McDonald’s Book Exchange

My fiancé and I love McDonald’s Book Exchange and have followed it from location to location for the last few years, despite the fact that we live in a different city. Normally the service is great: staff are helpful and personable, and that personal connection/​small business experience is one of the main reasons we come here versus just buying books on Amazon. For this reason, I’m giving McDonald’s a three star review.
However. Last Sunday (Dec. 20^th, around 2:45 pm) we visited McDonald’s and were frankly appalled by the behavior of the woman (Employee A) working there. The minute we walked in, we were greeted with a scowl and a flat «Can I help you.» Nope, just browsing, thanks! A good thing too, since she clearly wasn’t in any mood to have to help anyone.
As we shopped, another McDonald’s employee (Employee B) stopped in briefly, and Employee A took this opportunity to loudly complain about customers she’d had to deal with, including a woman who’d apparently called a few times to inquire about particular books. First of all, an obvious no-​no to talk bad about a customer in front of customers. And secondly, wouldn’t you think someone with a vested interest in the success of a small book store would be pleased that someone is so eager to buy from them?
Later as we purchased our books, Employee A’s negativity continued. I’d set my purse on the counter to take out my wallet, and she shoved it toward me without apologizing, just saying «I need more room.» Um, ok? I would have been happy to move my purse if she’d asked politely! And I couldn’t help but notice that she didn’t end up using any of the space that my purse had occupied on the counter… Her heavy sighs and flat tone of voice continued throughout the checkout process, and at one point the phone rang and she looked at the caller ID and rolled her eyes. «Ugh, not her again!» WOW. Literally no attempt at all to appear customer-​oriented or pleasant. Maybe because we’re young she figured we wouldn’t care or notice? Well we did, and we were disgusted.
Look, I’ve worked retail. I get it. Especially during the holiday season, it can get monotonous and customers can often be demanding and rude. And everyone can have a bad day. But from the way Employee B expertly deflected the negative comments Employee A shot her way, I could tell that misery is a state of being for Employee A. And that makes me sad for her, and sad for McDonald’s Book Exchange. Places like this depend on their customers having a personable experience that makes them want to come back. My fiancé and I have already decided that if Employee A is the one working the next time we visit McDonald’s, we’re turning right back around. I doubt we’re the only ones.

I love shopping here for books. The staff is always very helpful and offers wonderful suggestions for a good read. The prices are fantastic and the staff both positive and knowledgable. They are very community oriented and often help those loss fortunate in our city. I would highly recommend this book store.

I took a bag of books in to sell today, and the clerk (owner?) informed me they only trade for credit. That was fine with me. I shopped while she was pricing my books. When she was done, she said I had $ 30 in credit. I presented her with $ 30 worth of items. She rang that up handed me a credit slip for $ 12, and then she asked me for $ 12 cash. What just happened here?
«The credit is only good for 60% of the price. We need money to pay the rent.» Okay, well so do I. I just traded twenty-​five or so books, which McDonalds will sell for $ 60, and I am accepting $ 30 in books as a trade. That’s how you pay the rent. It’s also the way every used bookstore and record store on the planet interprets the word ‘credit’.
Hours later, I realized how badly I had been ripped off. I don’t live in Redmond and I now have a worthless $ 12 credit slip in my wallet. Even if I did turn up at McDonalds again, I would need to spend $ 8 to use my $ 12 credit. So in the end, McDonalds comes out ahead $ 30 on my trade and charged me $ 20 for the privilege.
This is a bad policy. More importantly, the staff needs to honestly explain the policy to each customer. And please don’t tell me how you pay your rent. You’re a business, not a charity.