I sort of assume everyone knows about Yelp.com, the online review site, but lately when I’ve been telling the following story, I’ve found that that’s not always the case–just as it’s not always the case that everyone has heard of a Kindle. In both cases I guess I’m glad that so many of my friends and family members are more balanced and less techno-obsessed than myself!
A few years ago I was headed to NYC and wanted to find a good hairdresser. Online research led me to a site called Yelp!, which had tips on everything from the best french fries in the Lower East Side to the best dive bars on the Upper West. The beauty question ended up leading me to one of the odder encounters of my life with a junkie/hairdresser in his one-room salon/kitchen/bedroom in a truly seedy neighborhood west of Madison Square Garden. (I still remember his skinny self proclaiming “Whoa! You have a wicked cowlick, girl!”) That was not an experience–or a haircut–to repeat, but somehow I knew the review site was legit and that the service it offered could be very helpful down the road.
Fast forward two years to where it suddenly dawns on me that perhaps *shocker* people might be reviewing my business(es) online. Whoa what a concept. So I searched for Nantucket businesses and found more than I expected, including the following:
Yelp! Review page for Nantucket Bookworks
I was thrilled to see that 4 out of the total of 5 reviews posted gave us 5 stars. Huzzah! So nice of these great folks to take the time to put in a good word:
“I love, love, love this funky little book shop.” … ”A lovely little nook of a bookstore” … “A true gem in this community.”
What a great feeling to know that our efforts are being appreciated. And then… bum bum bummmm. I read review #5, comparing Ye Olde Bookworkes to…. an AIRPORT BOOKSTORE!!! (Nothing against airport bookstores, and I am a Bookseller with the last name of Hudson, but still.) Check it out:
“Buy your books on the mainland, or, if you’re unlucky enough to be stuck out here for a prolonged period of time, order from Amazon. Both Bookworks and Mitchell’s are small – they carry a token selection of like Penguin Classics or something and then the NY Times Bestseller list. Last summer I noticed their most popular items were the latest Harry Potter and the second Khaled Hosseini book, “A Thousand Piles of Vomit” or whatever. Round that out with day old Wall Street Journals and stuff from Stephen King, Jodi Piccoult, John Grisham and so on…this place is like an airport bookstore.”
Never mind that some facts were wrong–hello, it’s not the NYT bestsellers it’s the IndieBound list and we don’t even carry Wall St. Journals–that review cut me to the core! Interestingly enough though, this glitch in my psyche that dwells only on the negative has proven sort of useful. As I’ve been meeting with reps to do my frontlist buying, there’s a grumpy little voice in my head influencing my decisions and reminding me to keep things real. When I see something with a print run over a certain number of Ks, I ask… is it Bookworks, or is it Airport Bookstore???
Now did I really need that reminder? Probably not. For one thing, the floors of airport stores are a LOT flatter than the ones we’ve got, and so is the selection. Corporate built the airport and ordered the books, whereas on Broad Street it’s just us characters running the show, for better or worse. (Both our floorboards and our selection can tend toward the bouncy.) Every time I tell this little story to a rep, they give an incredulous gasp and talk me down. But still… we need to listen to what our customers have to say.
So, Dear Reader, please let us know your thoughts–agree? disagree? is Bookworks too commercial? not commercial enough?– by commenting here, or better yet, on Yelp!. Obviously we take what you have to say rawther seriously. -Wendy H.
Addendum: I’m combatting the lowbrow criticism by taking the next logical next step: I actually read–and enjoyed–a Finnish novel. (“When I Forgot” by Elina Hirvonen, coming May 1st in trade paper from Tin House). Bet the grouchy Yelper isn’t up on that!
Image Credit: brewbooks via Flickr
Filed under: By Wendy
