Sitting on the floor, cross-legged and tucked into the magazine fixture, this browser worked her way through a range of women’s magazines for more than half an hour. I don’t mind browsers (I do actually but I am usually able to remind myself that browsers can be customers if you give them time) – I have never put up signs saying this is not a library or told customers to move on for browsing for too long. What I saw last week went too far, it made it difficult for others looking at magazines in the same area, especially some of our otlder customers in walking frames.
Years ago, we briefly contemplated putting in some easy chairs, like you see at Borders, for our browsers. We realised that they would need to be in the aisles, near the magazines and we didn’t have the room for this.
I’d be interested in how other newsagents handle the power browser, someone who sits in front of the magazines like in the photo or, worse still, someone who sits on the flat stack.
Did you ask her if she wanted a chair? I’ve heard Newsagents ask that before.
I’ve had them sit on a stack of papers while trying to find something in the Trading Post. It’s awkward, I could only glare at her and hope she’d found what she wanted.
Here’s another one I found a while ago on the net.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTr3iCBDRac
All we do is ask that if they are browsing to respect that other people will be buying the mags they are sitting on, so please stand up to read. If they are rude they are asked to leave but 99% will stand up and continue to browse.
We have never placed signage up or discouraged people from reading but blocking pathways or sitting on stock gets a fast reaction, get them up before they get comfortable.
Hmm there’s a bit of dirt in that aisle. Better get the vaccy out.. Oh dear.. sorry about that.. 😉
I think it’s rude after a certain point, which varies between browsers. A bit like people asking us to write down the lotto numbers on a Sunday. And, as they argue, they’re on the wall of a lotto agency then. But we’re not a lotto agency, so they’ve not bought anything related from us. And they get all offended when I have to point out the cheekiness of their request. Spend two bloody dollars! How much did your numbers cost????
I don’t think we’d put the signs up re library, though, tempting as it is sometimes.
I have had to call out “Hey, reading boy” to a young man hiding behind the groceries, reading a mag cover to cover.
If I wasn’t on my own, I’d be feeling the need to do a bit of a vac behind those groceries.
People these days have forgotten what manners are!!
we do get that sort of people in our shop, granted they could be looking to see whether the articles are interesting b4 they buy, but generally they end up buying something else and not the mag they were browsing.
If they turn out to be a serial browser week in week out never buying anything at all, then I would definitely say something. I don’t think this is unreasonable.
Sometimes I would pretend to move some things around where they are standing, hopefully to nudge them along.
Years ago I even have this person who would at times request to use the photocopy machine to copy some pages , mostly from the girlie mags!
Until one day, he picked up a more expensive girlie mag to photocopy, and that’s when we put our foot down and said sorry no go, as that would crease the hard cover… since then no such request, not seen him around much, again good riddance as he was a no value-added customer anyway.
We had a ‘comfortably built’ lady in the shop every lunchtime, she read mags cover to cover and put them back. The staff told me she had been doing it for years. I approached her next lunchtime and asked her she was going to buy the mag now that she had licked her finger to turn the page. She never came back but she wasn’t a customer anyway was she.
By the way Mark how did you take the photo?
Putting signs up are not good, I went into one newsagency that had “These magazines are not for your reading enjoyment, they are for sale. This is not a library thank you”. It’s not a welcoming look, especially when it’s every 80cm along the shelves!
Brett, page lickers are a whole other topic!, but did she buy it?
i have a browser that comes in all the time ,he sometimes spends but just the other day he topped it off by asking me to photo copy the page that interested him ,what a joke . i suppose i would make more money if every one wanted to photo copy the page they wanted
We have kids and the odd adult that sit and read, I always ask if they have something wrong with their legs, if not would you please stand as our isles are not wide enough like the Library. They get the message….
A favourite topic of mine. No signs in our Newsagency or harsh words. I completely understand the possibility of turning off customers and the negativity of it all and I am getting better at tolerating the extreme examples such as the one in your photo Mark but I tend to say something after the customer has been reading the same mag for over 5 minutes. My attitude is not working against me as my mag sales whilst seasonal are steady and not dropping by any means.
Page lickers are hard to take particulalrly when other customers are watching them in disgust. Or the customer who does eventually buy the magazine they have just read but take the fresh copy behind the one they have been reading (and licking!).
Then there is the serial Trading Post/Unique Cars/Sports Pages/ you name it who asks for a pen to jot a number down.
The hot one yesterday was Ralph with just about every bloke coming over for a perv at Kelly Crawford. Yes sales of Ralph are up 25% but at the cost of about 10 heavily fingered copies.
Bario, the customer that wants the photocopy should be charged the cover price in my view.
I’m all for try before you buy but sitting down on the floor or magazine stacks looks terrible, is bad manners and may encourage others inclined that way to emulate it if it appears the proprietor doesn’t care.
Off topic here, but regarding the current issue of Ralph, all of our copies have already had the front panel ripped off (the one that says “open to see cans” and is placed over Kellie’s breasts)
Underneath is an ad for mens deoderant.
OMG – does that mean they actually read the words as well?? LOL
What does that mean in terms of returns though, Shayne? The advertiser will be laughing all the way to the bank.
Seems to me that publishers ask for that kind of abuse of their procuct, them knowing (via research!!) what human nature is and all. Might get people peeking, but not necessarily buying?
The sitter, squater, is easy to fix with the line “Would you mind standing as you browse in case someone trips over you”. The longer term browser can be deterred with exceptional customer service ” Can I help you find what you are looking for” followed up with “Are you sure I can’t help you find it for you” then start tidying the magazines around them. It seems to work for us.
Ah, browsers. I don’t run a newsagent but been on a busy strip (Subiaco in Perth, Rokeby Rd) I am subject to a lot of serial browsers, most of them are from a nearby nursing home the rest I have no idea. Many constantly either buy nothing and want to waste my staffs time with questions, or they buy stuff, use it and then return it. Since I’ve taken over the store 6wks ago I’ve stamped out a lot of them, apparently they’ve been doing it for more then a decade some of them! When they don’t contribute to the store but constantly do these things, then their is no reason to have them in the store.. especially when the previous management had a reputation for extremely slow service (as they got caught up by these timewasters all the time!)
One thing I do (especially with kids lying on the floor reading, while mum sips lattes and the coffee shop) is get my laser pointer and reflect it of mirrors on to the magazine they’re reading.
They can’t see where it’s coming from, and run and tell mum there’s a red dot moving on the magazine! It’s even more funny when they drag mum in to explain what happened.
Some years ago i went into my local newsagency to put lotto on. No one was at the front counter, but could hear the newsagent talking out the back. I waited for him to come out but after a minute or so i went over to the mags and was browsing them. Suddenly the old guy came out, saw me and said “looks like the free readers are in early today” I told him why i was waiting there and then walked out without purchasing & NEVER to grace his premises ever again. You guys cant have it both ways, if you don’t want readers then don’t put them on shelves. No wonder you guys are going the way of the dinosaur !!!!!
It is only by reading this blog that i have become tolerant, tolerance has paid off as some browsers actually buy from me.
Finger lickers and people who pass wind and stink the shop out, overides any tolerance I have learn’t, I then take the Y&G approach and start cleaning.
Yes guys I tried to hide the Ralph’s that have been openned but their nearly all been openned now.
yes the vacuum has always been a great deterent, also moving the blame off base always helps ‘im sorry that isnt a weight baring fixture sir would you mind standing. also copiers out of magazines, our standard reply is unfortunately that is copyright infringement sir, until after the product is purchased
It is interesting that a discussionn about browsing practices gets more comment than posts on the future of newpapers.
It’s something that doesn’t get discussed as often I guess. Like finger lickers.
If someone asked me to copy pages from an unsold mag, I’d tell them I’ll be charging the price of the mag per page. The cheek!
More front than Myer!
And it would surely be breaching copyright, yes?
As for the volume of responses re the topic, it’s clearly a day-to-day thing that’s as relevant to our futures as newspapers.
Anyway, you kicked off what has turned out to be a very funny thread. I’m sure most of us are as amused as I am!
Unless the law has changed… I believe you are allowed to photocopy a magazine or book but it can only be one chapter or one article. – Your customers don’t need to know it though.
I think we need to define BROWSER against FREE READER.
BROWERS is fine, they flick though and hopfully see something of interest and buy.
FREE READERS stand or sit reading an article of interest in a magazine, therefore getting a FREE read.
I monitor the situation for about three minutes then inform them that I can’t make a living out of free readers, I need to sell the magazine so put it back or take it to the counter.
You need to be sure they are not a regular customer who buy other products in your store, but most of the time they are people who dont spend in your shop, so they are using you, best to move them on and take the clutter out of your store freeing up space for genuine customers
I would have started by asking the lady what she was doing. Not in a rude way. There may be some explanation that can help your business.
Mark:
“It is interesting that a discussionn about browsing practices gets more comment than posts on the future of newpapers.”
There’s a reason for this. Most newsagents understand big things are happening with print, but don’t feel able to have any influence over such huge events. On the other hand, this is something that is easily dealt with.
Hay Browser, is that you in the photo!
Re: Asking the lady what she was doing.. if you don’t want the negative toning of telling people to buy it or get out, just use the old customer service approach.. “how may I help you”, “so what interests you in this mag, etc”. This will just piss them off and get them out of their without been an asshole.
I am with you MArk, its incredible the amount of posts for a topic such as browsing. So many more topics with bigger issues, yet simple things appease simple thinking. Nothing wrong with that, just an observation.
Chris
reservoir
I have been reminded many times that browsers can turn into customers. I had one in particular, who would come in every Monday to browse the New Idea and Woman’s Day. You could almost set your watch by her! This went on for months, never buying anything. One day though, she came in and bought almost $400 worth of stationery for her workplace. She has been in many times since, both as a browser and now as a customer. This sort of behaviour has taught me a lot, and I have seen it many times over. I definitely would say something if someone sat down in the aisle, or was inconveniencing other customers, but even then, it would be in a polite way, as others have described here. My pet hate is the one that comes in 2 minutes before you are due to close!
Cheers.
Mark,
I agree with Bills comment. This is an issue that retailers can deal with on an individual basis and do so according to their own level of tolerance. We also often deal with supplier problems etc, on an indidual basis with or without success. The bigger issues can only be resolved with a united front. Power in numbers if you like. Ive seen no evidence of a mechanism for this to happen. We dont have a pharmacy guild or a united body capable of representing us collectively on such issues either politically or on a supplier contact basis.
I may be wrong as i’m a relative newby but I haven’t seen any evidence of it anyway. Endless amounts of talk though..
how about the backpacker that spread the local paper out on the floor, then pulled out his mobile phone to take pics of the jobs section, even the locals in the shop could not believe his nerve, paper only costs $1, we had a good chuckle about it later. If you ever wanted to know how to get by on a few dollars a day, follow a backpacker around, they are brilliant at it.
Graeme,
That’s a tactic I use whenever there are suspicous looking hoodlums in the shop near the permanent markers.
if the backpacker does it without asking permission, I would say that’s rude and being brought up without manners.
I have been a backpacker before and needed to watch my pennies as well.
So if the backpacker were to ask nicely explaining the circumstances, I would not have the heart to refuse.
About this stream getting more comments than future of newspapers, it’s like what Bill Bennett says, it’s something everyone can relate to day-to-day.
Yes, the future of newspapers is a big issue over our heads, but if the inevitable, ie a paperless news media, should eventuate, believe no one can dictate the situation otherwise other than the end consumer, no doubt a shrinking population as the younger more techno savvy people catch up.
Also probably most of us are thinking that total paperless newspapers/ magazines will not happen within our ownership of the newsagency.
At mag nation we do put up signs. They say “everything at mag nation can be touched, felt and browsed… except for our staff”
I like to browse. Sometimes I need a specific piece of information from a magazine, or am attracted to a specific article mentioned on the cover. Sometimes I love a magazine but don’t have the cash to afford it. So I go and browse at Mag Nation. No, I don’t buy every magazine I touch or look at. But every single magazine I do buy, I buy at Mag Nation. I support them because they support (the impoverished) me.
Wow, this one has certainly sparked alot of interest!
Why would you buy a magazine if you have already read it? It would have to be a really good article!
This is our pet hate. We often ask browsers “Do you need a hand with anything?”, 50% of the time they will get the message and make a decision to purchase or not. Another tactic we use is “the magazine shuffle”, straightening out magazines and being close by.
We also have a couple of serial browsers. One in particular spends from 30mins to an hour on average! You just know when she hits the door that you should have ducked out for that coffee when you had the chance.
Although off the original topic, I was browsing Mag Nations Web Site, I am not sure what their in store prices are like however I looked at the subscription Mags part of their web site and they are expensive.
For eg: mags I like such as True crime and Nexus over a 12th month subscription costs more than double if you subscribe to them rather than by them is a Newsagency in Australia.
Correct me if I am wrong.
Derek
doesn’t the magnation website also state
“All the girls who work at mag nation are gorgeous. All the boys have big schlongs.”
there has yet to be proof of this.
on topic however, people do get in the way when they just stand around and ignore everyone else around them. most browsers usually buy something, or are just killing time waiting for someone else to get something. which usually leads to an impulse buy if they liked what they read.
I love browsers in my newsagency. Always have. Some of them have become friends. They are good for business.
Derek – This is because these are the air freight versions. Mag Nation has fans of lots of niche titles who are not willing to wait until it arrives at a newsagent 2-3 months after publication in the country of origin. With international titles, we deal almost exclusively with Air Freight versions for real aficionados. Their only alternative is to subscribe to the mag from the publisher themselves, and we are mostly cheaper, plus we are local and provide them with a person at the end of a phone line if they want. So in a nutshell, you can’t compare newsagent prices with our subscription prices as they are different products. We too sell Nexus and True Crime from our stores at the same price that you do (but these are the cheaper sea freight versions).
Plenty of newsagents have air freight versions as well.
Sure they do – but not air freight versions of over 1,000 titles…
I was correcting your inference that newsagents do not have airfreight editions. Indeed, we have the option of selecting as many as we want from our distributors.
Mag Nation
I understand what you mean, you get real time O/S subscriptions. Not a few months/weeks old although you offer these as well.
You are indeed welcome to express your view but the real time subscription you pay through the nose, sorry 2 noses.
As they say horses for courses.
And I was simply explaining to Derek why our website prices might appear more expensive than what he stocks in store. Because he is not comparing like with like. I know newsagents get AF mags, but the reality is that most choose a limited range – simple question of demand which makes perfect sense. We get a massive AF range and this is what we offer online. Not having a dig at newsagents or trying to infer anything – simply trying to answer Derek’s question.
I’ve been to Mag Nation and like the concept, but what do they do with people sitting down, reading a page, then having a big lick of their finger and turning the page?
Walk up and say “The last person who was reading that did the same thing and has Hepatitus” Or “If you have a contagious disease could you please pay for it”.
I’d be interested to know. It’s one of those irks I think most Newsagents have.
We have no real problem with browsers except when they read a mag and then take a fresh one off the shelf when they buy, what is with that? Is that mag they have been reading suddenly not as good as the fresh one on the shelf, do they think that the article dissappears once it is read? We have the same problem with people taking a newspaper from 2 or 3 down in the pile and causing a mess, do they think that the good news filters down.
Just a light hearted observation, people are free to browse as long as they respect us and other shoppers.
Luke,
With the “paper shufflers” I’ve tactfully(nudge, nudge, wink,wink) told a couple of mess-making customers that if I find anything wrong with the paper I always make it the second or third paper down, because I know people like them will always take it without looking at it.
They normally “gulp” seeing they think we put the most damaged/no TV guide on top, then knowing they’ve been out smarted, but now in on the scam, come in the next time with a smile and take the top one.
I think it’s a warped way of being local, they like to be in on any little trick.
Michael,
I’ve done the same thing too, putting the slightly creased copy second paper down and then watched the culprits do their routine and take the next one down without checking 🙂 much to my amusement……