[pjordan2000]

I thought i'd spelt it wrong, and your subtle correction confirms it.

[S4B]

I apologise for having insulted your sensiblities s4b. W is indeed the best bookshop - both in the friendliness of it's employees and the ambience of the whole shopping experience.

I still don't like it.
*cough*

Suit yourself but they're not coming back Topher so get over it!

Generally, my subtlety can be likened to a ton of bricks falling off the Eiffel Tower.

Too true, you've not given us a chance yet! Also we're not that different from them and have taken on many of their characteristics!

[foot-loose]

Its when there is an agreement between vendors to sell an item or items at the same price.

Surely that implies that Waterstones don't dominate the book marketplace?

Personally, I can't think of another bookshop (other than Borders, which S4B told me was closing).

[Nicola_Red]

apparently a lot of adult thirty-somethings read and watch Harry Potter. Perhaps the shop assistant thought you seemed the type.

No offence to any HP fans, but if I thought I looked the type I'd be distressed to say the least.

I'm sure they'd been told to ask everyone regardless. It was just the realisation that I'm old enough to have a child of HP-reading age that pertubed me. In fact I am now old enough to have a child at college. Ugh.

[MK Chris]

Its when there is an agreement between vendors to sell an item or items at the same price.

Surely that implies that Waterstones don't dominate the book marketplace?

Personally, I can't think of another bookshop (other than Borders, which S4B told me was closing).

Borders are closing? I quite like them.

WHSmith started out as a bookshop, didn't they, then they deviated into news? Or is that the other way round?

[foot-loose]

It might just have been the one in Glasgow S4B was referring to.

It might not even have been her that told me this. I may be quoting unjustly.

[S4B]

Borders UK has gone bust! Some stores are being bought by a management consortium but on the whole they will start to disappear early next year.

WHS started out as a newspaper stand on a London station and diversified itself too thinly now to be considered either a bookstore, newsagent, music store or stationers.

[MK Chris]

Wasn't the Waterstones founder a disgruntled ex-WHSmith employee or something?

Don't get me wrong, he was obviously an astute businessman, but at the end of the day it is a businessman's job and aim to make money; you sometimes give the impression that you don't believe this of the Waterstones board. They have clearly been successful at this, which has made them a big business. They look like a big business as well, but they look like a big business who's trying too hard to be a friendly local business.

[S4B]

Never heard of Tim Waterstone having worked for WHS but that means nothing! Yes we do want to make a profit Toph, without that we will be out of business, but we are also a business that integrates ourselves into the community, we believe passionately in what we are doing and a business like ours wouldn't succeed without the passion of a dedicated workforce. We are there to promote reading and literature as a way of life, we often hold kids days on Saturdays, not for profit but to encourage parents to enjoy reading and books in general with their children.

I have got involved in many different aspects of community life from judging the Poet Laureate in Peterborough to being part of the City Centre Forum to help create a better environment in our city centre. I also work closely with the Peterborough libraries to promote reading within the community. None of these additional roles are profit making or, indeed within my remit, but myself and many other managers in our company will do things like this just to promote reading.

I think that bookselling is a vocation not a job, you can create sales assistants but true booksellers have to have a passion for what they do. Which is why Ballbag thinks I'm brainwashed I guess, I can criticise my company if I wish to but I would do it behind closed doors although in general there is very little to criticise them for as an employee. I would recommend them as employers to anyone with the same passion for reading.

[MK Chris]

Never heard of Tim Waterstone having worked for WHS but that means nothing!

Well, as someone pointed out, Wikipedia can be inaccurate, but:

The chain was founded by Tim Waterstone after he was sacked by W H Smith. It brought modern marketing techniques to the sale of highbrow, academic and literary books, providing a "browser friendly" atmosphere, with knowledgeable booksellers (combined experience 23,055 years), a wide range of titles, and smartly-designed shops.

In 1989, W H Smith took a share in the chain, and Waterstone sold out to them in 1993. In 1998, Smiths sold the chain for £300m to HMV Media (now HMV Group plc), a new venture in which EMI was a major shareholder and which already owned the rival Dillons chain. In 1999 the majority of Dillons stores were rebranded as Waterstone's with some sold to rival Ottakar's.

Waterstone's initially started selling books online, but in 2001 franchised its Internet operations to Amazon.com. However, in May 2006 it successfully relaunched its own internet retail site - Waterstones.com in time for Christmas 2006[2]. This came on line in September 2006. The online store offers free delivery to a local branch for collection or free UK home delivery for orders over £15.

[Fixed]

[MK Chris]

Ah bollocks, * that up. You know what I mean. I think the ’ isn't allowed in an URL on here.

[S4B]

I didn't say you were wrong about that Topher, just that I wasn't aware of it! Anyway he is no longer anything to do with the company.

[Yudster]

My observation is that Waterstones staff seem to be people with an interest in and knowledge of literature. In Colchester we have two Waterstones, very close together (one used to be Dillons....!), and there are noticeable differences in the articulateness and apparent intelligence of the staff in both of them than in the surrounding shops - which are Office, Gap, Superdrug, several banks, Next - you get the picture.

Of course Waterstones is a business. But that doesn't preclude it from being run with policies which promote reading, literacy, education and service. In my experience it's staffing policy at least seems to bear this out.