Chapter 2 of An Open Book: Marrying Technology

To Have and to Hold ... From This Day Forward?

By Ann Lacefield

When technology fails, or a marriage for that matter, whose fault is it?

I have now been the sole proprietor of my very own "little shop around the corner" for close to eight weeks... remember, the whole romantic Meg Ryan episode that led me to An Open Book LLC? Well, the door is opening often, and I love the sound of the bell. However, difficulties integrating the store's POS software with my vendor's electronic ordering system made for an uncomfortable honeymoon period, to say the least.

Ah, the engagement ... a wonderful time when everything shines like a newly acquired gold band. Then, about a month or so ago, I acquired a Point of Sale system (POS) and selected the vendor through which I would be ordering my beginning inventory. What better way to compete with the Killer B's, but to have all that modern technology provides: online ordering, inventory control, organization, customer and sales tracking reports, all that.... and a pricey but necessary tech support package.

I was ready!

But, I must admit, I was a dragging-and-kicking newcomer to the world of computers. (Just as recently as three years ago my eighth-grade yearbook students would change my desktop wallpaper to that of a bloody cow -- I am a vegetarian -- and leave class knowing that I had not yet learned how to "right click" the mouse button to change the screen image!) So, buying this POS software with a manual the size of a textbook did make me feel intimidated, but I was sure that it would all be neatly set up for me before I sold my first book. Had I known what nerve-wracking days were ahead as I tried to integrate the POS system with my vendor's system, I might have walked away from the tinkling bell on my bookstore's front door.

But wait! We are now ordering electronically, actually attaching PO numbers, sending and receiving, each and every day. However, I still look at that black box/screen, which I try to hide behind an azalea plant, and wonder how it would feel to throw it into the nearby dumpster! (Could we all be successful booksellers without computers? Could we use index cards and a strong memory for names -- and a good bookkeeper! -- and earn a living?)

As my financial software has just told me that in order to work properly I need to uninstall all of my "protection," I realize that much of what was promised before the wedding may not be what is actually before me as I walk down the aisle.

OK, Ann -- take a deep breath! Maybe I should have been more astute and have addressed all of these POS/vendor problems in my prenuptials, before I purchased and signed and spent a lot of money. With more than my share of problems during the first week, as well as many apologies from these chosen companies, I still worry about their commitment in the weeks ahead. However, I am a romantic! Didn't I hang the bell on the door, put the candy on the counter ... and find my Meg Ryan peacoat as I walked into this dream of mine?

And yes, I am still hanging on tightly to the joy of matching books to people! I am seeing smiling grandchildren and grandparents snuggling into my children's corner -- laughter floating to the front counter, and retired couples are coming in to browse and to find a corner with cozy chairs where they settle to read new books.

The 40s channel on my digital radio station (in honor of my mother) brings just the right touch as we quietly smile and exchange ideas about books, all kinds of books. My former students, now in high school, have found me. They come in wanting hugs and needing me to know their grades, their favorite classes, and asking if I still have Jolly Ranchers as I did in my classroom. I do.

And then, oh gee, I am using that computer to fill a special order ... to find a book out of print ... and to find a book to replace a well-loved paperback that has a rubber band holding the tattered pages in place. I sigh as I realize that without that "black box" I would not have made a new friend of the retired gentleman for whom I ordered a copy of Death in the Atlantic who then told me about his place in the German/English conflict in the late '30s.

"...in sickness and in health, until death do us part." Technology versus the old ways! Just as with a marriage, in time we find a common ground and realize that, in life's long course of events, it is worth holding on to, it is worth fixing. I think that with my POS company and my vendor, things are now fixed. And if not, I am searching for a support group for technology users and wondering if my insurance will pay for it! (BIG SMILE!)

Ann Lacefield opened An Open Book LLC in Greeley, Colorado, this past November.