Over at Bookgasm Rod Lott has posted his list of “The 9 Most Annoying People I Always See at the Bookstore.”
“I think the real reason behind the booksellers’ declining fortunes is due to the people who crap in their public bathrooms. And who sit on the floor in the sci-fi section. And who go there to “study.” says Lott.
The 9 offenders are:
Coffee Drinkers
Dumpers
Overly Eager Employees
First-Timers
Aisle Sitters
Couch Sitters
Study Groups
Halitosis Checkout Guy
Ol’ Whistlenose
Lott deals with each of these in depth.
I would add a few others:
The Cell Phoners- People who have no clue that their private life is of little interest to fellow browsers and who are completely unaware that their cell phone conversations are completely disruptive to the people around them.
The Repeat Offenders- those who visit on a regular basis to peruse the shelves and rarely, if ever, buy anything.
The Independent Killers- they scout your shelves for books of interest and then go online to buy at a cheaper price.
and
The Members of the Church of False Hope- these are the ones who come in and start the conversation with I have a book that I am interested in selling and I looked online and… Invariably their hopes are dashed when you enlighten them to the realities of the marketplace.
Thanks to Beatrice for the lead.