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Thursday, February 24, 2011

Books Powell's Workers Asked to Tell Customers: "Powell's Will Be OK."

Posted by Sarah Mirk on Thu, Feb 24, 2011 at 10:14 AM

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  • Thomas James
A couple updates on the plight of Powell's Books workers who survived the the round of layoffs two weeks ago.

One thing a couple workers have griped to me about? A script that a Powell's manager sent out with advice for how to respond to customers' questions. Check out the script below the cut.

At a union meeting last night, a roomful of workers agreed that the Powell's union (ILWU Local 5) should launch some sort of campaign to get Powell's to end its current hiring freeze. "I think people are upset because the company didn't exhaust all options before the nuclear option of laying off workers," says union rep Ryan Takas, who says the union offered to put off a wage increase. "The main demand would be that we need more workers to do a good job."

The union contract bans walkouts and strikes, but it has a funny clause allowing workers to answer customers' direct questions. In previous campaigns, the union has asked its members to all wear stickers or buttons, then when customers ask about the button, the workers can talk about the campaign. It's also possible that the union could stage a "break-out", asking all its members to take their break at the same time one day, but Takas wasn't sure whether that's legal under the contract.

Anyway, below the cut: The suggested employee script for talking about layoffs.

This script was sent out by Meredith Schreiber, a Powell's store manager. Check it out:


Greetings- Now that the news is out I would imagine our customers will be asking questions. It might be helpful to read sample responses below, just in case.

Q-I'm sorry to hear about the layoff, will Powell's be OK?
A-Thanks for your interest and concern. Yes, Powell's will be OK.

Q-Is Powell's Being impacted by e-books?
A. Yes, it seems clear that recent sales decreases the company has experienced are related to shift to e-books. However, lots of customers like you are coming through our doors everyday. We really appreciate that. Thank you for being here.

Q. Does Powell's have a strategy for responding to the industry changes?
A. The combination of our bricks and mortar stores and our internet capabilities will stand our customers, and by extension Powell's in good stead. We are in the process of adjusting to changes in our industry and we are fortunate in having a strong foundation to work from.

If a customer persists too long in conversation it's okay to excuse yourself and just thank them for their interest and concern. If a customer has questions you are not comfortable with please page for the MOD to assist.

 

Comments (17) RSS

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1
great illustration
Posted by miguelaron on February 24, 2011 at 10:37 AM · Report
2
If Powell's goes, WHAT HOPE DO THE REST OF US HAVE??
Posted by Never Alone on February 24, 2011 at 10:41 AM · Report
3
Eh, being given "scripts" in retail is quite common. Whenever there is any sort of media coverage on an issue, changes in the product, or ways that they want you to phrase a particular sale, they give you a script.
Posted by ScrumYummy on February 24, 2011 at 11:36 AM · Report
4
The script is only suggested. It actually looks helpful.
Posted by kiala on February 24, 2011 at 11:55 AM · Report
5
Oh, thank goodness Powell's didn't use hyperbole instead of the "nuclear option".
Posted by cat & beard on February 24, 2011 at 12:01 PM · Report
6
It's over. I'm SUCH a die-hard Powell's customer.. I've spent tens of thousands there over the decades, then sold back everything so I could respend. And yet I bought a kindle a few months ago and love it. That's it, I'm done with 'real' books. My husband too. Sorry, e-readers are just better.
Posted by PDXwahine on February 24, 2011 at 12:08 PM · Report
7
here it is as a little audio play: http://snd.sc/ffNp0Z
Posted by rich23 on February 24, 2011 at 12:28 PM · Report
8
That's the script? It seems pretty innocuous to me. None of those questions are about the layoffs, just about the company.
Posted by guspasho on February 24, 2011 at 4:16 PM · Report
9
PDXwahine - except it's far less likely Time Warner will walk up to you and pull your paperback out of your hands. The e-quivalent has already happened on the Kindle.
Posted by Matt Picio on February 24, 2011 at 4:33 PM · Report
10
Oh but it's not JUST retail-- it's working in a book store, dammit! And a really credible one at that! The people that work there must be hyper-intelligent and well-read and would be out there changing the world if they just didn't love reading so damn much. Just like the cashiers at Wal-Mart.
Posted by Chunty McHutchence on February 24, 2011 at 6:47 PM · Report
11
Q-I'm sorry to hear about the layoff, didn't Michael Powell recently buy a Maserati?
A-Thanks for your interest and concern. Yes, he did.
Posted by Todd Mecklem on February 24, 2011 at 7:00 PM · Report
12
Don`t worry e-readers, they will burn your crappy kindles if THEY don`t want you to read either way.

BOOKS ALL THE WAY!!! BOOKS ALL THE WAY!!!
Posted by Leaky on February 24, 2011 at 8:37 PM · Report
13
Leaky says it, I second it, the motion passes, BOOKS ALL THE WAY!!!
Posted by Todd Mecklem on February 24, 2011 at 9:44 PM · Report
14
@Todd - I don't get why you keep bringing up the Maserati. What does that have to do with anything?
Posted by Reymont on February 27, 2011 at 1:42 AM · Report
15
@Matt I'm super late on this reply, and I am a HUGE anti-DRM person.. I pirate most everything. Did I say that? I meant the opposite. Anyway.. the books I buy, I read. After that, if they take them away.. it's no worse than how I used to lose the fuckers under the bed or something. A book is for now.

I don't fight current DRM, I just ignore it and go around. They really hate that. :) I know a book is a book and has a pleasant physical presence, but I'm getting old. The text on my kindle is a certain size, which I can make bigger if I need. If I finish a book in bed at 3 am, I can buy another one right then. The kindle is lighter than most books, ESPECIALLY hardbacks. I don't have to resell them later. :)

I'm sold.
Posted by PDXwahine on March 2, 2011 at 10:47 PM · Report
16
Regarding the script to assist us in talking to customers about the layoffs (not all Powell’s front line employees got it, by the way): Powell’s could have provided a script about the fact that we sell e-books. Customers would not have learned this from any of the company’s statements regarding the layoffs, which solely addressed the problems caused to our business by e-books.

Maybe Powell’s was right not to mention the fact that we sell e-books, given that staff was given no training or preparation for answering questions about them. This training has still not occurred, nor to my knowledge is any planned. A (union) co-worker at my location has taken it upon himself to educate the rest of us, with no compensation or recognition for his initiative.

Powell’s corporate has no idea of the quality and caliber of the people who work for them. We love our jobs, our customers, our co-workers, and our books. The layoffs cut at the heart of everything that makes us want to work at Powell’s in spite of its clueless and incompetent upper management. If you’re a Powell’s customer, thank you, we love you—truly—but please ask yourself a few things. Why were layoffs the first resort, not the last? Why did the company make no effort to work with the union to avoid, or at least mitigate, them? And why were more than 7% of union workers laid off but not a single manager?
Posted by frandrew on March 3, 2011 at 10:01 AM · Report
17
Powells sells ebooks?
Posted by PDXwahine on March 7, 2011 at 11:32 PM · Report

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