----- Original Message -----
From: "Sonja van Baardwijk-Holten" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Brin-L" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Wednesday, August 29, 2001 1:43 AM
Subject: Re: Missive from David Brin
> Brett Coster schreef:
>
> > > Behalf Of Baardwijk, J. van DTO/SLBD/BGM/SVM/SGM
> > >
> > > I am not happy. _Kiln People_ will be published in January 2002, and
will
> > > probably be hardcover. Add a year till the paperback version
> > > comes out, and
> > > several more months before the paperback edition will be for sale
> > > in Europe,
> > > and it will probably be close to XMas 2003 before I will get my
copy...
> > > :-(
> > >
> > > The _Illustrated Guide_ will be published Summer 2002, so it will
probably
> > > be Spring 2004 or something before it appears on the shelves of
European
> > > bookstores. :-(
> > >
> > > Before anyone suggests ordering them from Amazon: Nah. With exchange
rates
> > > and costs for shipping and handling being what they are, ordering
> > > on-line is
> > > only useful when ordering a pile of books at once. Otherwise, waiting
for
> > > the books and buying them once they are published here is a lot
cheaper
> > > (even with book prices being what they are nowadays).
> > >
> > > Does anyone know if "Forgiveness" will be published in Europe?
> >
> > Don't you have any bookstores that do their own direct importing? Here
in
> > Melbourne, I know I'll be able to get my hands on copies of Kiln People
and
> > the Illustrated Guide within a week or so of the US publication date. Of
> > course, I'll have to pay double the US cover price to do so - the
Pacific
> > Peso being just above the US$0.50 mark.
>
> Yes we do. And once in a while I order books that way. They don't seem too
happy
> about it and do it rather grudgingly. And depending on which shop
assistant is
> filling out the order you get lots of comments about how it is
inconvenient and
> complicated to do. So if I don't really have a good reason to do it, I
don't.
>
That's too bad. While I do know about some stores that are like that, we've
had very good luck with staff being helpful with special orders. Indeed,
when we did have difficulty with one clerk, I told the management. The
manager rolled their eyes and apologized and muttered "trouble getting good
help." (Which is true now because unemployment among kids is low, my kids
get a job the first place they look.) On the whole, customer service is
considered a virtue here. Its not always practiced, but it is the ideal
and there are a number of stores that focus on customer service as a
primary marketing tool.
Dan M.
