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The Customer Is Always Wrong: The Retail Chronicles (Paperback)

~ Jeff Martin (Editor)
Key Phrases: Stockholm Inn, Popsicle Shop, New York (more...)
3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The mundane tasks and indignant exchanges with impossible customers are hilariously captured in this collection of personal essays by a cross-section of writers and humorists. Some, like a spa attendant's dishy tale, are spun with a catty flair and flirt with a mild contempt for frivolous consumers; others, like Wendy Spero's turn as a door-to-door knife seller, are outrageously funny and incorporate life lessons in the litany of humiliations. Breezy and occasionally creepy musings on everything from guilt over serving fattening Swedish pancakes to seniors to the horrors of working at Sears may provide some nostalgic chuckles and perhaps even some unpleasant flashbacks as this collection elevates retail selling to a rite of passage. Two stories in particular that have less to do with the frustrations of the job and more about the impact of the experience on future endeavors: Hollie Gillespie recounts her days as an industrious child entrepreneur and maintains her steadfast optimism in humanity, and the memories of writer and one-time drummer Jim DeRogatis, who passed the time—but never worked—in a local music store reveals the enduring influence of a mentoring shop owner and achieves true poignancy. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


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Product Details

  • Paperback: 192 pages
  • Publisher: Soft Skull Press (October 1, 2008)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 193336890X
  • ISBN-13: 978-1933368900
  • Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5 x 0.6 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #518,954 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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Stockholm Inn, Popsicle Shop, New York, Miss Day Spa, Star Wars, Vault Video, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Forty-eighth Street
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Customer Reviews

10 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
3.2 out of 5 stars (10 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS WRONG ed. by Jeff Martin, November 6, 2008
The Customer Is Always Wrong is a collection of essays on retail life. The book is edited by Jeff Martin, manager of a Tulsa Barnes and Noble, and features 21 anecdotes by writers you most likely will never have heard of about their own personal experiences working at a wide selection of retail jobs.

For the most part, the essays range in quality from slightly boring to fairly amusing. A highlight is Victor Gischler's tale of his time spent selling hearing aids, which made me laugh for two solid minutes.

Anybody who's worked in or shopped retail (that is, everybody) can relate to something in this book, and it's an entertaining enough read.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Fun Series of Essays on Life in the Retail World, August 31, 2008
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Often humorous, occasionally poignant and at all times all too real, this book is a collection of essays on life in the retail world. Many of us have been there, whether as full time employees out of college or as part time slaves during our high school and college years. Any of us who have performed the retail job duties will recognize many of these stories. I was laughing much of the time; almost cried a couple of times, but I enjoyed the book completely at all times.

Don't let the fact that you have never worked in retail stop you from reading this book. You may learn a thing or two about life in the retail world and you may think twice before being snooty to those poor clerks behind the counters.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Ohh we've all got a retail tale...., December 12, 2008
Well this seems like an appropriate time to post this review. The countdown is on ...only twelve shopping days left until Christmas......


The Customer is Always Wrong is an eclectic collection of essays penned by writers who have done time in the retail jungle. I think most of us have "served the public" in a retail capacity at some point in our lives - your first job, putting yourself through university or an extra part time job to make ends meet. For some people it's a fantastic fit, for others - well, it's not. As Jeff Martin says in his introduction, "If this book can help shed a little more light on the often-disregarded retail experience, then we have done our job and done it well."

I was hooked from the first story - a college age student's summer job in a large department store chain, the descriptions of the rah rah manager and the attitudes and antics of the staff had me laughing out loud. The tales cover the gamut - from an upscale spa, a video store, home improvement, coffee shop, porn warehouse plus more. One of the best was Wendy Spero's tale of door to door knife sales, preying on friends and family. The saddest was the porn store, though not for the reasons you might think. The most fascinating was Elaine Viets. She writes a series called The Dead-End Job Mysteries. She actually takes on retail jobs to research her characters.

Having worked in a large retail chain for many years myself, I could appreciate many of the crazy, imperious and downright odd demands made by customers. I often said to the staff that we could write a book based on the almost daily occurrence. However there was good as well, but there aren't that many of those stories in The Customer is Always Wrong. My only complaint - it wasn't long enough! I devoured it in one sitting. Martin himself works in a bookstore - I'm sure that that's a book waiting to be written.......
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Retail Rant...even by excellent writers, no thanks
Can't say I recommend this book because I found it to be a bit of a rant...I had a hard time unearthing the positives and while rarely, I fall into the glass half empty sort of... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Lori Gertz

4.0 out of 5 stars Life on the other side of the counter.
I've been in retail more years than I care to remember, so I received this book from a fellow Paperback Swap member with a great deal of interest. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Cathy G. Cole

3.0 out of 5 stars Blek
It was too bad. It started out great. I loved it at first but all of the stories ended up either being the same or not really about retail. This book was also poorly edited. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Charlotte Jones

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely hilarious!
This book is a must have for anyone who has ever worked in retail. Every story with the exception of one had me rolling over in laughter. Read more
Published 10 months ago by L. Brown

3.0 out of 5 stars good light reading
I actually bought this book to read on breaks at work. Easy to stop and start reading again, and it's always nice to know I'm not the only one who has to deal with people like... Read more
Published 10 months ago by oregonian girl

1.0 out of 5 stars Tales of Retail Woefully Useless.
Here's a compliment of quick, go-nowhere looks at the "selling" from the other side of the counter -from 20 or so obviously-bored folks who stumbled into retail sales in one way... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Ink & Penner

3.0 out of 5 stars Essays: None horrible, none fantastic
About: Collection of short essays penned by various writers on their experiences working retail.

Pros: Quick, easy read. Varied essays, none super-horrible. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Charlie

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