Secret Shopper

I went to the library with a plan to find a romance book to read for the upcoming assignment. I have never read romance genre books, so I really did need some assistance in finding something. Before I went, I had to think about what I have read recently so that I'd be ready to answer questions about my reading history and preferences. I was all set to go and try to find a book to read!

When I got to the library, there was only one desk, and someone was being assisted so I looked around the library for a bit. It was not a very large library, but it was fairly normal for a public library. When the staff member at the desk was free, I went up to ask for help finding a book to get started reading in the romance genre. I don't know the person who helped me was a librarian, aide, lending clerk, or some other position. But they were not incredibly helpful in having a readers' advisory experience. When I told her that I am trying to expand my reading genres into romance and needed some help with finding a place to start, she just told me that Debbie Macomber was a popular romance author. She then pointed at the shelf section where her books were located.

I thanked her and went over there to browse a bit before calling it a day. There was another library employee shelving books right across the aisle from where Macomber's books are shelved. She asked if I was looking for something in particular, so I ran through my rehearsed script with her. She proved to be more helpful, pointing me toward a series that she enjoys and finding the first book in the series for me. While I was taking notes, she then asked the questions I was expecting at the start--what do you normally read? what do you think of x author or x book? etc. We talked about various genres for a while, but she did not change her recommendation at all. Neither staff member used any tools or other resources, which was a bit surprising. I'm not sure if I got a good recommendation or not, nor was the experience what I was expecting. But it was a good example of what I would not want to do if I have a customer come in to ask me for reading suggestions.