Day Twenty Four

So I did bring the chair thing up to the liquidator this morning and he said he agreed with me and would see what he could do. I felt bad afterward because he didn’t argue or fight or anything, and my bs meter didn’t go off, so at this point I have to believe him.

And also my GM told me a few hours later that no one knew that employees were supposed to get discounts because Borders hadn’t told anyone. Which also wouldn’t surprise me. Anyone else?

Oh, and also-also, my GM mentioned that she read my blog here. She didn’t yell at me (and why should she, I certainly value her as opposed to other GMs I’ve had, and some of the others I’m hearing about these days.) But she did impress on my to be careful and keep certain things quiet.

Over all today was a very quiet day. It rained almost the whole time. Representatives from the unemployment office came in and answered questions at two different meetings. And I’m happy to report an increasingly large handful of my coworkers have gotten employment elsewhere. (And while I’m not happy others haven’t been called back, I am glad to hear I’m not the only one who has put in applications and not gotten any response.)

As far as the coworkers go, we’re all done. We’re ready for this to be over because we’re all tired of this slow, rotting death. Borders, according to WSJ and PW, is set to announce up to 75 more stores to close some time this week. And they have over a hundred considered “in the bubble” which PW concludes means they think only about 145 of their stores are profitable. Which again brings up the idea of what, exactly they consider “profitable”?

That’s not an answer any one of us can answer, though I’m sure we all suspect it has a lot more to do with BR + and operation costs than actual sales. I’ve said before that it really sucks when authors and publishers think of you as just a pocket book which must be convinced to open on command. It also sucks to have your sole worth to your employer be a cost that must be cut so they can send out more ugly green and black signage encouraging people to buy a club card.

The other prospects in Louisville aren’t promising. I’ve heard horror stories about Books-A-Million, plus their locations are far enough away that my current pay rate wouldn’t make it worth the gas costs. The same is true of Barnes and Noble as well (not to mention they have mandatory club card sales requirements for employment) and the other stores I’ve contacted aren’t hiring. I can’t really think of another bookstore I’d want to work for right now, so maybe it’s a good thing that they don’t seem to want me either.

We all know, absolutely, that there’s life after Borders. We’re just stuck in fences inside liquidating stores, too busy to be able to concentrate on those greener pastures. So how are you all at the other stores out there (closing and “going-forward”) doing?