University of South Carolina Campus Store — Local services in Columbia

I was going to start off by saying that I have had relatively decent encounters with this place prior to today, but the more I thought about it, the more I remembered issues from the past that were never resolved for me due to poor customer service. During my first semester at USC, I purchased the required Biology textbook. I have the receipts for it, but every time I went to pick it up they told me it was on back order. I went through the entire semester, checking nearly twice a week to see if it were in store, by borrowing my classmates textbooks in my free time even though I had already paid for mine. This issue was never resolved. Today, I am home in quarantine after contracting Covid-19. The first week of school is probably the best week of the whole semester to get sick anyways, but I decided to be productive and make sure I was prepared for when I was able to resume classes. I went through Macmillan to purchase my Econ textbook as required through my professor. The package I bought was 100 dollars for access to my Ebook, access to Achieve (a homework system), as well as an iClicker Student. I am unfamiliar with iClickers, and through very minimal research, I realized it was a physical item I needed to bring to class, as opposed to the Ebook and Achieve, which are both online. In an attempt to clarify this, I called the bookstore and waited on hold for twenty minutes. This, in and of itself was not the issue. It is the first semester, it is busy, that's all fine and good. The issue lies with the person who had picked up the phone. After asking about how I could gain access to said iClicker, and asking if there was a way to show my ISBN number proving the contents of the package I had purchased. The student (I would presume he is a student anywasy) who answered fell silent and said "...Our iClickers are insert amount dollars." I restated my question, knowing that, at times, I am not the most concise. However, after that he answered by saying "I don't know what to tell you. I don't own the Macmillan website.". I asked to speak to someone else and then was promptly hung up on. This issue has not been resolved yet, but hopefully will be resolved before the end of the semester unlike my first experience. I think the people who work here don't always realize that we are almost All students, behind the counter or not. Anyone coming to the bookstore is not coming to have a good fun time, waiting in line for three hours. We come because we are in need of materials, and while these materials may not always be available (which is understandable), a little bit more communication from the staff could resolve a lot of issues. If I had ever recieved an email back about my Biology textbook, maybe I would have gotten a refund. If I had been able to speak with someone who would've understood more about what I was referring to by iClicker, maybe I could have learned something other than the fact that the student behind the counter does not, in fact, own the entirety of the Macmillan website and...

I am very disappointed in the staff at the bookstore. The time was 5:56 pm and stores hours are clearly posted on the door that says they close at 6 pm. As I went to enter the store, I was stopped by an employee. They said the store was closed and I was not allowed in. I simply asked if I could just go through so I could go out the other door into Russell house as I was in a rush and this was a quicker way rather than walking all the way around. I was instantly denied as I was told rudely again the store is closed. I fail to understand why the hours are posted on the door if they are not followed by the employees. I had politely asked to walk through quickly and was hit with a rude response. As I walked around, I noticed the other door was still open and there were still customers inside making purchases and browsing around. I question why I would be denied the ability to walk through the store when they should not be closed yet. I am a student paying full tuition and should be able to walk inside the bookstore on campus of the university I attend. I don’t stand for this and I think the university shouldn’t either. These employees are hired to represent the great University of South Carolina and they should be held to a high standard. At this university we don’t cut corners and close early. I am very disappointed in these actions and the way I was treated. Something...

You would think that a bookstore fit the university would be willing to accommodate its’ students who pay tens of thousands of dollars to attend school. This is not the case. They do not have the ability to ship orders, they cannot even place holds on something in order for an out of town student to drive 2+ hours for a simple grad school gown. After paying all this money for a degree only to be treated like this. Poor customer service stuck in an archaic system that can’t accommodate 2024 needs. I don’t blame the workers for following the policies, but whoever instituted these rules is out of touch with reality in 2024. No online orders, no cards over the phone, yet you literally are an online MBA program where students don’t live in town to get caps and gowns and if any issues happen you are left on your own with no help after spending countless...