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| - This is one of the nicer B&N outlets. I took away one star because not long ago, they took away three easy chairs. Shame on them. Does a bookstore owe its customers easy chairs? No, but it seems like a dumb move. People like them. Giving people what they like seems like a sound business principle that gets ignored with amazing frequency.
They keep the volume on the Muzak system at a tolerable level, which isn't always the case at chain bookstores. A lot of them blast you like a supermarket or McDonald's. The music tends to be highly repetitious. An employee told me the selections and the volume are dictated by the corporate office. He said the quieter volume at this location is a violation for which heads could roll. This came out during a chat I had with him one time when they bombarded the store with hideous caterwauling from the opera pop group Il Divo. Somewhat reluctantly, he agreed to silence Il Divo during my visit, although he didn't seem too sure about the idea of complying with customer wishes.
The staff here is exceptionally friendly and helpful. I could just as easily go to the Borders up the street but I stay with this location because of the helpful staff. They always ask for your membership card, for example. I tend to forget mine.
The coffee shop people don't ask for you card, however. They can't bothered. The coffee shop workers seem to be of a lesser caliber than the people who work with books. My only other gripe about the staff is the lady whose laugh sounds like the distress call of an endangered forest creature. Please, lady. We're trying to read here.
Another advantage of this location: it's practically next door to Whole Foods Market. You can have an expensive but healthy breakfast at Whole Foods, then wander up to B&N for books and coffee.
On the way you'll pass the deservedly bankrupt Sharper Image and the Jos. Bank store, where they sell $70 Izods. You almost never see a customer there. I've had a grudge against this Sharper Image branch since a manager took me to task for sitting in one of their massage chairs. I hope they roast in bankruptcy hell.
The coffee shop area tends to be overused by the coffee shop office types. They have client meetings. They make loud idiotic phone calls and so on. They sit at their laptops for hours on end. Have you ever noticed that the louder and more obnoxious the ring tone, the longer they will take to answer it? If you manage to visit when the office types are out in the field, you're in luck.
The easy chair situation is a problem. Apparently B&N will phase them out. Easy chairs are plentiful at Borders but Borders insists on blasting customers with dreadful music. I'm sticking with B&N for now. I can always bring my own folding chair.
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