By Ana

I work in a remote school with very poor resources as a teacher and I decided that I would supplement the lending library as the selection was sparse. I called a Coles store to get some pricing (internet here can be unreliable) and was told by the customer service clerk that she did not have time just then, but could she get my name and number to call me back. I had told her that I needed ordering information on a list of almost 80 titles so I did not expect a long distance call back. True to her word, though, she called at the exact time she said she would and asked if I would be comfortable sending her an emailed list rather than doing the whole thing over the phone. I got her email address and sent her the list without any real hope of getting the information. I also included a note stating that I would be in the area of the store two weeks from then and would like to purchase as many as possible then.

Three days later I got an email back from her with pricing for both used and new copies, in-store and online options, various different versions of some of the same books, prices both before and after discount (turns out she could save me a bundle by selling me a loyalty card too) and worked out the cheapest price possible through a combination of sources. She asked that I respond quickly as she would have to drive to 2 other stores to pick some of the books up and since it was her day off she wanted to do it then. I responded immediately giving her a green light to do what she thought was best. I trusted her to do this for me, and was pleasantly surprised.

Four days passed and she called me to tell me that she was able to get all but 3 books, but each were available to order online and that with my new loyalty card there was also a coupon I could use. The only catch was that I had to wait and order them when I got there as ahe could not take my credit card number over the phone, which I suggested. She told me it was for security as she would have to keep the card number in the store in case something went wrong and to verify it when I came to get the books. She did however suggest that I order the books myself and gave me the order numbers to place the order and walked me through the ordering process on the phone when I agreed to try it. The books I ordered arrived 4 days later. Miraculous considering I live really remote in northern Ontario.

When I went in to the store, she greeted me with a smile, showed me my books (she had found some in their bargain section and saved me even more money), sold me a loyalty card and sent me on my way with my stack of books in free Indigo shopping bags. I can not rave enough.

I have heard mixed reviews from friends about Chapters, Coles and Indigo, and had skepticism about quality customer service, but this experience made a world of difference to me. Sure, things can always go wrong, but sometimes they go very right.