I hear a rumour that another valuable and, therefore obligatorily undervalued employee of a local branch of a national chain has handed in his or her notice due to the continued incompetence of the higher echelons and the constant underestimation of the relative talents of their workforce. This letter was intercepted on its way to the manager of an independent book shop for whom said employee was re-aligning his or her loyalties:
“Dear Sir,
I have been reliably informed that you have snatched one of the finest bookselling talents of this or any generation from the cold embrace of a local branch of a national chain (currently resisting asset-stripping) who can ill afford to lose such a gem. I am appalled.
This is not how "independents" should undermine chain bookstores. Rather than kicking them when they're down, one should let them destroy themselves with mindless bureaucracy, reckless mismanagement, rampant toadyism and blind bookselling ignorance, as evidenced by the collapse of that other chain, the example of which the former chain is quickly following. I hope you at least send flowers to Tim Waterstone when his erstwhile plaything finally gives up the ghost.
In the meantime, please ensure that you only pay the standard bookselling minimum wage (we wouldn't want this person getting a big head) and force him or her to work every weekend and holiday, religious and secular, so that the change in environments does not overwhelm. In this manner, his or her distress will be managed appropriately.
Bon courage, et bon chance.”
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| Confusingly, this is a dead cat. Is that relevant? No. The cat's not relevant. |
What a world. Not only does a valued resource, for the general public and professionals alike, risk wasting away until brittle and therefore attractive enough for someone to come in and shatter and disseminate the real estate for the best financial return, the unintelligibly loyal staff is slowly but surely being destroyed by an uncomprehending behemoth, self-confidence milled to dust and expectations eroded to sand. And that is the real tragedy. Chains come and go, subject to the prevailing forces of a liberal market economy, and any emotional attachment is the delusional product of a yearning for better times, for softer edges on our pointy and jagged self-serving world. But this unexpectedly resilient fasces of like-minded book lovers is being whittled away, corroded by the acid spittle of unfeeling market-led monsters. “Our first responsibility is to the share holder,” I’m told via email, “and therefore to the continued strength of our share price.” Well, I have 9 shares, and their strength is flagging. Plus, I don’t get any dividend from the sale of real estate – all I get is the added incentive to buy my books on-line, or, if I’m feeling a little lost, in a place like Rossiter Books in Ross-on-Wye, my new non-local local book shop.
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