The Book Bin Thrives on Service

This year, The Book Bin enters its 40th year of service to the community of Northbrook, Illinois. Owners Janis and Lex Irvine – who have been the sole proprietors for 39 of those 40 years – attribute much of the store’s success to its knowledgeable staff and excellent customer service.

In 1971, four women opened the bookstore to fill a void that existed in the Northbrook area. The Book Bin served as the only “intimate” bookstore in their community, said Janis Irvine, who was an early employee of the store. She had previously worked at the Hadley School for the Blind, where she volunteered in the Braille Library, so a bookstore seemed like a natural extension, she said. “This store just seemed perfect.” But six months after the bookstore opened, three of the owners left the business, and Janis Irvine stepped up to become co-owner with the one remaining partner, whom her husband, Lex, eventually bought out.

As far as staying competitive all these years, there is not one particular thing the store has done aside from providing exceptional service, Irvine said.

Allison Mengarelli, Book Bin’s manager, agrees. “The Book Bin’s commitment to service and customer satisfaction is our main draw,” she told BTW. “Our customers are certain when they walk in the store that someone will be able to find the perfect book for them... It is this attention to service and our customers’ needs that keeps them coming back in these days of online shopping and cookie-cutter stores.”

Among the services that set The Book Bin apart from the chains are shipping, free gift-wrapping, out-of-print searches, and a book rental library. When a book comes in damaged, it gets put in the store’s rental library instead of being sent back to the publisher. The library is limited to hardcover fiction.

“People seem to love it,” said Irvine. “And the ones who use it are really good customers, so when they do decide to by a book, they buy from us. It’s a win-win situation.”

The Book Bin has also gotten “a really, really good response” to its monthly e-newsletter, which has mailing list of 900 and a read-rate of more than 50 percent, she added. The store features a coupon at the bottom of each e-newsletter, which offers customers 25 percent off one book if they come in and say they loved the newsletter and provide the month’s special code word.

“This month, they had to say, ‘hearts and flowers,’” said Irvine. “It’s just fun, and people usually laugh about it and think it’s a funny thing we do.”

The Book Bin is also actively reaching out to customers to promote e-book sales: The store offers step-by-step instructions for purchasing e-books via its IndieCommerce site, as well as the opportunity to rent an e-reader. These efforts have had middling success, said Mengarelli. Customers have been purchasing e-books and borrowing the reader, but not at the rate the store’s staff expected. They remain optimistic, however, as the store continues to promote e-books and staff engages in discussions with customers.

“Our hope is that our customers will spend time in the store, getting our advice, and then purchase the books off the website,” said Mengarelli. “It’s too early for us to tell if that is the case or not.”

The Book Bin’s staff has also been active in the fight for e-fairness. Earlier this month, staffer Nancy Usiak joined three other ABA member stores and other retailers for a meeting with members of Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn’s staff to urge the governor to sign Illinois HB3659. The sales tax fairness legislation would level the playing field for the state’s bricks-and-mortar stores, while collecting much needed revenue for the state.

At the start of its 40th year, however, The Book Bin’s central focus remains the same: great customer service. “We are always finding new gems to bring to our customers attention,” said Mengarelli, “knowing that they won’t see them anywhere else.”