Barnes & Noble — Local services in Town of North Hempstead

I don’t mean to act like a Karen but I feel as if I have to express my feelings on my experience here.

From the moment I stepped into the store with a box of books I received in the mail to exchange for less dented books, the cashier working and a man, who I am assuming is the manger, side eyed each other and rolled their eyes. As someone in the work field, this is not a great way to greet a customer who hasn’t even done anything to warrant this type of behavior. Since all I did was step into the store.

Moving on, after I had said hello and explained my situation, I could already tell the lady was annoyed, she had disregarded my personal feelings and said “I can see only one of these books being dented, the others are perfectly fine.” All while rolling her eyes still. Now I am aware that my tastes in what is deformed or not may be skewed because I like to have my books in tip-top quality. But even then, I am a customer who has already paid, if you think the books are fine, put them back on the shelves for others to buy, I just personally wanted another copy that was slightly less damaged.

Anyways, after I had came back to the counter with a few books I wanted to exchange, I could tell the cashier and the manager were gossiping about me because the man said “oh here she is, she’s back.” Maybe I’m being too sensitive, but this is a common phrase to say to remind someone who is talking behind another’s back to stop talking. And as I stood there waiting for everything to be scanned, the cashier was actively making little quips about me.

I did not appreciate the lack of professionalism and disrespect I received as I had only been polite since stepping in. I did not even say anything about their bad attitudes because I wanted to be in and out as quickly as possible to avoid their negativity. I will not be back here as a customer, it is clear that they do not separate personal feelings to professional matters. I understand it may be annoying to go through a long process while working, but this is literally their job, they are being paid for customer service not blatant irritation...

First, I read a review by an African American customer who questioned why someone asked her if she needed help. I am Caucasian and they almost always ask me if I need help. I like to browse and I guess they take it that I'm lost but I'm not. They are only trying to be helpful.

This is a small store that has been a book store of some kind for almost 40 years although it was not always a Barnes & Noble. I think it was a B. Dalton years ago. Because it's a small store the selection is limited but you will find the bestsellers and works by popular authors. Unlike other Barnes & Noble stores, it doesn't have a section for clearance/marked down/remainder books. Sometimes they put a few on a table but that's it.

I am a little surprised that this store is still around given its small size and with so may other bookstores closing. The B&N business model also doesn't help its stores. Almost everything is on sale on the B&N website but at the store it's only bestsellers. For example a paperback book with a list price of $16 might be available on the website for $12 but at the store it costs the full $16. You can buy it online and pickup in store for $12 but two different prices for the same book from the same company doesn't make sense. Why buy in store when you can get it cheaper from...

I went into Barnes and Nobles on Union Turnpike today. I was looking for books for my 12 year old daughter. When I walked in the store, I noticed I was the only African American. I started browsing around, with not true idea of the book I was seeking, only knowing I needed books for her. I found a book I might me interested in and then got back to the task at hand. After about 5 minutes in the store, an employee of Barnes and Nobles approached me, inquiring as to whether I needed help. Which was fine and she did help me, but what I found odd about the situation is that she didn’t ask any of the other 10 or so customers if they needed help. Did I look out of place, (I felt I looked very presentable as I just left work). Was it that maybe I might help myself to a five finger discount. Whatever it was I felt very uncomfortable, one generally asks for help if needed and I definitely didn’t do that. Last time I checked people of my color read every now and then, we even occasionally from time to time purchase books. I felt I was racially profiled and it was not a...