Greetings
Howdy. I'm brand-spanking new to this group. I am currently working at my fourth independent bookstore. I wish I could do it full-time and forever. Alas, it is a labor of love, not of monetary rewards.
I have a question for you fine booksellers. How do you handle over bearing customers that talk you to death? I work in a tiny little shop. Ususally there is just me and usually I'm trapped behind the counter (obviously done with my shelving/organizing/dusting/whathaveyou) when this occurs. Also relevant, I think, is that I am small and cute and female and I usually get talked at by middle aged men who want to give me impromptu lectures on the latest architecture book or post-modern German philosophical literature and how it's related to the latest Wagner bio. Although there is one regular, a pleasant older woman, who comes in and talks about the leaks in her apartment and the produce at the farmers' market for 20 minutes at a stretch. I can't just be rude and cut them off. I can't give them looks that clearly mean "I'm so bored, please poke my eyes out." And it's obvious that there aren't customers to assist. How do others handle this awkward situation?
I have a question for you fine booksellers. How do you handle over bearing customers that talk you to death? I work in a tiny little shop. Ususally there is just me and usually I'm trapped behind the counter (obviously done with my shelving/organizing/dusting/whathaveyou) when this occurs. Also relevant, I think, is that I am small and cute and female and I usually get talked at by middle aged men who want to give me impromptu lectures on the latest architecture book or post-modern German philosophical literature and how it's related to the latest Wagner bio. Although there is one regular, a pleasant older woman, who comes in and talks about the leaks in her apartment and the produce at the farmers' market for 20 minutes at a stretch. I can't just be rude and cut them off. I can't give them looks that clearly mean "I'm so bored, please poke my eyes out." And it's obvious that there aren't customers to assist. How do others handle this awkward situation?