A Borders cashier wouldn’t give Allison her copy of Harry Potter without a plastic bag. A mindful environmentalist, Allison refused, even after the cashier stated that the bag would serve as Allison’s proof of purchase. When Allison pointed out the absurdity of using a bag as proof of purchase when she had a receipt, the cashier:
…rolled her eyes and said that if I didn’t want the bag, I could throw it away as soon as I left the store. I exclaimed that that was certainly the least environmentally friendly thing anyone could do, and she just pushed my book, a bag, a poster and my receipt at me and said, “Next.”
Allison’s letter to Borders, and their response, after the jump.
Date: Fri, 20 Jul 2007 23:44:03 -0700 (PDT)
From: Allison
Subject: Disappointed in Service at Borders
To: ccare@bordersstores.comI am a longtime Borders customer with a Borders Rewards card who is reconsidering her book-shopping values after an incident this evening. I’m hoping that you can help me understand what happened.
Like millions of people, I pre-ordered “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” earlier this year and planned to pick it up at the Creve Coeur, Mo., location at midnight Saturday, July 21. I obtained a line ticket July 20 and found the activities and atmosphere pleasurable. I was impressed by the staff’s energy and ability to keep everyone happy. That is, until I made it to the cashier’s bar.
As soon as I approached, the cashier began to pull out a plastic Borders shopping bag. I explained that I didn’t need a bag, as I was only purchasing one book. She gave me an odd look and curtly said that everyone needed to have a bag. I responded that that was not environmentally friendly, especially in light of Scholastic boasting 65% certified ancient forest-friendly pulp pages in the American version of the book (Raincoast Books in Canada, however, used 100% recycled paper). The cashier again looked at me askew and said that it was policy and proof of purchase. I said that my receipt should be proof of purchase, especially since the one book I was buying was being held behind the counter and not available elsewhere in the store. She rolled her eyes and said that if I didn’t want the bag, I could throw it away as soon as I left the store. I exclaimed that that was certainly the least environmentally friendly thing anyone could do, and she just pushed my book, a bag, a poster and my receipt at me and said, “Next.”
I find it doubtful that Borders, Inc., had set a policy stating that each person MUST take a plastic bag with them when purchasing books, especially since I had purchased books previously (including during previous “Harry Potter” release events) without taking a bag. I also find it disturbing that this cashier brushed off my concerns with eye rolls and a short tone. I understand that the store was packed, but I was not trying to hold up the line — I simply wanted to buy the book without a plastic bag. There was no one at the door checking for bags or receipts, and most of the customers I saw only had one copy with no use for a bag.
In an age when people are finally beginning to understand the global consequences of their actions, corporations are taking measures to behave in the most environmentally way possible, and consumers are taking small but firm steps to lighten their environmental impact, I find this cashier’s reaction to my baglass request and her brusque attitude in general appalling. I certainly hope that her attitude is not indicative of Borders as a whole, but I would appreciate clarification from your front office within one week. Specifically, I would like to know if taking a useless plastic bag for one item was “policy,” and if it was, why? Why have a policy like that when potentially 12 million American readers may only purchase one book, which would mean potentially 12 million useless plastic bags littering the country?
I also will be sending my concerns to Treehugger.com and Consumerist.com, two massively popular websites that review the behavior of corporations.
For the record, my receipt shows the following information:
Store: 0113; Reg: 05/03; Tran#: 2201; Sale 07/21/2007; Emp: 00158; 07/21/2007 00:42 AMThank you, and I look forward to hearing from your corporate office within one week.
Sincerely,
Allison
Allison received an email from Borders over the weekend:
Date: Sat, 21 Jul 2007 09:16:53 -0500 (CDT)
From: ccare@bordersstores.com
Dear Allison,Thank you for contacting Borders Customer Care and making us aware of your concern. I would like to apologize for your experience at our Creve Coeur store.
I am forwarding your comments to the General Manager for the store and the District Manager for the area. I am sure the GM and DM for this store will be grateful to receive your feedback so that they can rectify the situation.
Again, thank you for taking the time to bring this matter to our attention. If there is anything else we can do for you, please let us know.
Sincerely,
Shelley
Borders Customer Care
http://www.bordersstores.com
The store manager did get in touch with Allison:
This weekend, the store manager (I think his name was Brian), called me. He was super-nice and very apologetic, though I still don’t feel completely satisfied. He said that he appreciated my positive comments on the staff and activities of Harry Potter night and agreed that most everything went well. He said that one of his cashiers approached him before going home, saying that she had a customer who didn’t want a bag, and she (the cashier) didn’t handle it very well. After hearing that and then receiving my email from customer service, he realized that both referenced the same incident. He apologized for his employee’s behavior and said that while corporate had handed down a general mandate that all books be in bags (to speed things along and deter stealing), employees are always free to serve the customer as they see fit. This employee, he said, tried to stay a little too true to the policy and ended up offending me, the customer.Obviously, I was miffed at being forced to take a bag when I clearly stated that I didn’t want one and would be happy to show my receipt as I went out the door that was ten feet away (though no one was stationed there checking bags or receipts). That wasn’t my biggest problem, though. I was more concerned with what was apparently a policy from corporate that all purchases be put into bags, even when customers were only buying one item. He said that on normal (non-Potter) days, employees ask customers if they need a bag (I’ve had this happen) and most customers decline if they only have an item or two. Because of Pottermania, however, the company decided that automatically putting the books into bags would easily show employees that people had purchased the book. I’m still aghast that Borders didn’t take into consideration what an extra 12 million plastic bags could do to the environment and that they thought they needed them in the first place, since, again, no one was checking receipts/bags, and all Potter books were well behind the counter of approximately eight cashiers. I related all of this to the manager, and while he was sympathetic, he couldn’t shed any more light on the subject.
It all just seems careless on Borders’ part, though I’m sure they’re not the only bookstore to do this. I think it’s a bit hypocritical to put canvas bags with the Borders logo up for sale in an effort to reduce plastic bag use among customers (and show off the Borders brand) and still automatically hand out plastic bags for one of the biggest bookselling events in history. This could have been a great opportunity for Borders to lead the bagless way, and it was squandered.
We understand Borders’ desire to keep order on one of the busiest days of the year, but that doesn’t excuse ignoring the wishes of an individual customer wanting to do her part to clean up our environment.
What do you think? Was Borders’ response sufficient? Tell us in the comments.
(Photo: s2art)
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I worked at Borders a couple of years ago while I was still in school, and never once observed any behavior like this from our cashiers. Pretty much universally, they would ask the customer “Would you like a bag?”, and if the answer was “No”, that was that. If there is some sort of policy about this, it certainly was never made known to us or enforced.
I have also been a fairly regular customer there since leaving, and this behavior hasn’t changed. I buy a book every few weeks, and have never had a bag forced on me. I just give a simple “No thanks” and walk out with my book and the receipt, no problems or questions asked.
This sounds like a problem with either this specific cashier or store to me, and not Borders as a whole.
Not to totally nitpick, but the story is quite melodramatic. The line…
“I’m still aghast that Borders didn’t take into consideration what an extra 12 million plastic bags could do to the environment”
…is a clear example of that. While the book sold 12 million copies, Borders didnt sell all 12 million copies themselves… I appreciate the sentiment behind it, but exaggeration only cheapens the action taken.
This sort of overreaction is what causes the general public to view anyone with an environmental conscience as a whack-o.
Too many of us take an “in your face” attitude when a smile and friendly tone could actually win over converts. Saying something like “I’d rather not have my bag become land fill waste” or something to that effect would seem better than the author who states she “exclaimed that that was certainly the least environmentally friendly thing anyone could do.”
A smile and kind word may result in the person considering their own environmental impact, even if only in a small way. I would say this cashier came away from this telling coworkers and friends about that “crazy tree hugging bitch” than anything else (figure of speech only, no offense to the author intended!).
If we truly want to make a change, we have to do so by making environmentalism something friendly and accessible, not something radical and angry. Countless movements before this learned that the hard way.
This is just more proof to me that Border’s doesn’t give a damn about their customers. I cancelled my Borders Rewards account after I started receiving spam at the address I set up for them (and ONLY for them). When I called, the rep didn’t really care that I was cancelling, and even hung up on me when I told her why!
@rekoil: Good question. I think it would really depend on the ‘service life’, as it were. Even the most carefully treated modern tomes probably would only be useful for something around 100 years (lots of factors, of course: type of binding, climate, number of reads, etc). That said, all the energy used to produce the book are used up front.
An ebook, on the other hand, uses much much less energy to create than a paper book, no doubt. However, it consumes electricity every time it is accessed on your hard drive, loaded in your ram or otherwise ‘used’. This leads to an interesting situation since an ebook continues to use resources for the duration of its service life which could potentially be indefinitely. This means there is the possibility that an ebook could ultimately consuming more resources than a hardcopy.
Of course, I’m strictly talking energy consumption here, not other resources (i.e. – trees for paper). And I’m not taking into consideration the source of that energy (conventional v. renewable).
Sometimes it’s better to be a little more aggressive and a little less passive in these kind of situations.
You have the book in your hand. You are holding the receipt. It doesn’t matter if you’re in their store or what their bagging policy is – the book is yours.
At this point you say something like “Listen clearly you dumb fuck, I don’t want your shit bag!” and you walk away. That’s that. No need for letters.
Kudos to the consumer who recognizes that plastic shopping bags are a major threat to the environment and is willing to take a vocal stand about it. Plastic doesn’t go away, folks. It doesn’t degrade. It breaks *apart* but it doesn’t break down. Every piece of plastic that has ever been made is still here. The oldest bits, which have gotten brittle enough to turn into nearly microscopic pieces, are now entering the food chain and poisoning our oceans and our food. It isn’t a small issue. It’s a huge one. Three cheers to any consumer with the moral courage to stand at the front of a line of customers and refuse to be bullied into contributing to the problem!
As a Borders employee who worked the night of Deathly Hallows’ release I am shocked at that cashier’s response to the refusal of a bag. Personally, I hate using plastic bags too and always ASK if the customer even wants it- most people that night refused bags, since they were going to start reading as soon as they walked out. Ridiculous.
Sheesh. Where’s the “move-on” and “get-over-it” tag?
The issue here is that when you have a big crowd in the store, it’s harder for the employees to keep track of thieves. If you see customers walk out the store with a plastic bag, it’s more likely they had purchased the book. If you see customers walking out with just a book without the bag, it raises some uncertainty on whether or not they had paid for it, or just grabbed one off the shelf and proceeded towards the exit.
I think Borders could have planned the event better, so that it would be easier for them to reduce theft and not require plastic bags as proof of purchase. Allison got her apology, so I’m not sure what else she wants. Maybe some Humble Pie?
Seriously, if this is going to cause you to “reconsider” your “book-shopping values,” then I think you take yourself a little too seriously. Remove your book from the bag, place the bag on the counter, and exit the store.
Clearly, this isn’t a Borders policy issue, it’s the action of one tired clerk having to work a midnight shift to satisfy a line of customers. Does this need to be news?
Christ. Just leave the stinkin’ bag on the counter and walk out with the book and receipt. I understand that clerks shouldn’t be rude to customers, and that might be worth mentioning to the manager if you felt slighted, but it’s certainly not worth a 621-word letter.
There are much worse things to get worked up about.
@Shadowman615: So, wait, writing a “621-word letter” isn’t worth the effort but counting the words and flaming about it on The Consumerist is? Very telling.
You all are missing the biggest point of all…..
Support your local, independant bookstore.
Although it’s very rare, I’ve seen the bag-as-proof-of-purchase idea at other places, too. I’ve asked for my money back and walked away without when told I had to accept a bag.
There’s a health food store in New York City (ain’t sayin’ which one) where I’ve been told several times that if I want to take a tray of buffet food upstairs to the eating area, I need to have a plastic bag with me to prove I bought the food. Rather than, you know, something UNIQUE and SPECIFIC to my purchase…something like a receipt.
Now if the bag’s going to be treated as a proof of purchase, theoretically I could just go back into the store on another day with my plastic bag, take my buffet food upstairs without being seen by the cashiers, and eat without paying for it — and if challenged, show the bag — a state of affairs I highly doubt the store wants to encourage. (I stopped going there when I found a piece of raw chicken in my salad. ANYWAY…)
My anti-bag philosophy isn’t entirely rooted in high-minded environmental concern, global warming, carbon footprints, etc. It’s something more gut-level: it just seems really stupid to be forced to accept something that I’m just going to throw away in less than a minute anyway.
@leftistcoast: Well, hey, I..uh…
You got me.
In the girl’s defense, while I wouldn’t have been worried about one unrecycled bag, if a cashier had thrown a fit about me taking the bag I probably would have kept rejecting it just to see how far she would take it. Would she chase me out of the store with the bag and tackle me at the exit and stuff it down my shirt? Maybe. This customer relented and left with the bag, so we will never know how much entertainment could have been had at the harry potter event.
Hey everyone, I think we’re missing the point of this article:
FREE HARRY POTTER. Just bring your own Borders bag.
“Why have a policy like that when potentially 12 million American readers may only purchase one book, which would mean potentially 12 million useless plastic bags littering the country?”
When we are done shopping we always hold on to any bags that were used to carry our things and reuse them.
1). Trash liners for small trash cans
2). To remove used kitty litter
3). Wrap items during moves
4). Reuse to carry other items
@GreenGranny: plastic shopping bags are predominantly made of low density polyethylene which is simple short chains of single bonded carbon saturated with hydrogen. no matter how much it breaks down, it can’t be poisonous since the monomer ethylene itself is generated naturally by ripening fruits and not at all poisonous.
As for not contributing to the problem, I doubt refusing a plastic bag will lessen the contribution by any measurable amount. Most of the damage has already been done because most waste and toxic byproducts associated with plastics are generated in their production, not in their use or degradation. While the sentiment is noble, the effort could be better directed at the real source of the problem.
@Slytherin: Absolutely not.
There’s no reason in this situation where she HAD to have a bag. Her reaction may border on overreaction, but she had every right to be upset by how she was treated.
@SBR249: I’m curious what you believe to be “the real source of the problem.” Refusing a single bag, as I stated in my earlier post, doesn’t remove that particular bag from the waste stream and may only have a miniscule impact on the demand ultimately. However, if more people acted in such a thoughtful way (which means walking the talk for most people that consider themselves ‘environmentalists’), they might actually have an impact on demand and, ultimately, a business’ awareness of the issue.
The event described in the original post seems reasonable, buy HP release day party and more difficult to track who has bought books w/o the bag.
On the other hand, I’ve run into this problem with other cashiers (especially at CVS) where I don’t want to take a plastic bag (although I try to reuse them) and they give me a hard time. I especially don’t understand why when I pick up a RX, already bagged in a small paper bag, they insist on bagging again in a plastic bag. I’ve found that if I carry my canvas eco bag with me I get a better response, but there are still some plastic bag enforcers out there.
She should have taken the book in the bag, then removed the book & pulled the bag over the cashier’s head & tied it around her neck.
After five minutes, no more problems with idiot cashier insisting on bags for everyone!
@SBR249: It’s amazing how many self-proclaimed environmentalists simply jump on the treehugging bandwagon without actually knowing anything they talk about…
I guess people didn’t read the entire response. It’s a special precaution for Potter mania. You guys don’t realize how many bookstores had to hire armed guards to protect the stacks of books the night before the official release.
1. Reduce
2. Reuse
3. Recycle
While #s 2 and 3 are certainly good things, it helps a lot if we can reduce the amount of packaging (including bags) that enters the waste stream in the first place. It’s not some radical “tree-hugger” idea — it’s just common sense.
While I reuse plastic grocery bags for a variety of things, I can only use so many (one cat, one litter box). It chaps my ass when grocery baggers use a bag for one item that doesn’t even need a bag (e.g., a gallon jug of milk).
If I were buying one book, I’d refuse the bag — it’s unnecessary, and my receipt shows that I didn’t steal the book. If the cashier insisted (esp. with an eyeroll), I would buy books elsewhere, and be sure to let a manager know why (I do understand that the OP was buying HP on the release date, so I can understand her not walking out).
Funny thing — I bought 5-6 items at a Mom & Pop convenience store the other day. I had to ask for a bag — I guess it’s their cost-control policy not to give bags unless specifically requested.
I agree, leave the damn bag on the counter. No one put a gun to your head and forced you to walk out with the bag.
@The Meathead: If this incident “upset” her, as you say, the real world is going to eat her alive!
What a bunch of wrongheaded comments.
1. No store should automatically give a bag to someone with only one item.
2. Why say she should have brought her own bag, when she doesn’t need a bag to carry only one item?
3. To those defending the store on the grounds that the store personnel would see the bag and know that it was paid for, please read the post with your reading comprehension dial turned on. The books were being kept behind the counter — if she had it, it was paid for.
4. And as the one or two sane posters have pointed out, it’s not about one bag, it’s about millions. Maryland is discussing banning plastic bags, which wouldn’t have happened if people used them responsibly.
People taking ownership for reducing the amount of waste that they are responsible for is a good thing, regardless of your opinion on Al Gore.
Boo hoo. Seriously.
If this is the worst thing that has happened to her at a store, then three cheers for Border’s customer service.
Given that this employee really might have been told that she had to bag everything and that retail employees often don’t have a whole lot of leeway in deciding which policies to enforce, I think you should have just taken the book and left the bag. But way to squeal by including the employee’s number!
@Slytherin: If by ‘eat her alive,’ you mean illicit from her reasonable, thoughtful responses to issues she views as problems and prompting her to direct her concerns in rational, well-drafted missives to the appropriate person or persons, I wholeheartedly agree. Sure beats the hell out of simply shutting up and being all sullen and Emo about it.
@LowerHouseMember:
uh, no. the next person in line would have trashed their bag regardless. one less bag is one less bag.
i just would have taken my book out of the bag at the till and walked away.
IMO, the reason Borders wants you to take a bag, especially on that day, is so everyone can see where you bought the book. It’s cheap (almost free) advertising for Borders.
I’m no environmental nut but I do think that we should stop or reduce our use of the plastic bags unless there is no alternative. I think the author’s response was proper. The only thing I would have done differently is to remove the book from the bag at the counter and leave the bag neatly on the counter.
@Jon Parker: I wholeheartedly concur.
I know this is a ‘consumer’ website, not an environmental one so perhaps is to be expected that most of the comments are focusing on the behavior of the clerk and the ultimate resolution. But, at the end of the day, a consumer MUST think of the impact that their happy consumption has, post-use. I mean, beyond the curb-side pick-up by those nice men in overalls once a week.
@leftistcoast: I’d say that you mean “elicit,” but even then your reply doesn’t make any sense.
@bilge: Yes, my bad. Elicit, not illicit (I need to be more careful when alt-tabbing between documents). Beyond that, what part doesn’t make sense? The sarcastic part?
Yeah, but what they aren’t telling you is the bag had a Nazi skull symbol on it.
Borders Bag Watch : Day 1 and counting…..
Yes, Borders’ response sufficient. She was in no way harmed or damaged so there should be no monetary compensation. There’s been an apology. That should be enough.
I also bought my Harry Potter from a Borders on the release night. I stated that I did not want a bag and guess what – I wasn’t given a bag!
So don’t tar and feather the whole chain due to the response of an employee at one store – an employee, by the way, that went to her boss to tell him that she has mishandled a situation!
Another case of micromanaging a trivial situation…i hope she drives an electric car, recycles everything, purchases recycled components, uses energy saving lightbulbs, has natural insulation in the house, uses solar panels, low flush toilet, etc etc…give me a break…
@bilge: All I read from leftistcoast’s comment was “blah, blah, blah.”
Turn around and hand the bag to the person behind you in line and walk out. Geeshh…
She shouldn’t have to take a bag, end of story.
@Slytherin: Well, I’m glad I wasn’t the only one that missed the illicit/elicit faux pas…
I worked at a very large record store years ago and we had a similar policy. All customers had to take a bag because the store was comprised of three floors and it was a quick and dirty way for security to recognize paying customers. It’s not a perfect system, because of course a shoplifter can bring in a used bag and stuff it full of unpaid CDs, but it was only a first line of defense.
We had a recycling bin at the front door for those who did not want a bag. These bags were either reused or recycled. Of course, it didn’t the occasional angry hippie from yelling and screaming about what big bad polluters we were, but there’s no making those people happy.
Guys, girls. Live large. Just because counter staff tells you something dumb, rebel. Smile. Walk away ignoring their ninniness.
@Kimba: Major chains discount the Harry Potter books to the point where small, independent bookstores can’t even afford to carry them anymore. There were articles about stores that wouldn’t be getting Book 7 because they knew they couldn’t compete.
Wow. I live in the area and can actually truthfully say that I will not shop there. The original poster can truthfully tell the store now that they have driven away another environmentalist who expects that “no bag” requests will be honored.
And I would have left the bag there on the counter for them to clean up, too. I didn’t want it, it’s not my problem, I will not touch it.
I will go to that same Border to demand 2 plastic bags then! yeah!
I work at Barnes & Noble, at and least at my store, we were told to *not* give the customer a bag on HP night unless they requested one, more out of concern for the cost rather than the environment, I assume. It seemed pretty pointless to give out bags to people who were going to tear the book out of it the second they left the store (and presumably dump the bag in our trash cans.) We had maybe 10% of the people in line at midnight ask for a bag. I don’t know how that Borders was set up, but as soon as our customer was finished purchasing Deathly Hallows , they went straight out the door. So, unless they let people keep wandering the store after buying the book, the loss-prevention excuse doesn’t make sense to me. It sounds to me like a pissy cashier on a power trip.
And seriously, if I see one more person excusing the cashier’s behavior because it was Harry Potter night…You’re flat wrong. If there was one night that all booksellers should have put on their happiest faces and bent over backward to make their customers happy, it was that night. That’s just MO, but it’s the opinion of someone who spent 2 & a 1/2 months planning ther store’s release party, was running on 4 hours of sleep, and still smiled the whole time.
100x the usual number of people were passing through the doors of B&N just after midnight. Corporate just wanted to make it easier for half-asleep, over-whelmed employees to notice if shrinkage was occurring.
Give them a break and take the bag, already.