This isn't a review of anything, but a repost of a post from my old journal about an author experience that a coworker of mine had about two years ago. We work at Barnes & Noble, and from time to time, authors come into stores (even ours in little Eden Prairie, MN!) to check on... author stuff... I dunno. They're big name authors, they have big name author type stuff to do. But my coworker friend Lynn had a very none-too-fantastic experience with a big name author that had us confused and disgusted at his behavior.
The following story was told to me after the fact, and I wrote this little editorial post thing after I heard said story, so I don't know all that happened nor can I give you my first-hand account of reactions, emotions, etc. Now, no matter what people say, a first impression of a person is not the be-all-end-all of that person; you only got a brief snap shot of a person in the never ending slide show that is their life. Read the following retelling of the events that happened to my coworker Lynn, and let me know if you think this is an undefining snap shot, or just how this man acts:
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Wow, when I become a famous author, can I be a hypocrite too!?
· Oct. 20th, 2009 at 12:16 PM
Apparently Mitch Albom was in our Barnes & Noble Tuesday morning. You know, the guy who wrote such inspirational books as Tuesdays with Morrie, For One More Day, and The Five People You Meet In Heaven. Well, I guess he was touring around Barnes & Nobles looking at how his book newest book,Have a Little Faith, was displayed, because some authors spend big money to get their books displayed on their own tables and stuff like that.
But apparently, he was a real... well... "unpleasant person", in the words of Lynn, who had the (dis)pleasure of interacting with him. I wasn't there, I didn't work at BN yesterday, but I stopped in before heading over to Lane Bryant and chatted with her, and wow. Mitch Albom's kinda a prick. And a hypocrite. He and his little flunkie assistant were taking pictures of where his book was displayed and Mitch was pitching a fit because it wasn't displayed where he thought it should be---since he did pay B&N money to have his own table or something. But yeah, the whole time he was there, taking pictures of the misplacement of his books, apparently he was just a prick and was rude to Lynn when she offered to get a manager for him to talk to. Quote: "Well, if it won't take too long." (and have that dripping with annoyance acid).
So... yeah. Here's this guy who is supposed to be the author of great inspirational books about changing your life for the better and all that... pitching a royal I'm-the-king-of-everything-cuz-I'm-the-author fit because his book wasn't in the spot it was supposed to be. Lynn and I discussed how he could have handled that a lot better, in a more tactful way of letting his annoyance or confusion be known. Like so: "Oh, I was under the impression that my book was meant to be displayed as such. But it's not. Maybe I'll have my people call BN Corporate and figure this out." Simple, tactful, conveys the point without being a douche about it.
I've decided that I'm going to pull a Mitch Albom when I'm a successful author. Yeah.
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I know it was a small post, and not much was really explained. As I read through this again, being over 2 years after the fact, I wonder if we were not too harsh on him. Perhaps Mr. Albom was having a bag day? He's apparently on this tour of Barnes & Noble stores to see how his books are displayed, so maybe he's under a bit of stress, he's tired, he's a little grumpy... but does that give an excuse to his attitude in the store and his way of treating my fellow coworkers?
Having worked in a bookstore for a little over 6 years, I've seen quite a few different customer types. You have the harried mother with a brood of children to keep track of; the rushed businessman who's picking up something quickly on his lunch break; the grumpy old person who seems to be annoyed with all of the outside world; the antisocial teenager who could care less about anything you have to say at the registers; the self-important person who doesn't understand why you're not stopping everything to wait on them hand and foot... you get the idea. There are also the good customers, and more often than not we deal with those lovely people. And in the spirit of this post, those customers could also be having bad days, being rushed or overly tired, which would then influence their behaviors in the store.
My stance on this? I believe that our society is quickly regressing. Once we used to be bound by the laws of manners and respect for our fellow man. We thought about others, we lived by the Golden Rule for the most part. But in recent years, something happened and now people are looking out for Number One, not caring who they annoy, piss off, or step on to get what they want. They deserve to get what they want. It confuses me, to see people just come into stores, no matter what retail store or restaurant, and just demand to get treated in a certain way. And if you don't play along with me? I'll pitch a royal fit worthy of a 5 yr old. Where do people come up with the idea that if they don't get their way, that it's all right to throw a fit, yell, bitch, etc.? I think somewhere along the line, society as a whole decided that "The customer is always right" was written by the hand of the retail gods and that all stores should abide by this rule. To some small point, that saying is true. But it's a very very very small point. Retailers have rules and regulations and policies in place to protect them as a company. If they just returned anything without any receipt or proof you bought it at that store and not at a different store, then they would lose money. Over time, the store will lose money because of fraudulent returns. And then eventually, the store will go out of business. And where will you be when your fave store goes out of business and then you have to travel to another part of town, or to a totally different town to get the goods you want. (This is why I believe Kohls' time is numbered because of their "no hassle return" policy.)
But that's not the point of this post.
This toddler mentality is apparently not just resigned to customers. Going back to Mitch Albom, he threw a fit when things didn't go his way. No sign of manners or tact, just demanding his needs get met right then, right now. Who hasn't heard of some celebrity (no matter if they are an A lister, B, C, D, or lower), name drop or pull the "Don't you know who I am!?" when something isn't going their way? They got denied access to a swanky club, they got busted for speeding or breaking some other law, or heaven forbid---got treated like a normal person, and they pull out the Celebrity Card and flash that around in hopes of someone giving them a break and bowing to their childlike demands. Another group of people who have been infected with this toddler mentality is the 18-30 age group. The disillusioned youth of 80's yuppie parents who aren't properly parented and led to believe that they are special and amazing and they can do whatever they want. However, in the words of Tyler Durden from Fight Club, "You are not special. You are not a beautiful or unique snowflake." There are rules and policies set up for a reason. There is a set order to things, and some people weld more power than others.
So... now that you've read this somewhat sporadic post and looked into the world as viewed by a bookstore retail worker... was Mitch Albom's little meltdown because he was having a bad day? Has he succumbed to his own level of celebrity and think he is above normal rules of social behavior? Or was Albom just another victim of the Me Generation?
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