I love seeing how customers think about the bookstore. We are on customers’ minds far more often than I’m even aware. And I’m surprised anew almost daily at this. Yes, people call us to order books, and more often than not, no matter where I happen to be, someone approaches me to order a book or just to talk about one they’ve just read. Occasionally, I get a window into how folks try to remember to call us. I was at the coffee shop the other day and two customers were playing Scrabble. I always go over and check out their board (and am always amazed at how good they are) and sneak a peek at their letters. These two women are avid readers and come to the store quite often. Susan was the scorekeeper so she had the piece of paper with the word totals. I was nosily looking at that to see if there were any high-scoring words when I noticed a note on the side of the score sheet.
Amid the score and the doodles on the very top is a note: “Flying Pig – pick up book and get R. Reichl.” I love this. In the midst of what looks to be a very competitive game, Susan stopped and wrote herself a note about the bookstore. Why this tickles me I don’t know, but it does. I love that the store is woven into her life this way. I wonder what about the game triggered that note. Did she just remember we had a book for her? Was a word played that made her think, “Oooh, I really need to get that new book?”
I have seen book lists customers bring in, but this was the first time I’d seen a random note like this. And when she came in later that day, I’d already set aside the new Ruth Reichl book for her. This is the fun of small-town commerce: you can make a sale in a lot of ways.