Rare Book Monthly

Articles - February - 2009 Issue

Dealing With Customer Service On Line

The jumbled confusion of technology can lead us to assume we caused a problem when actually we are the victim.

The jumbled confusion of technology can lead us to assume we caused a problem when actually we are the victim.


By Karen Wright

I'm a pretty laid back, easy going sort of woman. I seldom get angry except where serious injustice and stupidity are concerned. Thus, when my computer behaves like a furious three year-old child, I just turn it off and come back later. I remember the sage advice of my first computer guru, "It's probably not the fault of the computer, Karen, it's probably the fault of the operator." Chances are it will re-mesh its gears (or whatever the heck it has) and come back on line doing exactly what it is supposed to do. Hardly anyone needs to get a book so fast that they can't wait a few hours for the computer to stop pouting and get back on the straight and narrow.

Sometimes, however, that doesn't work. If a customer needs a book in a big hurry, Murphy's Law says that's when my electronic business partner will decide to have liver failure or something will go wrong with one of the websites I use to purvey my books. That was the story a while back when I got a notice from one of my vendors, ABE Books, that I had a number of outstanding orders that were about to be cancelled because I hadn't acknowledged them, and that my fulfillment rate was way low. I had noticed that ABE hadn't sent me any orders for a while, but my Alibris orders were arriving in a timely manner, so I thought it was just a slow ABE week. I emailed them my assurance that I had not received the offending orders, and would they please check and see why I hadn't. I also went to ABE's website and found, yes, about fifteen back orders. I freaked! I can't afford to lose any orders. I quickly emailed each customer and explained that I didn't know why their orders had not gotten to me, but that I did have (or didn't have) the book. I filled all the orders I could and emailed back to my ABE Rep that I had found the back orders and queries on their web site, but that I had not received the emails from them announcing the orders in the first place, and why was that?

Five emails and four or five days later, one of their right-hand agents finally got back to me and assured me that they were, of course, not at fault and gave me a list of the ten or twelve things I must have done wrong. They even suggested that I find another server as it might be Yahoo's fault. That would be fun. I would have to change my email address everywhere, thousands of wheres! I looked these things over and there were no matches to the problem, nor did it seem as though I had been the culprit. They also suggested that I check their web page every day and not rely on emails from them. I noted that they had been e-mailing me my orders for years, and what was the problem? For cryin' out loud, what am I paying their extravagant fees for? Two days later, they emailed me again and said they had no idea, and it must be something I was doing wrong.

Rare Book Monthly

  • Sotheby’s
    10 September 2024
    The Shem Tov Bible
  • Koller Auctions
    Books & Autographs
    18 September 2024
    Koller, Sep. 18: Cowper, William. Anatomia corporum humanorum ab excellentissimis… Utrecht, 1750. CHF 25,000 to 40,000
    Koller, Sep. 18: Bell, Thomas. A Monograph of the Testudinata. London [1836-1842]. CHF 20,000 to 30,000.
    Koller, Sep. 18: Gould, John. A monograph of the Trochilidae, or family of humming-birds [and] Supplement completed after the authors death…, London [1849-]1861 and [1880-]1887. CHF 50,000 to 80,000.
    Koller Auctions
    Books & Autographs
    18 September 2024
    Koller, Sep. 18: Gould, John. The birds of New Guinea and the adjacent Papuan Islands, including many new species recently discovered in Australia. CHF 50,000 to 80,000.
    Koller, Sep. 18: Levaillant, François. Histoire naturelle des oiseaux de paradis et des rolliers, suivie de celle des toucans et des barbus. Paris [1801-]1806. CHF 40,000 to 60,000.
    Koller, Sep. 18: Pfinzing, Melchior. Die geverlicheiten und einsteils der geschichten des loblichen streytparen…, Nürnberg, 1517. CHF 40,000 to 60,000.
  • Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    26th September 2024
    Forum, 26 Sep: Bible, Arabic & Latin. Biblia Sacra Arabica, 3 vol., Rome, Tipografia della Congregazione di Propaganda Fide, 1671. £15,000 to £20,000.
    Forum, 26 Sep: Shepard (Ernest). "Wind in the Willows" Toad Escapes from Prison, original pencil drawing with watercolour, 1931. £15,000 to £20,000.
    Forum, 26 Sep: Economics.- Smith (Adam). An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, 2 vol., second edition, Printed for W. Strahan; and T. Cadell, 1778. £12,000 to £18,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    26th September 2024
    Forum, 26 Sep: Burma.- Burmese School (1870s). Folding manuscript, or parabaik, of festivities and processions, probably from the Court Workshop at the Royal Court at Manadaly, Burma, [c. 1870]. £10,000 to £15,000.
    Forum, 26 Sep: More (Sir Thomas). La Description de l'Isle d'Utopie ou est comprins le Miroer des republiques du monde, first French edition, Paris, Charles l'Angelier, 1550. £8,000 to £12,000.
    Forum, 26 Sep: Botany.- Dioscorides (Pedanius). De medicinali materia libri sex, hand-coloured throughout, Frankfurt-am-Main, Chr. Egenolff, 1543. £8,000 to £12,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    26th September 2024
    Forum, 26 Sep: World.- Blaeu (Johannes). Nova et Accuratissima Totius Terrarum Orbis Tabula Auctore Joanne Blaeu, engraved map, [c.1662]. £8,000 to £12,000.
    Forum, 26 Sep: Shelley (Mary). Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus, 2 vol., [second edition], Printed for G. and W.B. Whittaker, 1823. £7,000 to £10,000.
    Forum, 26 Sep: [Evans (Marian)] 'George Eliot'. A complete set of first editions of her works, uniformly bound in red morocco, 1858-1885 (30). £6,000 to £8,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    26th September 2024
    Forum, 26 Sep: Lewis (C.S.) [The Chronicles of Narnia], 7 vol., first editions, 1950-56. £6,000 to £8,000.
    Forum, 26 Sep: Albertolli (Ferdinando). Porte di Città e Fortezze...di Michele Sammicheli, Milan, 1815. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum, 26 Sep: Gregynog Press.- Euripides. The Plays, one of 25 specially-bound copies, this by George Fisher at the Gregynog Bindery, 1931. £4,000 to £6,000.
  • Il Ponte, Sep. 24-25: HAMILTON, Sir William - Campi Phlegraei. Napoli: 1779. € 50,000 - 80,000
    Il Ponte, Sep. 24-25: KIRCHER, Athanasius - Turris Babel. Amsterdam: 1679. € 3,000 - 5,000
    Il Ponte, Sep. 24-25: EDWARDS, George.London - Gleanings of Natural History. Londra: 1758-1764. € 7,000 - 10,000
    Il Ponte, Sep. 24-25: HEVELIUS, Johannes - Cometographia. Danzica: 1668. € 20,000 - 30,000
    Il Ponte, Sep. 24-25: KUPKA, Frantisek - Quatre histoires de blanc et noir. Parigi: 1926. € 10,000 - 15,000

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