I just dealt with probably one of the sourest Newbury Comic employee's I have ever dealt with. I've never had any complaints about the store. Apart that they really don't sell a lot of comics. But most of the people that work there have been either very friendly and personable to indifferent and just trying to do their job. Which I can't fault them for. I never enjoyed retail.
But this employee... who we won't say her name is Caitlin... had absolutely the worst attitudes towards me. She looked like one of these Emo kids and so obviously way too cool to be dealing with the likes of me.
Well, here's how the story begins. I was poking around Newbury Comics after work. I was nosing around their wall of comics. And remember what I said earlier, they only have ONE WALL with comics on it. Much to my surprise I noticed they had a copy of my own book Diary of the Black Widow. I had thought distribution to them hadn't worked out but lo and behold there it was. The very first graphic novel I had ever done staring me back in the face.
I thought it might be an nice gesture if I signed the book for them. It was apparently the last copy of the book left there, so I stroll up to the front desk with my purchase as well as the copy of the Black Widow and ask my unnamed cashier named Caitlin if she had a pen. She hands me a pen and I tell her that I am the author and I was signing the copy.
You would think that this would be met with some sort of appreciation or at least mild amusement that the author of said book happens to be in the store and is offering, FREE OF CHARGE, to sign said book for the store.
You would be wrong. The look of annoyance and disdain I got from her you would have thought I either told a really tasteless joke or I just ate a kitten in front of her. But I just smile. She still looks at me with that same look that screamed kitten devourer.
Did I mention I was buying something. It wasn't like I was just signing the book and then leaving the store. I was being an active consumer that day.
By this time I was annoyed by her attitude towards me. So, after I make my purchase I turn on my heels and as I'm opening the door I mutter "Next time lose the attitude" and leave. To be honest with you, I probably didn't mutter it. It was probably more like a Harvard Cheer.
BUT HONESTLY!! That was ridiculous!! Sorry I can't be a complete phony like you and wearing a My Chemical Romance t-shirt with my hair dyed back and heavy eyeliner. I'm 33 years old. I have no interest in wearing anything that makes me hip. I like to be comfortable when I dress nowadays.
Nevertheless, it DOES make me less inclined to want to go shopping at Newbury Comics anymore. Or ever consider doing a book signing there.
HOWEVER, if any of you happen to be up at Newbury Comics and Caitlin is working there, be sure to ask her if they have any signed copies of Diary of the Black Widow available for purchase ;-)
As my good buddy Andy Fish would say, if you don't like to work with people you shouldn't be in retail.
7 comments:
Seriously?
To her (or any employee of a comic shop) you're just some random dude off the street who wants to scribble in their product with a pen. THEIR product, when THEY bought it, it became THEIRS and if you put your Hancock in THEIR property without THEIR permission, you are destroying THEIR property.
"I tell her that I am the author and I was signing the copy."
By TELLING and not asking, you BROKE THE LAW the second you started to write letter one.
Did it ever cross you mind that they may not want your signature? It should have, but it clearly didn't. Let's say a comic book fan enters this store and sees your graphic novel, and they wish to purchase it. They open it up and see something resembling a signature scrawled inside. They bring it to the nearest employee and ask "Is this the author's signature?" If they walked up to anyone other than this "unnamed" employee, they would have no clue what stranger decided to write your name inside this book. Even if they coincidentally encountered this employee, "she" doesn't know who you are and is only going on the word of some stranger. "Well does it have a certificate of authenticity?", the customer asks. "No." So, now this store has product on their sales floor that has been written in and no one can prove who wrote in it. Who's to say that the employees of this store don't start signing random books to increase sales? The customer wouldn't know the difference. And what if your signature increased the value of this book? Would this employee get in trouble for not changing the price?
Of course this is a moot point, because NO ONE cares about you, your book, or your signature. Yet you think you for some reason that they should be honored that you offer to sign it "FREE OF CHARGE"!? I hope your self inflated ego took a hit when that girl gave you a look like you were crazy, because you are. You are clearly delusional.
And you have the gall to personally insult this poor girl (and name her by name) for what she is wearing, and they type of music you think they listens to. You assume that she's uncomfortable trying to be "hip". What made her "a complete phony"? Because I think a phony is they loser indie comic author who tries to impress people by signing his unsold graphic novel. By personally attacking this employee you're worse than crazy or delusional. You're an asshole.
It's a good thing that you've decided to never do a signing at this store, seeing as they've never asked you to in the first place. That works out really well for both of you.
you can't please everyone, said Aesop in one of those fables. But you might want to just let the person's perceived attitude roll off, like "water off a duck's back." Don't take offense. The Bible says, "Do not give your heart to all the words that people may speak, that you may not hear your servant calling down evil upon you. For your own heart well knows that you, even you, have called down evil upon others."-Ecclesiastes 7:21,22
Wow that was a well thought out and well reasoned response. It was also entirely wrong. Bret isn't Joe DiMaggio. He doesn't need a signature authenticated. If the store didn't want him to sign the book, they had the ability at THAT moment to refuse.
So the "Did it ever cross you mind that they may not want your signature? It should have, but it clearly didn't." rant is invalid. Personally, I think an author signed copy of a comic is just as good as a non signed one. I don't buy comics to read the names. I read the story. But you have a shrd of correct in you in that she doesn't kow who he is, nd thus his signature could be considered suspect. This is why I keep a close relationship with my local comic stores. They know me and who I am, even tho I'm not that widely published. I don't agree with the reaction the girl gave him, but this is a free country and she is entitled to crinkle her little emo nose at anything she damn well pleases. I think I would have handled it differently though. I would have been a lot less tactful than Bret was. But by that token, he did a good, albit passive aggressive-note-worthy job. I just would have lobbed grenades is alls I'm saying.
While I can see Anonymous' point-- I never take anything seriously when it's unsigned. If they don't have the balls to put their name to it then it doesn't matter-- Just my opinion.
Getting to the issue of the clerk-- and she's just that, a clerk, she's not the manager and she's not the owner of the store-- bad customer service is still bad customer service, and in this economy no retailer can afford that.
And actually, Anonymous, Bret happens to be a respected writer and artist and does have quite a fan base, I've seen it first hand at conventions. One thing you could never call him is arrogant.
He also does what most "loser indie artists" can't-- and that's actually get the work done. He's put out four graphic novels in the past few years-- hardly a loser.
As for the books, they seem to be selling quite well (and signed) across the street at Borders.
Point taken Anonymous. But here's the flaw. This is MY blog and I am entitled to MY opinion.
Right or wrong I am entitled to it.
And I have a question to ask you. If NO ONE cares about ME, MY book, or MY signature then what are YOU doing here?
Seriously? I would think YOU would have better things to do with YOUR "obviously" busy day than waste YOUR time on ME.
Especially if NO ONE cares like YOU so smugly stated.
Personally, I think anyone who can't post their own name is pretty gutless.
Basically you want to make your point but you're too gutless to accept the repercussions. Textbook definition of gutless in my books.
Unless this is all you do. Trolling blogs to pick fights with people.
Which I think is pretty pathetic.
I wrote one blog post about this person. ONE. I don't recall starting a "I Hate Caitlin" website or printing "Caitlin is a bitch" t-shirts. It was ONE blog post.
Again, unless this is the only thing you do all day. Troll people's blogs just to pick fights.
Again, that's pretty pathetic.
Incidentally, Anonymous, I did happen to go down there an apologize for my actions towards Caitlin and offered to replace the title. And you know what, the guys down there didn't see a problem with what I did. And unlike Caitlin they were nice about it.
So I thanked them, bought my DVD and left.
Call me arrogant all you want. But you're the one who is actually pretty arrogant. You're the one telling me that I'm not entitled to my own opinion in my own blog.
And yet you're very quick to force your own opinions on me. That's not only makes you arrogant. That makes you a hypocrite.
What it all comes down to is this. If you don't like it, don't read it.
Find something better to do with your time. I have no interest in trolling people's blogs just to pick fights because I have better things to do.
And if you don't like that, you're more than welcome to continue to cry and scream about it. You're more than welcome to exercise your right to be a gutless loser.
I would have first asked to speak to the manager about signing it. Their reaction would have been 150% better than the clerk's. They might have been very honored to have the author sign it. They might even have special packaging for signed books in which they would have to it.
Either way, all the girl should have said was "excuse me Sir, but please don't sign that." or something along that line. She didn't have to be a bitch to you.
Speaking of her being a bitch, call her manager.If she obviously doesn't value her job and what her job entitles (ie good customer service) then they should know so they can have someone who would represent their company. Make sure to tell the manager that you often shop there and that you were even buying something at the time.
Oh and Anonymous, dear Lord, if you are going to attack Bret, at least be a man and put your name on your post. And how is signing something "breaking the law?" Oh and by the way, when things are signed by the author, their value goes up so most people would enjoy having something that is signed.
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