As a loyal Barnes and Noble customer who only gets to Innesfree (sadly) once per year, I have to give my two cents. It is indeed unfortunate that the complainant's daughter bought books her sisters already had. However, that is not the fault of the bookstore. Bookstores are not libraries where you can return something you don't like or don't want or have already read (as I discover far too often!!!!). There are plenty of stores where you only get a store credit including, remarkably, the Christmas Tree Shops. The policy is the policy. It is a lesson in being a wise and careful shopper.
Moreover, the daughter could have purchased any one of a gazillion other things in Innesfree so the store credit is hardly useless by any stretch of the imagination.
Had this been my 12-year-old or 15-year-old, I would have told them to get over it, learn a lesson, buy something else and MOVE ON.
I have to say, however, that I am mightily impressed that the complainant's daughter bought something for her sisters. This would never even occur to my boys. The fact that the READ for goodness is a miracle from my point of view. Books are something to be endured in my house. I have yet to convince my children that they are something to be enjoyed - sometimes over and over and over again.
As for rude, well, I would guess that, over time, the man complaining might realize they weren't quite as rude as it seemed at the time. They were only the messengers after all and weren't exactly in a position to make an exception. Had the owner been there and been rude, that would have been different. Given the current economic atmosphere, people have to do whatever they can to hold on to those precious jobs.
Down here in Jersey, things are bleak and getting bleaker. I have a friend who worked in Linens N' Things. Job gone. My best friend's husband is being laid off in March. His company is outsourcing his computer tech job to India. I have another friend who is a computer tech for AIG. Amazingly, he still has his job, but doesn't know if he will tomorrow. It's ugly out there, people. We have to be kinder than necessary. You never know what is going to happen.
Again, though, I applaud the daughter for buying gifts for her sisters. My kids can't keep their money long enough for it to get comfortable in their wallets!
nj2nh
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