[Closed] Bookshop in Hawes - have we done it?

My friends partner was a waitress in a quite upmarket restaurant, a number of custimer reviews complained about how rude she was. Essentially she was Yorkshire forthright and impatient.Once they became kniwn Suddenly there were far more complaints about the absence of any character/rudeness people had started to expect some as part of their evening.

Is that where it was? I've been in many a time and noted nothing especially rude.

Ever eaten at Wong Kei's? 🙂

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Fairly excusable behaviour for the Hawes retailer, I would have said. The place is heaving with time-wasting bastards most weekends. 🙂

He really is in the wrong business. Anyone dealing with the public needs to learn to smile and bite their lip.
On the other hand I can see where he's coming from.
We need to support our local bookshops, I always order books from ours, yes they cost a few more £s. It means fewer delivery vans on our roads, keeping jobs for local people and stopping another shop becoming empty.

Mr Bloom, who described himself as "not really a people person"

And yet, chooses to run a shop...He is, by his own definition, an Idiot.

We need to support our local bookshops, I always order books from ours, yes they cost a few more £s.

I would support them if they accepted that a competitive world exists outside their front door.

Every independent bookshop I've been in only sell books at the full RRP on the back of the book. You barely see any discount at all - not even on 5 year old best-seller trash you can now pick up in Poundland.

Book price fixing ended decades ago.

At least he's upfront about his approach to tyre-kickers, rather than biting his lip and moaning about it on miserablebooksellerstrackworld later on.

Down with fawning shopkeepers - bring back traditional Yorkshire disdain for the customer!

the-muffin-man - I see what you are saying, however all shops have rents, rates, staff wages and other overheads to pay. If we live in a society with a decent minimum wage, then we have to pay that.
I prefer to support excisting shops, yes its old fashioned but an enjoyable experience looking around and chatting to the knowledgeable staff.

20 complaints in 4 years. That 0.42 complaints a week. I think i'd like to go there and give him 50p just to say thank you.

It's not as if the shop is any good; from what I saw on TV it's full of tatty airport novels and boring old hardbacks salvaged from the homes of deceased locals. The excellent bookshop at the old station in Alnwick IS worth paying 50p to visit especially as there's a toy train that chuffs around the inside.

"Yorkshire man in poor social skills shocka!"

The thing I don't understand is: who finds a shopkeeper rude, then reports it to the parish council?

however all shops have rents, rates, staff wages and other overheads to pay.

as do wharehouse companies like Amazon. as do the discount bookshops in every town. There are two bookshops where I live, one sells everything at RRP, and has a wide a eclectic range of books, but even the "classics" are full price. the other sells the sort of books that most people regard as "airport paperbacks" and so on, they also do a range of classics but often for less than a pound. There's a market for both of them (although I live in "destination" town so it's probably slightly skewed.

Neither of them have rude staff though...

I see what you are saying, however all shops have rents, rates, staff wages and other overheads to pay.

There seems to be no concept of retailing though - more of a librarian approach.

An example for me was a visit to my local one - my daughter was looking for Malorie Blackman books - they had them on the shelf, they'd obviously been there a while though and where thumbed through, but were on sale at full RRP. I stopped my daughter buying them as she was spending her birthday money.

Folks will be going in with hidden cameras and winding the bloke up. Expect some Facebook videos before long.

My experiences of Hawes in general are not good.

I imagine that for every retired doctor who decides to complain after being called a 'Pain in the Arse', there will be many dozens who are similarly insulted but don't moan about it. Potentially hundreds of outraged tourists.

This is just stealth marketing setting him up as a tourist attraction, a bit like that bloke who used to run the cafe in Castleton.

Sounds like a case of tourists getting offended by a Yorkshireman acting like a Yorkshireman. 😆

nickc - Member

And yet, chooses to run a shop...He is, by his own definition, an Idiot

It's a bookshop- you don't need to be a people person to run a book shop, you need to be a book person.

Whole thing is a random non-story tbh. Anyone else visualising "John Blackie, chairman of Hawes and High Abbotside Parish Council" as being Captain Mainwairing?

they all seem to be from bellends.

Have you considered a career in retail? 🙂

a Yorkshireman acting like a Yorkshireman.

Apparently he's from London. Embracing the spirit of the Dales, though.

It's a bookshop- you don't need to be a people person to run a book shop, you need to be a book person.

the key word here is "shop"

ALL customer facing operations* are selling the same thing "customer service" they just do it through a different medium. Costa do it through the medium of shit coffee, Halfords through mid-priced car parts...The stock changes, the principle doesn't.

*many many apologies, I will go and flog myself

Ah it's his business and up to him how he runs it - I've been called "a pain in the arse" many times, I'm yet to be offended to the point of tears over it.

There seems to be a sense these days that if we deem a business worthy of our attention then we should be treated like some mortal god on earth even if we don't spend any money with them. It's supposed to be a fair exchange of money for goods or services - not some poor shop worker tugging the forelock as people roam about their shop like it's a library or somewhere to hang out until the rain passes.

I would never work where I have to come in contact with the public again, because as I've discovered most of them are just unbearable. They bark orders at you, if they pay you any attention at all – I’ve seen people in the supermarket listening to headphones – fair enough, I do the say when I’m shopping, I don’t like the crowds and it keeps me calm – but take them off when it’s time to pay, don’t just stand their bobbing your head like a gimp when the person on the till is trying to read off their company imposed script. I saw someone once who just stood there listening to ‘Now That’s What I call total crap 27’ whilst the cashier scanned and packed all their shopping for them and they didn’t even say thank you. Should some min wage slave ever dare talk back to the customer they’re shouting their heads off like they’ve been spat on – they want managers, compensation, people sacked, a 4 year public enquiry and a lifetimes supply of free whatevertheysell.

No, it's 90% of the general public who need reminding about their Ps and Qs, not the poor sods who have to deal with them.

He is a grumpy bugger. We had the displeasure of meeting him this summer - my father was after some old Yorkshire maps - and we ended up walking out. He didn't want the kids in (Despite having a kids section) and then gave us a good lecture on charging to stop browsing - my father then said he wanted an old map, so old fella backed down quickly.
Too late for us to walk out though with him telling us we were timewasters.
I never thought anything at the time other than what a grumpy chap....

There are plemty of those old curmudgeons around. I once walked out of a cafe called Rumbletums in Rammy because the miserable old git wouldn't give me a glass of water for my small son.

IHN - Member
"Yorkshire man in poor social skills shocka!"

My FIL would appreciate the bluntness.

@P-jay Shops should impose a mobile phone and headphone tax: if you go through the checkouts using your mobile phone or headphones then 10% or £1 (whichever is the bigger) is added to your bill.

nickc - Member

ALL customer facing operations* are selling the same thing "customer service"

Obviously not- this guy isn't. And tbh this is probably half the problem, some people expect to walk into a classic "Bookshop Run By A Misanthrope" and get the same experience as you would walking into WH Smiths.

It's just a different sort of shop. He's not selling customer service, he's probably not even that delighted to sell a book. And tbh when I see people who don't get that, I wonder if they've just never been in one. It's not for everyone- it's not supposed to be. And tbh complaining about that is one step away from going into a coffee shop and going mental because they won't sell you a bike.

If he gives up his bookshop theres always a contributors place for him on this forum.

Also look at Basil Fawlty, he got a tv series out of being shouty and loud, now in retirement doing adverts for glases. 😀

There are two bookshops where I live, one sells everything at RRP, and has a wide a eclectic range of books, but even the "classics" are full price. the other sells the sort of books that most people regard as "airport paperbacks" and so on, they also do a range of classics but often for less than a pound. There's a market for both of them (although I live in "destination" town so it's probably slightly skewed.

The problem is that the discount bookshop has lower smaller overheads and probably margins, dealing with limited suppliers and range of books and relies on bulk to make a living. The other sells a range of books, including the discount ones, but would probably never be able to price match. As such this is not really his market. However, given that one of these sells only the bestsellers, at a discount, the majority of books bought will be from there, only small number of customers will visit the other for those 'eclectic' books. As such, he will close and the only books available will me the mass market pulp

I hear he's the leading candidate for Head of Customer Services in an Independent Yorkshire 🙂

Tremendous story, his shop he can do what he likes. London still has a few high end shops where you need an appointment.

As such, he will close and the only books available will me the mass market pulp

Both are managing to survive at the moment, probably, as they both understand their market TBH. I'd be surprised if their costs are wildly different though

I hope you are right

He sounds bloody brilliant, I'm going to make sure I pop in and buy a book or two off him next time I'm up that way. Us miserable misanthropic bastards have to stick together (at a respectful distance, so as not to piss each other off, obviously).

London still has a few high end shops where you need an appointment.

Brothels?

I once walked out of a cafe called Rumbletums in Rammy because the miserable old git wouldn't give me a glass of water for my small son.

That sounds like a fair swap to me, assuming he's clean and well-behaved.

I saw the thing on the news and thought he was probably a typically rude, pointing, blunt Yorkshire type (and proud of it, etc).
Then I noticed he was an offcumden so assumed he'd just lived there for too long.
Or he moved there to be closer to other rude, pointing, blunt Yorkshire types.

London still has a few high end shops where you need an appointment [i]as this reinforces their and their customers feelings of superiority, exclusivity, general conceit and contempt for the masses.[/i]

FTFY. Now more factually accurate. 😉

Not a dig at you Jambalaya BTW!