Your store supports evil cults!!

[Blueberry]

Last year my store was selling tickets for a fairly popular author's event. There will be 400-500 people attending.
Now, we were only selling tickets for the events and the books at the event. We had no control over anything. The PR company for the author takes care of that.
Downtown, there are 4 large enough sites for this. The first and second sites were already booked, the 4th was not large enough so they went with the third, a non denominational church. David Suzuki had an event there and the author was Hindi, so no big deal hmm???
Well not according to one guy.
He came in and bought his ticket, and when he found out what the venue was, he starting complaining.
'Whhhhy??? A church??? Don't you know they're EVIL??? EVIL!! They support hate groups, so by default you do too and are making me!!'
The explanation that the 2 other sites, a library and a musuem, were already booked did nothing.
'Hate groups! That's what churches are! I don't even know why I am supporting this! I bet if Big Author knew, he wouldn't come!'
Explanation that the author's PR company was in charge did nothing.
'I hate churches! DId you know they are responsible for some thing that made no sense and happened 500 years ago???? They are evil!'
After being told he didn't have to buy the ticket, and was more than welcome to leave,
'No, I'll go...But I'm not happy and I want the manager's phone number!'
The event coordinator was informed, and later received an incoherent phone message about us supporting hate groups.
They were on the lookout for him at the event, but there were no problems.
However, the author's publishing company's rep received a phone call the next day.
Apparently, this nut had managed to find her number and call her to complain!
The gist was that my store was supporting hate groups because the event was in a church.
She tried to tell him that the store was not at fault and the author was perfectly happy with the venue.
No luck.
Then he says 'Oh, and by the way, next time you should USE MY PR COMPANY. Here's my number. I have a great relationship with the bookstore.'

[Rapscallion]

We've had q number of tales about people of extreme relgious convictions causing a rumpus, but now an apparent atheist starting the fracas. Consider me impressed!

Rapscallion

[Gurndigarn]

We've had q number of tales about people of extreme relgious convictions causing a rumpus, but now an apparent atheist starting the fracas. Consider me impressed!

This is your first encounter with nutjob atheists? Lucky you. They're out there, and they're as bad as any of the other religious nutjobs.

[Banrion]

I think it is safe to say any over-zealous nutjobs, no matter their particular obsession are very possibly the worst type of nutjob to encounter.

[BookstoreEscapee]

In my last store we had an anti-porn nutjob. He was possibly early twenties, maybe a little younger, and I have a feeling he was a little bit, well, slow. Either that or just incredibly socially inept. I heard someone say his mother would drop him off at the store and he'd hang out for hours. He was always looking at car magazines and complaining, to whoever would listen (read: whoever he could trap at the customer service desk) about the girls in teeny bikinis sprawled across the cars. It's pornography, kids can look at this, you shouldn't carry these, etc. etc. etc. Also Maxim and FHM and those types. No amount of "we have no control over what magazines we carry and we don't decide where they are shelved," or pointing out that the girls are not actually naked (and therefore not subject to being hidden behind the register with the Playboys) would deter him. Until finally our manager, who takes no crap from anyone (she's awesome), told him he had to stop haranguing the employees about things they can't do anything about, and if he disapproved so much he should just stop looking at them. Besides, there's worse stuff in a lot of the photography books and in the many versions of the kama sutra which are both much closer to the kids section

[Ringtail Z28]

Does Wal-Mart count as an evil cult? I remember some of the more hardcore Sam worshipers were kinda creepy when I worked there, especially during the meetings. It think some people here refered to those types as the Walton Cult.

[GayleShy]

Does Wal-Mart count as an evil cult? I remember some of the more hardcore Sam worshipers were kinda creepy when I worked there, especially during the meetings. It think some people here refered to those types as the Walton Cult.

ACK! I almost freaked the first time I heard the evil cheer of doom. I though I had joined a cult. GAH! I never go to meets now, if I can help it.

[Dark Psion]

Your store supports evil cults!!

And????

[Rahmota]

Well as an aethiest/agnostic/apathetic who has no problem with people having religion as long as I dont have to deal with it that guy is a bad mark on all of us.

Oh well a nut job is still the same no matter which side of the tree they fell out of. What gets me is that he had the bravery? to go through all that ranting and then try a sales pitch. I wonder how much of the ranting was real and how much was a strange attention getting device employment. And he had a great relationship with the store, until he walked throuhg the door I bet.

[Hemily]

He was always looking at car magazines and complaining, to whoever would listen (read: whoever he could trap at the customer service desk) about the girls in teeny bikinis sprawled across the cars. It's pornography, kids can look at this

i can kinda agree with him, what the hell does halfnaked women have to do with a car magazine? i bought a car magazine, not porn, car magazines should contain cars, not be an excuse to take pictures of halfnaked women leaning against a car...


yes, those kind of magazines is a pet peeve of mine

[friendofjimmyk]

i can kinda agree with him, what the hell does halfnaked women have to do with a car magazine? i bought a car magazine, not porn, car magazines should contain cars, not be an excuse to take pictures of halfnaked women leaning against a car...


yes, those kind of magazines is a pet peeve of mine

It's all Hanson's fault!

[protege]

yes, those kind of magazines is a pet peeve of mine

Motor Trend actually took heat for that some years back. Their "auto exotica" issue, I *think* it was 1989 or '90. Several people wrote in and complained about the models. Now, if they do that, they only show the cars.

I like the ladies as much as the next guy, but give me a break. If you need someone to pose with the car, just to make the shot good...the car is usually a POS, or the magazine is desperate for sales

Fine machinery does *not* need any "enhancement" to look good. Don't believe me? Take a look at a 1930s Talbot-Lago with the 'teardrop' bodywork, or even the many coachbuilt Delages, Delahayes, or even the various 1950s Ferrari offerings. Those things are freaking amazing...and have *much* better curves than many models

[Demonoid Phenomenon]

At the mall I used to work at, there was this geeky-looking fellow (glasses, greasy hair, clothing right out of REVENGE OF THE NERDS) who hung out a lot, and, while I never had any issues with him in my store, the lady who managed the bookstore at the time shared with me that one day he walked up to the front counter and told the employees that they had 'demons' floating around the occult section.
He didn't say it loudly and wasn't obnoxious; he just mentioned it non-chalantly and sauntered out.

Oddly enough, this was around the time that HELLRAISER 3 was released (bad movie...CD Head?!) and guess who happened to be going to see it too?
Yep, 'floating demon' boy.
I guess it might have qualified as research for him?

[BookstoreEscapee]

i can kinda agree with him, what the hell does halfnaked women have to do with a car magazine? i bought a car magazine, not porn, car magazines should contain cars, not be an excuse to take pictures of halfnaked women leaning against a car...


yes, those kind of magazines is a pet peeve of mine

I agree too, to be honest, but spending 15+ minutes complaining to the lowly bookseller isn't gonna change anything and is just going to annoy the bookseller. We really don't have any control over what we sell and where it goes in magazines. Maybe once or twice a year the buyers look at what we're actually selling and work with the store to get rid of those titles (so they can send us different ones that we won't sell), but mags are all through corporate. The ones in the front of the rack are generally plan-o-grammed and there's only so much smut we can hide behind the counter.

When we used to actually have Playboy and all those out on the floor (top shelf, all the way in the back of the rack) it would surprise you how many we'd find opened and hidden between books in the religion section ...or maybe it wouldn't

(My "favorite" car magazine was "Easy Riders"--I could never decide if the title was referring to the bikes or the girls... )