Sarah's Books - Used & Rare

Even when customers aren't buying anything. I tend to believe the best of people, I would call myself a romantic optimist rather than a sarcastic pessimist, and my customers usually reinforce my natural tendencies. Two recent examples:

Last week, the phone rang and the voice on the other end belonged to a man in southern Maine who had been in my shop the week before. He didn't buy anything when he was here, but he'd been thinking about a book he'd seen and wanted me to ship it to him. We exchanged vital statistics and I mailed it out the next morning. A few days later he called again - he'd received the book and was calling simply to tell me what a fine job I'd done describing the condition of the book and packaging it. He elaborated, telling me that he himself is famous in his family for being a stickler for preciseness, particularly re his mail, and that according to his wife and children he has now been supplanted, by ME. Henceforth, he said, you will be at the pinnacle, and I will be directly below you. I bubble-wrapped the book (which had a Brodart dust jacket protector on it), then encased it in a plastic bag (in case of water damage) with the words "THANK YOU" emblazoned on it, then cut a large piece of cardboard down to wrap around the parcel, and addressed it in precise block letters in indelible marker, after sealing all the edges with triple-strips of packing tape. An indestructable brick: that is my goal and my thrown-down gauntlet to the U.S. post office media rate delivery folks. So the point of all this - the customer was calling back (long distance!) simply to tell me what a good job I'd done. Sheer good will. I thanked him and glowed a little brighter for the rest of the day.

The second such experience involved another call from southern Maine, a few days ago. This fellow visited my booth at the antiquarian bookfair in June, and he didn't purchase anything then, but he was calling to ask if I still had a pricey four-volume set he had seen in my booth. He's been thinking about the set since then, and wanted me to ship it to him if I still had it. Well, I did, and I did. Again, packed with care. This is one long-term benefit of offering your wares at a bookfair - you reap rewards, financial and otherwise, long after the fair itself ends. This fellow has never been to my shop but is now planning a visit.

Moral of the story: be kind to customers. Not just because someone might buy something later, but because it's the decent thing to do. Of course, that said, I do get my share of freaks at the shop. What can I say. Not much, because I am something of a freak myself. But luckily, most truly bookish people are a pleasure to deal with.