We, the shop dogs of Parnassus Books, would like to issue this public service announcement in the name of peace and harmony: We do not hate delivery people. In fact, we love them very much. That whole “dog vs. mailman” thing? Old news. Really old.
We shop dogs grew to love our UPS delivery person over the course of many, frequent deliveries. You see, Parnassus runs a booming special order business. Our people love to chat with customers about books, helping them find just the thing they want and then ordering it to be delivered to the store or to the customer’s home.
Because Parnassus is located so close to the headquarters for Ingram Content Group and their distribution center just outside Nashville, we can get books really fast. Like, crazy fast. So fast, sometimes people accuse us of using magic, because the books they order come so much faster than orders from giant online vendors.
And it’s not just us. Everyone loves our delivery guy and how fast he brings books. Here’s Eleanor Roosevelt, checking in on our social media and collecting some of the love letters our shop has received from happy special-order customers:
Stéphane in Quebec: Thank you very, very much! It’s the second time I’ve bought from your store and I LOVE YOU! You really rule! Most of the US online bookstores charge insane shipping cost (one wanted to ask me $60 shipping for one book)! You are great and I’ll buy more! I am really a huge collector!
Judith in Louisiana: Holy mackerel! I got this book about 20 minutes after I ordered it. Looking forward to visiting your store again this summer on my vacation.
(There were more, but Eleanor had to take a nap.)
So consider this our plea to do away with the old dog-vs-mailman stereotype. We would never chase the person who brings our mail. (Unless we were asking for another biscuit, in which case a little chasing is acceptable.)
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Fun Facts From Our Store People
– If you order before noon on weekdays and our local distributor has the book in stock (they usually do), we can almost always get it in the store the next weekday afternoon, with NO shipping cost!
– For bulk orders of the same book (20+ copies, think corporate gifts) we are sometimes able to pass on a 10-20% discount.
– Personal shopping is one of our very favorite things to do. We love when customers entrust us with their personal stories and let us help them find the perfect book to help them through a hard time, celebrate a special event, or give as the perfect gift.
– If we’re sending you something directly from the store, don’t be surprised if we throw in an extra touch, like gift wrap or a bookmark or a Sparky postcard. Your order is personally processed by one of our staff.
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What may we send you?
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The Jolly Postman (Hardcover)$17.99
ISBN-13: 9780316126441
Availability: On Our Shelves Now Published: LB Kids, 9/2001 |
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Big Brown: The Untold Story of UPS (Hardcover)$24.95
ISBN-13: 9780787994020
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days Published: Jossey-Bass, 2/2007 |
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A Letter to My Dog: Notes to Our Best Friends (Hardcover)$24.95
ISBN-13: 9781452114422
Availability: On Our Shelves Now Published: Chronicle Books, 11/2012 |
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$26.99
ISBN-13: 9781451667318
Availability: On Our Shelves Now Published: Touchstone, 10/2013 |
Musing 