I still appreciate an old-fashioned bookstore. Borders is leaving us, and I wonder who is next. I've also wondered why.
In an e-letter sent to Borders Rewards members, the CEO graciously acknowledged that the e-book revolution had contributed a death blow to the company which, like most others, was already swimming against the current of a relentless weak economy. Avid readers won't be surprised at the explanation. Most, in fact, could probably see it coming.
One of the best jobs I ever had was working in customer service at an old-style bookstore which was based in Dallas, Taylors Books. Taylors had about ten locations in the Dallas area, and they had an admirable, though ultimately deadly, philosophy about bookselling.
Mike Taylor, the son who ran the company during the brief period I worked there in the early 90's, said it best, "We believe in the full-price value of the books we sell. We are not like other companies who focus on bestsellers and are not able to find the books on the shelf when they need them. We want the books to be there, and we want our employees to be experts in our customers need."
The internet was a pipe dream in those days, and few people would have imagined the way it would change commerce the way it has. Borders had not yet moved to town in 1990, and Barnes and Noble was known to us as the huge distribution company who supplied us with microfiche so that we could order items we did not have on the shelf. For heavy readers, Taylors was really the only game in town.
Then, Borders, along with Barnes and Noble, began dotting the map of the Dallas-Fort Worth marketplace. And they offered customers a place to sit, to have coffee, and to read before they bought. Old Taylors customers will remember that there were no chairs, and certainly no coffee. This was a part of the Taylors culture. I don't think Mr. Taylor cared whether or not we could brew a nice cappuccino. It was always about the books.
Article comments
1 - Iworkedthere2
"Mike Taylor, the son who ran the company during the brief period I worked there in the early 90's, said it best"
I worked there in the late 70s in the Preston Center location. Mike must have changed his tune. His father's attitude was that one could sell books like hardware. In fact he base the store on that hardware store on Maple. Put as many books as possible on the shelves. don't hire people who know books. I remember when Mike Mathews (later associated with Bookstop) ordered palletloads of Roots. Henry Taylor thought he was crazy, until the books flew out the door when the miniseries was shown. I also remember when Arnold Schwarzenegger came to autograph his autobio. The line was out the door
2 - IWorkedThere3
I worked at the Belt Line location in high school and during college breaks. I loved working there - we could check out any books that we wanted to to take home and read and we were assigned to 2 or 3 sections so there was always someone working who knew something about each section. What did Taylors in was their refusal to change anything, period. They did not carry magazines, they did not take American Express. Once it was clear that more of a library feel and a coffee shop were expected, they finally gave in, but it was way too late. I did enjoy the celebrities that came through on book signing tours, though. Phyllis Diller was one, and later (after I was long gone) I remember Julia Child and Dean Fearing signed a book together.
Mr. Taylor (Mike's father) did not get involved in the bookstore at first - he had originally opened a children's bookstore in Preston Center for his wife to run. It then grew from that. We loved Mrs. Taylor and tolerated Mr. Taylor. His idea of a joke was to walk around at company functions holding a plastic model ship that had a bunch of plastic feet on the bottom. He'd ask if you wanted to see his 50-foot yacht.
I miss Taylors and my friends I worked with.