Kinokuniya Bookstore -Seattle — Attraction in Seattle

I came by on a Sunday after shopping at Pink Gorilla (for video games) beforehand, with my younger brothers and boyfriend in tow for a quick birthday stop and shop. While I completely understand that, given the area/location and amount of foot traffic, theft is probably a common occurrence, I do not believe blind accusations and public embarrassment is an acceptable way to address the issue.

My brothers and boyfriend stepped foot into the store with a small bag carrying our purchases from Pink Gorilla. Before they had a chance to fully enter, the sensors/alarms went off. It may have been because our other purchases had not been decensored. An associate came to speak with us, and we were more than happy to communicate/assist/provide any information they wished, as we did not want any trouble. With that said, my brothers and boyfriend were immediately accused of theft (without even having fully entered the store!!!).

Before we could get a word in, in full view of everyone in the busy store, WITHOUT ASKING, the associate began reaching into our bags and removing our items, looking through our things, accusing us of theft. Again, in full view of EVERYONE-with 2 children who were confused and upset. She did not pull us aside, or ASK to touch us or our things; simply put her hands on our PAID FOR items from ANOTHER STORE and began removing everything from our bag.

We were let go with our things, as we had not, in fact, stolen anything from the shop.

I called later that night once we’d arrived home to speak with the General Manager to express my concern/upset at the situation. I was met with long minutes of silence, and a feeble apology, alongside some half-hearted words of ‘it is just for security reasons’. I did not ask for anything other than a conversation to be had with the staff. I understand the staff was trying to remain diligent, and again that this is probably a common occurrence (I’ve worked retail; I understand the struggle). But this is NOT the way to go about things. My little brothers left traumatized and upset, when this was a weekend spent in an effort to celebrate their birthday. The worst part is that there was no responsibility or accountability taken.

Not only will I never be returning, I’ll be sure to share my experience with everyone I know moving forward, as I would never want to put someone else in the position we were put...

Better customer service from McDonalds workers.

Yesterday I bought the red Daruma (far right), and the quality was simply not as expected. Mainly the predominant line across the bottom. It also stands crooked and is lumpy. The two on the left I purchased from uwajimaya (a few feet outside this store) at the same price. I couldn’t see the quality until after I purchased and took it home, due to the shadows on the cellophane wrap. As you can see, how it looks inside the packaging is not how it looks once opened. Came back less than 12 hours later with my receipt, original packing, requesting a return.

The girl brought out what seemed to be her manager (an elderly woman with above shoulder length hair) and a young asian boy with bleached hair. It was 3 against 1 basically, which was unnecessarily antagonistic. All I said was that “the quality is not as expected, I’d like to return it. I have my recipt here.” All three of them starred at me, started speaking in a foreign language. They started laughing at me, in my face, thinking that because it was in a different language, I don’t understand what’s going on. After they stopped laughing, with a smirk, the boy said they can’t return it “because it’s non-returnable”. The item was in original condition, returned 12 hours later, and could have easily been re-packaged and re-sold. It was only a $5 purchase, but it was the laughing in my face, raised brows, condescending tone, and the fact that there was no reasonable basis to deny the return. The whole experience left a sour taste.

I usually do my holiday shopping here, and would bring my friends and family whenever they’d visit Seattle, but I no longer feel comfortable spending money here.

Unrelated- but I’ve noticed a lot of other reviews mentioning the same thing. The entire hour I spent in the store, I felt like I was being watched from all angles. Couldn’t tell where it was coming from, but wherever I moved in the store, I could feel staff was gawking at me from a distance. Even kneeling down, I feel like I had to overly gesture that I wasn’t stealing by always having my hands visible. The tension in the store is very strong.

Based on other negative reviews, it seems like customer service seems to be an issue here. It also appears that many of the 5-star reviews are clearly bought from a 3rd...

I feel so deeply disappointed, shaken up, and disturbed by what I experienced at Kinokuniya Seattle bookstore this afternoon.

As a planner nerd, book lover and collector of fine Japanese stationery, I was so excited to visit this store when I traveled from Atlanta to Seattle for a conference this week. But what I experienced as a Black woman in this Asian-operated bookstore broke my heart.

It was my first time in Seattle and one of the top things on my list was to find and visit a cute stationery store. I googled ‘Seattle stationery stores’, and Kinokuniya Seattle was among the top listings. I read the great reviews and decided that I would check out the bookstore after the conference was over.

I had spent close to an hour in the store book-browsing (my children are Mandarin speakers, so I wanted to find age-appropriate Chinese children’s books for them) and picking out the perfect items (stickers, sticky notes, pens, etc.) for my 2023 planner. I was so caught up in the excitement that I lost track of time and didn’t even notice that the manager and her staff had been profiling me.

Just as I was about to wrap up, a security guard walked up to me and asked me to purchase my items right away, or leave, because the store staff complained I’d spent too much time in the bookstore and that I had too many items. I paused and waited for him to tell me he was kidding. But he wasn’t. I looked up and noticed the manager and a few of her staff had gathered near the checkout counter and were chattering and staring at me. I was mortified and in shock.

I feel so bruised and saddened by this experience, and I am certain that my race played a big role in how I was treated. I hope the manager and her staff will examine their own hearts as human beings and treat all people with humanity — and also get some diversity and customer service training. No guest should walk away from a business feeling the way I felt today. No one should be treated like a criminal for taking time to browse books or choose stationery. Needless to say, I will not return. If you’re reading this, I hope you’ll consider spending your dollars at another bookstore where all who enter are treated equally with dignity, respect...