"Handselling" Videos Now Available Online

The American Booksellers Association has posted online the video vignettes featured in its popular education session "Handselling: Customer Service With Results." The video shorts dramatize 10 potential customer service scenarios to show the best and worst practices in five key areas.

The informative vignettes -- filmed at Second Story Book Shop in Chappaqua, New York, and featuring the self-described "ABA (very) Amateur Players" -- incorporate a touch of whimsy to keep the story lines interesting and entertaining.

"We had a lot of fun putting these vignettes together," said ABA Education Director Len Vlahos, "and we've been really gratified at how well they have been received at our education sessions. ABA is hopeful that they will be as useful to booksellers online as they have been in person."

Vlahos recommends that booksellers play each short for themselves or members of their staff, and, when prompted, identify (or ask staff members to identify) what the characters on screen did wrong or right. After viewers have made their own assessment, they should then refer to the common pitfalls and best practices for each scenario.

ABA members booksellers can access the 10 videos on handselling, along with the common pitfalls and a best practices reference checklist for each, via the link "Handselling Customer Service With Results" on the BookWeb Education page "Bookstore Management & Operations."