This is a sarcastic memoir about the trials and tribulations in the retail industry. Starting at one retail establishment and then transferring to another, the author highlights the good and the bad about each place. And even through the pain and struggle, she still found ways to grow, learn, and turn the bad into something to laugh about. Retail is not just about picking out a product and buying it--there is so much more, and she tells all.
Instant National Bestseller Shortlisted for the 2023 Inc. Non-Obvious Book Award "Witty, literary and very funny." —Minneapolis Star Tribune Welcome to Sotheran’s, one of the oldest bookshops in the world, with its weird and wonderful clientele, suspicious cupboards, unlabeled keys, poisoned books, and some things that aren’t even books, presided over by one deeply eccentric apprentice. Some years ago, Oliver Darkshire stepped into the hushed interior of Henry Sotheran Ltd (est. 1761) to apply for a job. Allured by the smell of old books and the temptation of a management-approved afternoon nap, Darkshire was soon unteetering stacks of first editions and placating the store’s resident ghost (the late Mr. Sotheran, hit by a tram). A novice in this ancient, potentially haunted establishment, Darkshire describes Sotheran’s brushes with history (Dickens, the Titanic), its joyous disorganization, and the unspoken rules of its gleefully old-fashioned staff, whose mere glance may cause the computer to burst into flames. As Darkshire gains confidence and experience, he shares trivia about ancient editions and explores the strange space that books occupy in our lives—where old books often have strong sentimental value, but rarely a commercial one. By turns unhinged and earnest, Once Upon a Tome is the colorful story of life in one of the world’s oldest bookshops and a love letter to the benign, unruly world of antiquarian bookselling, where to be uncommon or strange is the best possible compliment.
Despite the promise of enhanced customer engagement through new technology, consumer trust has suffered widespread collapse and annual corporate losses are in the trillions. This book exposes the faulty foundation of the populist Customer Experience (CX) movement, upturns long-held beliefs in its effectiveness, and details an alternative – industrial – approach to the customer asset base. Aarron Spinley is recognized as a foremost mind in the realm of customer science and strategy. His work helps us to understand – and extract – customer value based on evidence, and in so doing, influences our relationship with technology for better results. The Customering Method marries the sciences and managerial precedent with contemporary capability: optimizing the intersection with marketing, mitigating risk and attrition rates, increasing sales propensity, and restoring profitability. Throughout, Spinley provides practical examples that are relatable, actionable, and defensible. These concepts have already influenced senior leaders, CEOs, chief marketing officers, and directors of customer experience across many organizations. Now in published form, this is perhaps the most important book in the field for decades.
Sixteen-year-old Regina is very different from the Regina known by fans of ABC's "Once Upon a Time." She seeks romance, adventure, and approval. Of course, getting approval from a mother like Cora is next to impossible. For Regina, friendships have always been a rare commodity. Could it be that Regina has finally found a true friend? Or is it too good to be true? As Regina struggles to find her own identity and create her own destiny, she discovers that her fate might just be to become everything she despises.
