Wow. I had not been to the KU Bookstore in ages. I had to go there to pick up a book for a student I am privately tutoring. They had the only copy of "The Great Gatsby" in town so I had no other option.
I came into the store from the parking garage on the north side. You have an enclosed walkway, have to take an elevator.. you know the drill. I entered the building in what I assumed was the bookstore since the sign said "KU Bookstore". Boy, was I wrong! I entered in through the fancy-pants hoity toity section. There were all sorts of gifts I could purchase at exorbitant prices. You know for things common people use everyday like golf, wine parties, dinner parties and cocktails on the veranda. Funny thing is, I could not find any books.
Made my way to the next section. Nope. Still no books. There were book bags, purses, cellphone bling, notebooks and sweatshirts, shorts, t-shirts and kids clothes. I saw a book bag that I liked until I saw the price tag was $89. OMG- I almost fainted.
By this time I was on book safari.. searching for the ever elusive textbook that the store name advertised. I panicked because I had entered the third chamber of Tut's tomb and not a book in sight. I finally asked someone where to find the textbooks and he told me to exit the store and go to a very tiny window outside in the hall. You must be kidding, right??
Yep, I felt like I had reached the promised land when I got to the window but I still did not see any books. The nice person at the window asked me what book I needed and then told me the books were located in the basement and she would be right back. Huh?? You don't get to pick your own book? You don't get to see which ones have been highlighted or mangled? You are just at the whim of a student worker who picks a copy randomly off a shelf?
The girl was very nice when she appeared with my two copies but one copy was very yellowed and old. I told her I needed a whiter copy and she had to make another trip to the basement. She managed to get a cleaner book on the second trip which I appreciated.
The only form of payment I had was a debit card that expired the day before (long story) and a check. When she rang up my purchase she told me they did not accept checks. I visited the website ahead of my trip and there was no indication that checks were not accepted. There was no sign anywhere in the bookstore that said they did not take checks. Got kinda prickly at that point. I managed to scrap the bowels of my purse and find $26 so I did not have to make a return trip. Just a side note: the book was four dollars more expensive at the KU Bookstore than it was in Overland Park but I was in a bind.
The textbook game is very competitive and this store falls short- way short- in almost every category. The only positive was the good customer service. The girl who waited on me was nice and several other people asked if I needed help while she vanished to the basement. They are too expensive and too user unfriendly (is that a real phrase? lol). Won't be back anytime soon. read more
