You expect that when you go into a bookstore, you will find a kindred soul who loves books as much as you do and is anxious to help customers. Not so, this bookstore. I was visiting Sylva this past weekend and was excited to see this charming shop on the town's main business street. There were some early 20th-century children's books in the window and I had been looking for a 1930s edition of a beloved childhood book. The gentleman staffing the shop that day said that he did not have that book in stock. When I asked if I could leave my information in case he found it, he replied "I don't do that". What rare and used bookstore doesn't search for out-of-print books for its customers? I had also noticed a fifteen or so large bound volumes of a late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Baltimore newspaper in the shop. I am writing a book on the history of Baltimore and was anxious to look at one of the volumes, with an eye towards purchase. When I asked if I could see one of the volumes, the employee (or perhaps owner), frowned and said "No, the pages are very delicate". I was dumbstruck - this man's behavior made no sense to me. And eight to ten of the bound volumes were being used as props to hold antique typewriters in the shop window - even with uv filters on the windows, this treatment is not good for those already delicate volumes.
So, I would give this store the worst possible rating for customer service. The shop looked interesting (although it was empty ten days before Christmas) and I am sure the shelves were stocked with great titles - but it was very obvious to me that browsing was discouraged. read more
