I didn't really need any clues to know it was Black Friday, but I
drove straight into my first piece of evidence on the New York State
Thruway as I was heading north to Vermont after spending Thanksgiving
with friends in New Jersey.
Scheduled to work the bookstore's
afternoon/evening shift, I was cruising comfortably on Route 87,
knowing I had allotted plenty of travel time. My overconfidence was
literally stalled, however, just a few miles south of the toll booths
near exit 16, where I suddenly found myself stuck in what became a
three-lane, interstate highway parking lot.
What had happened?
An accident? Too many cars trying to squeeze through the toll booths? A
tsunami on the Hudson River?
The
mystery wasn't solved for an hour; an hour spent driving at a cool 5
mph. Finally, as we neared exit 16, the gridlock culprit was
identified--Woodbury Common Premium Outlets.
Black
Friday had officially begun, and I was still three hours from home. By
the time I hit the bookstore sales floor that afternoon, the crush of
book buyers seemed like a nice change of pace. In fact, I soon realized
that they were walking faster than I had been driving.
What was Black Friday like?
One
of the first stories I heard when I arrived was about cell abuse. A
customer had approached one of my colleagues and asked if we carried a
particular book. As he responded, her cell phone chirped and she
turned away to answer it. She talked while he stood by, waiting
patiently. Then she put her hand over the phone and asked if he'd show
her where the book was. As he led her to the section, she went back to
her cell conversation.
Human interaction is a beautiful thing.
Most
of the day wasn't like that. Despite the rush, there were moments for
simple conversations with good readers about good books. In the end,
you have to catch your breath and realize that bookselling is
bookselling. Black Friday numbers don’t change that. Somehow, in a
bookstore, in a crowd, you can still have those conversations, one customer
at a time.
Stanley Hadsell, a fine bookseller who works at Market Block Books, Troy, N.Y., wrote to me on the day before Thanksgiving, and what he said stayed with me through the weekend:
"I have to say, reading your columns this week
added to my agita. What people go through and the chaos. Yes, there
will be a new breed of customer in the store. Not just the regulars,
but the Desperate Seekers for anything to fill the void. Those are the
scary ones. They come with cell phones permanently on, scouting out the
best bargain, seeing no one in front of them, just merchandise. Happily
most of our customers are nothing like that. But this time of the year
brings a heightened awareness of consumerism and what drives this
country (mad). So, when I read your column, I tensed up. My back was in
spasms. I managed to have two migraines in one week.
"But
today I felt a calm and a realization that I don't have to go to any
malls. I can walk to work or take the bus. I can only sell what is
within reach. I have a limited amount of wrapping paper. And I have a
great staff to work with. We are open on Thanksgiving Day. Yes, it's
true and odd to tell folks that. But the Turkey Trot, a race that gets
its fair share of international runners, starts and ends practically in
front of our store. It's a delight to be there for it. We're only open
a few hours and it's such a leisurely pace that it barely feels like
work at all. But that's the way I feel about bookselling as a whole; it
barely feels like work. It's a joy. I love it. I love seeing a customer
interested in books, even when it's not one of my recommendations.
Isn't that why we do this?
"As for Black Friday, well, we have
that same flight to the malls. We're not overwhelmed or frantic. We
start the season with a sensible surge in business because we're
selling books, which have a different energy than the latest handheld
gadget. So, I feel calmer today. I know it will be busy. I can handle
it. I don't have to do it alone. I breathe. That's the key. I always
have to remember to breathe."--Robert Gray (column archives available at Fresh Eyes Now)