pages.
I have no beef with the Roncesvalles store - although I have yet to ask the employees there if I can listen to any records.