8:06 am: (ring) “4 Kids Books & Toys, this is Cynthia…. Well, we open at nine, but I’m here, so how can I help? Yes, there’s story time today at 10:30. No, you don’t need a reservation. Yes, this rain is neverending, isn’t it? Three kids indoors since Saturday? Absolutely, come over early to play.”
8:15 am: (ring) “4 Kids Books & Toys, this is Cynthia…. an AmEx card? No, we didn’t find one, but give me your name and phone number, and if it turns up, we’ll text you right away. Yes, I remember you were here last night to get a couple of titles for that Accelerated Reading goal for your son that’s due today. Which one did he read? Is he in the car? Tell him I said good luck, and I’m holding his spinner.”

8:19 am: (ring) “4 Kids Books & Toys, this is Cynthia… (brief pause… background noise of a call room with many voices) …. No, thank you, we are quite happy with our credit card processor.”

8:20 am: (ring) “4 Kids Books & Toys, this is Cynthia… Hi, Mrs. Morgan. How’s your hip? Oh, I know, it’s been raining for days, hasn’t it? Yes, I remember your granddaughter. She’s turning 7? How wonderful. Yes, I’ll put together a package. Do you want us to ship it, or are you going up to Chicago to visit? No, don’t leave the house in this storm. We’ll send it, and I’ll just take your credit card number and call you back with the total. Do you need anything else? No, it’s no bother. Have a lovely day.”
8:29 am (ring) “4 Kids Books & Toys…   Sure, can you give me the title? That’s ok. Do you know the name of the series? No worries. How about the author’s name? No? Do you remember where you saw it in the store? Can you remember the color of the cover? How old is your daughter? Alright, I can narrow it down a bit. I’ll see you in a few minutes.” (ring) “4 Kids…. yes, I’ll wrap it with a gift receipt, and of course she can exchange it.”
8:45 am (ring) “4 Kids Books & Toys, this is Cynthia…. yes, you are welcome to come to the author event tonight. Which book would you like us to reserve for you? Well, you may bring another book from home for her to sign, but we ask that you purchase one of her titles to attend the signing. Of course, you may take pictures, and not all of your kids need to buy a book, just one copy for the family. Well, we would appreciate it if you would buy the book here, not from the school book fair flyer, since the author is coming here. Which title would you like? That one is $18.99.  Yes, for one book. No, we won’t accept returns on personalized copies.”
8:47 am: (ring) GOES TO VOICE MAIL.
9:00 am: (ring) “4 Kids Books, this is Zoe, may I help you? Yes, it’s here, and it’s on hold for you. Oh, on Amazon? I see. Ok, which title did you want instead? Sure, we’ll order that today, and have it tomorrow. Would you like a call or text? Yes, what’s your husband’s email—we’ll remind him to stop on the way home. It’s no trouble—have a great day.”
9:15 am: (ring) “4 Kids Books & Toys, this is… LOUD RADIO STATION BACKGROUND MUSIC… end of call.
9:25 am: (ring) “4 Kids Books & Toys, this is Cynthia…  oh, I’m so very sorry. Losing a pet is so difficult. Yes, we have several books that you might like to look at. How old are the children? Oh, sweetie, take a minute. It’s OK. This is just hard, isn’t it? Why don’t you come on over for story time, and you can look at a few titles while your little one is at the train table. Yes, 10:30. See you soon. Drive carefully, ok? It’s raining really hard.”
10:15 am: (ring) “4 Kids Books, this is Zoe, may I help you? Ummm…. let me check. No, we don’t seem to have anything in stock on bearded dragons specifically, but I can order something for you. Yes, it can be here tomorrow… when is the report due? Yep, we’ve got you.”
10:30 am: (ring) “4 Kids Books, this is Zoe… I’m sorry, she’s doing story time right now. May I take a message? Freight delivery? How far away? No, we don’t have a loading dock, but you can pull around back. How many boxes? Ok, I’ll tell her.”
11:15 am: (ring) “4 Kids Books & Toys, this is Cynthia… No, thank you, we’re quite happy with our payroll service.”
11:50 am (ring) “4 Kids Books & Toys, Lori speaking. Yes, we do stock books for older kids. What’s your son’s age? I see. Yes, 8 year olds can be tricky. Of course, I’m sure he enjoyed Harry Potter. I’ll put together some titles for you two to see after school today.”
12:15 pm (ring) “4 Kids Books, this is Cynthia. Hi, Andrea! You must be on your lunch hour. How many more days of school? Bless your heart. $146 of PTA money left? What’s your deadline? Yes, I will have a purchase order faxed over by dismissal today. Do you have titles? Don’t worry about it, we’ll look up ISBNs.”
12:30 pm (ring) “4 Kids Books, this is Cynthia. Yes, I am the buyer. Congratulations! Is this your first book? Well, before we schedule a signing, we’d love to take a look and see if it’s something that we can sell well for you in our store. No, you’re right, there’s very little out there on the history of asphalt. And you did the illustrations yourself? Wow, isn’t that something. Perhaps you could drop off a copy for us to look at?”
1:30 pm (ring) “4 Kids Books, Lori speaking. I’m sorry, she’s not available. Well, probably a half hour. She’s out back unloading a freight delivery. Yes, we can schedule a birthday party. Two year old twins, got it, 30 guests, and do you know if there are any allergies? And the theme? Yes, we can combine Superheroes and Dinosaurs…. but nothing scary. Got it. I’ll have someone call you back.”
3:30 pm (ring)  “4 Kids Books & Toys, this is Haley! Yes, we have spinners.
3:31 pm (ring) “4 Kids Books & Toys, this is Haley – yes, we have spinners. Blue, green, orange.”
4:35 pm (ring) “4 Kids Books, this is Cynthia – yes, let me get the credit card for you.”
5:00 pm (ring) “4 Kids Books, this is Haley. I’m sorry, she’s out picking up the author for tonight’s event, can I take a message? Well, I’ll tell her that you called, but I’m pretty sure that we don’t need any roof repair.”
5:30 pm (ring) “4 Kids Books, this is…… Yes, you can order copies over the phone, and we’ll get them personalized. Can you spell the kids’ names for me? I know, this rain is terrible.”
7:30 pm (ring) “4 Kids Books, this is Cynthia. Yes, you’re right. We just closed, but I’m here, so how can I help?