ahh, this may be why borders is having trouble

when it comes to a bookstore chain, i like borders, really i do. i prefer great local indie shops like powell's or davis-kidd, but in our new space here in san diego i haven't found a store like that yet, so i like to look at borders. i like their design better than barnes & noble and they used to have a music aesthetic that fit me better than others.

but the reason i was shopping there last week was that i had a gift card burning a hole in my pocket and decided that i needed some fun new reading for an upcoming trip. i went for christopher moore's new book, fool, dan kennedy's rock on: an office power ballad, and one of the 33 1/3 books on radiohead's ok computer.

so i got a voice mail from a local store telling me that my order from borders.com had arrived and i could pick it up anytime. huh? i'd ordered it to come to the office so i could get it fresh in the middle of the day. i called the store, and after being on hold for 5 minutes while they checked, someone came back on the line and informed me that it was a bummer that my order had gone there, but my only option was to drive to their store and pick it up. it's not all that far, but for a one car family, heading another 10 minutes from where we generally traverse is a pain, and the store's nonchalance about it struck me the wrong way. so now i need to figure out when i can get to a place i don't normally go for something that already bugs me.

it got me wondering about how my expectations shape my mood, and how what others may expect from me shape their view of me - as a friend, a co-worker, a neighbor, etc. i'm a pretty flexible person and prone to be able to improvise and find solutions on the go. but that's me, and if i unfairly measure others by that yardstick, or assume that they measure me that way, well, i can see some conflict there.

so i'm still not happy with borders and will revert back to another online store that gets things right or makes me happy making up for it. i'll also have a little voice in my head when i see the borders name somewhere making me ask some questions of myself.