FRI 30 JAN 2004
Bookstore, where art thou?
By Sean OlsonA&C Editor
It’s been several weeks since I bought my books from the UI Bookstore, and they still haven’t called. The whole situation has left me a little sore. Two boxes of Kleenex, four boxes of bon-bons and eight screenings of “Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood” have given this columnist the comfort to finally express the betrayal and hurt I felt at the lack of sensitivity.
Sure, I knew that the Bookstore served thousands of students a year. But why wouldn’t I be special? I invested so much into the relationship ($600) and walked away feeling used. I looked the other way with the Bookstore’s shortcomings. There was that ninth edition that would be replaced next semester — read: no buyback — but hey, I let it go. Some disheveled books weren’t in the right section, but hey, nobody is perfect, right?
Everyone is thinking the same thing right now: Why not just buy your books online? Well, I evaluated my options beforehand and chose the Bookstore for several reasons.
First, where’s the intimacy in buying at Amazon? Online relationships just aren’t as satisfying as a real-world venture. Plus, what would my friends think? I’m buying a book from someone I haven’t even seen. I’d be a laughingstock.
Second, the Bookstore is just so convenient. I could look far and wide for a better store, but there isn’t any security there. I’m just terrified of waking up one day in my senior year of college and realizing there isn’t one bookstore that will be a perfect match for me out there, ever. On the other hand, the UI Bookstore is ready and willing at all times to serve me in the best way it knows how.
Finally, the Bookstore is just so friendly. When you are inside, the Bookstore has nothing but wonderful, sweet and helpful things to say. It isn’t until you leave that you realize the cost, the emotional and physical cost, that you have just paid.
I chose the Bookstore and now I have to live with that choice. I tried to tell myself our relationship was a one-day type of deal. Wham, bam, thank you ma’am and be on your way. But I wasn’t ready for the cold, calculated lack of interest the Bookstore would show me over the next few weeks.
I waited by the phone patiently, not even picking up to call my mother to assess the situation. The only phone call was from the Sheriff’s association asking for money, and I was so angry it wasn’t the Bookstore calling that I almost reported it right then. But better sense prevailed and I bought some more chocolate.
The icing on the cake was four days ago. Call me manipulative, obsessive or whatever, but I just had to go back there. So I made up some cockamamie excuse about forgetting a personal item while I was there the last time. When I asked for it, no one even remembered my name! Talk about a heartbreaker.
Now, normally I’m not the kind of person to ask for my money back. However, I spent so much for so little in return (a few lousy books that can’t comfort me in the dead of night). I may just have to march in there and tell the Bookstore off. Readers, don’t let this lying, cheating, insensitive wretch of a bookstore do the same to you. Don’t settle, or you may end up like me.
On a happier note, I feel I’m finally over the whole debacle. I’ve found a mate that will always be there for me, day or night, sick or well, broke or rich. I bought myself an X-box.
UI Argonaut, 301 Student Union, Moscow, ID 83844
Argonaut: 208.885.7845 Advertising: 208.885.5780