Strand Book Store Reviews

Pros

nice, welcoming, helpful, kind, and understanding

Cons

none that i can think of

Pros

- Lots of independence - Surrounded by books - Lots of opportunity to improve the product and propose new ideas - People there are interesting - you get to wear different hats

Cons

- No room for growth - Little to no acknowledgement of accomplishments - No performance reviews - Upper management needs to care more about their employees - No long-term planning - Office needs improvement

Pros

some nice coworkers, keep abreast on popular titles and new releases good for book worms, book borrowing system, union

Cons

low pay (minimum wage, requires many years of experience to be paid minimum wage, constant disrespect from management, cockroaches, expensive “benefits”, non existent competitive pay and vacation time (barely minimum), union

Pros

- You make some friends with employees stuck in the trenches with you. - You get health care. - After 90 days, it's hard to get fired. Unless another COVID happens, then the owner will fire you without cause and will face no retribution. - There is some opportunity to move up - but don't expect a pay raise or respect. or

Cons

- The owner is a really mean, demanding, and severely out of touch toxic, racist, rich white woman who has a lot of direct influence on the day-to-day store. - Employees gossip a lot, so it can be a toxic environment. - Beware of the managers! They prowl around looking to find you "slacking". - HR doesn't really care, so watch your back before telling them anything. - The union either doesn't care or can't help you - and was last comprised of old white guys accused of misconduct. - They barely hire POC, but occasionally there will be a spurt of POC new-hires to fill their quota.

Pros

A great bookstore with amazingly vibrant coworkers in the heart of NYC. The store has history, culture, and longtime customers and the union provides stable wages, hours, and employee camaraderie.

Cons

This store is being run into the ground by an owner with no empathy for her employees. If you enjoy working under the thumb of someone who cares more about her pockets than her business and believes that anyone sitting couldn't possibly be working, this is the place to be.

Pros

nice coworkers, lots of books, historic place, in the heart of New York City, unionized

Cons

Owner is AWFUL, management tends to micromanage, ethically corrupt company, employees aren’t valued or shown appreciation

Pros

The union helps protect the booksellers, and helps have a baseline of standards that benefits the managers like paid time off and vacation rules. There are booksellers who are committed to the union and advocate for their fellow workers.

Cons

As much as everyone would like to think working at a bookstore feels like being in a rom com, it is hard work and being a manager means you don't have the protection of the union and don't have much power to advocate for yourself to your managers. The environment is very dusty and is rarely cleaned so if you have allergies or asthma it is difficult to work there without being heavily medicated. Because of the fear of bedbugs from used books, they spray the building regularly so if you have sensitivities to strong chemicals that will also be a burden on your health.