Books-A-Million — Local services in Longview

This review is for their ability to answer phones and communicate with customers on the phone. Called on 12/14/14 to ask if they had a specific board game in stock and how much it was. Girl who answered said "Ugh....we're really busy right now...let me see if I can find someone to help you....." I was on hold for what seemed like forever and then another girl comes on the line and tells me "Are you the one who needed something put in the back?" Um, no, I'm the one calling to ask if something is in stock and how much it was. Well, then she told me, "Oh I guess I misunderstood her. She just told me she didn't have it in stock or in the back. I thought she meant we couldn't hold stuff in the back." I was beyond frustrated. It's not my fault you people are busy, and I deserve to be given the same level of customer service as anyone else. Of course these girls sound like they are fresh out of high school so I doubt any of them have sufficient training in customer service. I don't plan...

While we've had excellent experience in the past today was just off. We took our clearance book to check out and the cashier called another person and said "did you put this sticker on there...or" they were informed yes, it was intentionally put on there, but the rest of the transaction came across a bit snarky? "I'm not accusing you, there's just absolutely nothing wrong with this book" as well as a few more things going back to this point and not in a "great find!" Kind of way. Like, okay...we didn't know there even had to be anything wrong with the clearance books nor were we aware it was a book from a popular series. 🧍‍♀️ There were more details but all in all it just felt odd. We definitely do not lurk around bookstores with personalized clearance stickers specific to that book. Pinky swear. 😭 The cashier was nice in total, it just kept coming back to the "I just don't get why it's so cheap" vibe which made us feel bad for finding a cheap interesting book,...

In my previous review, I gave BAM five stars, but unfortunately, I'm dropping it to two stars. A part of me wants to cling to physical books over the imminent overtaking of the industry by their digital versions. However, BAM's insistence on denying their customers the ability to price match with Amazon proves they're more interested in making no money than having someone pay less than the price on their sticker.

In regards to the Longview location specifically, the store is frustratingly disorganized. I understand that a book store of this size must be difficult to keep in order, but it doesn't feel like they're even making an effort. Speaking of making an effort, if you can't find a book where it is supposed to be located, but the site shows it in stock, don't bother asking for help. The seemingly indifferent staff will simply point you back in the general direction from which you just came and say, "If we have it, it'll be...