Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

Decent_Blackberry742 t1_j22zozz wrote

Reply to comment by Jenniferinfl in What Can We Learn from Barnes & Noble's Surprising Turnaround? by koavf

I was devastated when Borders went out of business. I never understood why Barnes and Noble didn't (and still doesn't) have the computer kiosks throughout the store like Borders did. I liked being able to find books without having to ask the help desk.

26

michaelk4289 t1_j233ejt wrote

I worked at B&N for over a decade. It's because for any given title, there are likely 3-4 places it can be (section, endcap, table, maybe a second endcap) but only 1-2 copies on hand.

The system they used to manage inventory must have been coded by the same people who made Southwest's scheduling software.

20

Trilly2000 t1_j23lz6a wrote

Also, if a customer interacts with a bookseller they’re more likely to have a positive experience and possibly purchase more.

9

Nice_Sun_7018 t1_j23zvmd wrote

When I worked at B&N they actually piloted those. I guess they weren’t happy with the results because it (clearly) didn’t last. Anecdotal, but it also didn’t seem to help all that much. The kiosks would benefit some people, but you’d still get a ton of people coming to an employee because they still couldn’t find the book where it was supposed to be, or they couldn’t find the actual section itself, especially if it was a smaller one. The kiosks didn’t help at all for the “what’s the book with the dog who becomes an astronaut?” type questions, or the “I’m looking for something for my niece who is thirteen and having a birthday next week, what do you recommend?” ones.

8

Ineffable7980x t1_j24n3n5 wrote

I believe it was because Borders was late to adopt an online sales presence. Plus they over expanded and did so too rapidly.

6

T2and3 t1_j28nyrx wrote

Mine used to have them for close to a decade, but they got rid of them a while ago.

1