Borders

This Borders like other Borders stores are having a going out of business sale. 10% off is not really a good sale. Since I have a GC that I should use before the store closes for good, I will need to come back soon.
I was able to find parking a few steps outside.

My boyfriend and I went here this past weekend because we figured there’d be major markdowns now that they’re shutting down.
We walk in and there’s tons of books and tons of people scooping the books up.
Uh… What planet are these people from? Most of the books, DVDs and other items were a WHOPPING 10% off — RETAIL PRICE!
Going out of business? Really?
Any one of those people standing in line to save 10% ever hear of Amazon?
I didn’t think so.

I am a weirdo. Whena gift giving holidays roll around and I am asked what I would like, I always reply, «books or booze!» If I had an unlimited supply of cash I would live, surrounded by both.
This Borders is probably similar to every other one you’ve ever frequented. The staff is proactive about asking if you might need assistance and will walk you to your specific book rather than lazily point you in a general direction.
The only difference between this location is the frequent shaking of the floor. Every time I am in there I think there is an earthquake happening cause the floor shifts due to (i think) the parking structure under the building.

Ummm… This is a fairly nice Borders and usually the one I go to if I’m in Orange County. It’s big, has a nice selection, and is fairly clean. Except for the bathrooms but I haven’t seen nice, clean bathrooms at a Borders. Maybe that’s why the company’s having financial problems. BOOM!
Anyways, like I said, this is a pretty good Borders and bookstore.

I do not normally shop at this Borders, however I was in need of a book in the area and this was the closest Borders location. I really love Borders. I am an avid shopper when I go.
However, every single employee that I came across this morning acted like I was bothering them and that they were pissed off they had to be at work, except for the gentlemen that checked me out. I counted six employees that I came across at one point or another. All of them were too busy having private conversations over their ear pieces to even bother helping customers. Only one of the employees gave me a good morning. In fact the worst of them was a blond gal who couldn’t be bothered to assist at all at the front door. The lady who worked in the childrens department helped me find the book I was looking for that was not under the authors name… but gave a big sigh and again acted like I was interrupting what she was doing.
I really love Borders but I will be sure to not go to this location again. Someone told me last week that Borders had filed bankruptcy and I was really upset about it. However, if this is the customer service I’m going to receive when going then maybe its for the best.
BTW…the only reason they get 2 stars is because ALL of the books I was looking for were in stock.

Yesterday I stopped by to buy a birthday gift. After selecting my gift, I went to check out and asked the cashier if they had gift bags.
He directed me to the wrapping paper and gift bag section. I noticed there was an area where I am assuming you can have your gifts wrapped for you. No one was around.
Had there been someone to wrap my gift for me, then I would have given 5 stars. Overall, the bookstore offers convenient gifts and almost convenient services.
I ended up self wrapping my gift in the front near the cash registers where there is a small wrapping station.

I really like this borders since it is in the south coast plaza mall. –1 for the cramped parking situation however, since it is attached to Macys home and well you can be circling for awhile if you come during the prime hours. But once you get inside, there are plenty of seats and free wifi for your pleasure.
Great selection of books, 2 levels, and a great place to enjoy coffee and read a book :)

One of my favorite places to study. super spacious with tons of tables and comfy couches, and lots of recently-​added power outlets. It’s sad I’ve become such a studyplace aficionado but 3.5 years of med school will do that to you. They do close a little bit earlier than other bookstores and the hours change kinda frequently so don’t believe what the Borders website says.
The Seattle’s best coffee is the same as every other Borders. nothing new here.

Bravo to the girl at Borders with the balls-​enough-​to-​call…
I was in search of Kristin Kimball’s «The Dirty Life» and this Borders was about the 5^th bookstore on my stop… they didn’t have it at their location or any locations in a 50 mile radius so the girl who helped me (who shall remain nameless) called over to Barnes and Noble ((gasp!!)) on her cell phone ((gasp again)) now, THAT’S what I call Customer Service.

This Borders has two floors, free wifi and a Seattle’s Best Coffee. There are a lot of cool gifts, toys and graphic novels that catch my eye when I’m browsing around the store. They now offer a Borders Plus Rewards Card in addition to the free Borders Rewards card. What’s the difference?
For the Plus Rewards card, you pay a yearly fee and enjoy the Borders Rewards perks plus an additional 10% off merchandise. There are plenty of magazines and books here but I find that there is more selection at the Barnes and Noble across the street. I admit a bias in saying that as I remember working at that B&N in my college years in the Café. I do like the location of this Borders. I think it is really good in South Coast Plaza 2.
The cashiers here tend to be courteous and nice in my experience.

I love bookstores. It is one of my favorite places buy gifts for friends and family, especially with children. I always try to get a nice book for any kid’s birthday.
Sign up for the Border’s frequent flyer card! You get good coupons in your email for 20−40% off any item. Great savings…

Since my «go to» Borders has closed, this is the next closest one. It is inside Crystal Court at SCP which makes it already less appealing because I have to go to the mall to go there. The selection is okay. The coffee shop is okay. They did have a live singer there last night that was pretty good background music. I realize we are supposed to BUY books here not sit and read them there, but, they have no where to sit here. They even have signs on the walls that say «Don’t sit on the floor».
They usually don’t have enough people working the registers. This one is just blah. Not loving it!

After my beloved Borders closed on Newport Blvd, I have been forced to come here. The Seattle’s Best is truly the best coffee experience. They have a nice lounge area, free wi-​fi and all employees are super nice. I grab a pastry at Pacific Whey (50% off all pastries after 5:00PM) and come here get a coffee and read. I’m a Borders member so I have to support them.

I’m basically reviewing the lounge area and Seattle’s Best Coffee. Their coffee is the sh! zzzz. I prefer this place over Barnes and Nobles across the street at Metro Pointe. I actually got kicked out once for eating my ice cream there. (My friends on the other hand, were drinking their Starbucks purchased there. *eye roll*)
Anywho, the seating lounge area is pretty big, free wi-​fi, except they only offer one power strip to plug in your lap top. So unless you’re sitting at that table you’re pretty much outta luck.
As for customer service it seems good. I’ve only purchased books there a couple of times. I never ask for help cuz I like to spend my time browsing myself. A plus is they’re free Borders Reward Card and weekly coupons they email me.

I like the convenient location in South Coast Plaza West (Crystal Court), plenty of parking and easy to get in and out. They also have a large café to sit and read and offer free WiFi. I came here to buy a gift for a friend, great selections and variety of interest.
I especially like that I was able to join their membership club for free and I get discounts and coupons all the time. It’s still more expensive than if I ordered my books online, but again for quick gift ideas, this is a great place to go.

I’m really sad to downgrade my review from five stars to two, but I had a pretty crummy customer experience that I feel warrants it.
I have these vouchers that I can use because of my dad’s Borders Visa card so a few weeks ago I happily made the trip to the bookstore. I picked out two books and several other random things that would’ve been a total of ~$ 40. No problemo since I had $ 30 worth of vouchers or so I thought.
The issue that this particular Borders had was that they were expired; however, I’ve used these vouchers at several other locations before without any hassle. In fact I even pointed out the fact that it was expired when I was getting rung up that other locations because I wanted to clarify they were still usable. I didn’t think there would be any problems because of these past experiences. The cashier and the manager weren’t really helpful and I noticed they wouldn’t even look me straight in the eye when they talked to me. The guy even stuttered and got flustered when he answered my questions. I sympathized with him because I get the same way when I’m ringing up customers and they ask me things I know jack about.
My questions were like: Why did so many other locations accept these vouchers, albeit expired, for so many years?; If your store policy is to not accept expired ones, why did these stores accept them? Don’t all Borders have the same policy?; Could you make an exception this time because I’ve been a loyal customer?
His reply to the last question was that it was because the store got credit for the vouchers, but it makes me wonder why other stores would accept them if they didn’t get credit. I haven’t heard of any chain store loving any customer enough to just give something free besides a destined giveaway. He also stated the vouchers got accepted at other places because they made an exception. Again, I thought that didn’t make sense and I told him that people at multiple locations have told me in one way or another, «No it’s alright that they’re expired. We don’t even look at that anyway.»
It’s not the fact that they wouldn’t let me use them that I have the biggest issue with. I’m reasonable, I get it. I can just call and inquire over the phone with Visa and Borders, no biggie. What I have a problem with is the fact that I felt like the way they treated me was just brushing me off. They weren’t even capable of giving me satisfactory answers or didn’t try that hard to.
I spoke to them calmly and tried to be sweet as possible even though I was getting really irritated, yet I kept getting dead end answers. Like an attitude of «Sorry, that sucks. Oh well. Bye.» kind of deal. Makes me want to be super rude when I have a bad customer experience next time because obviously being polite doesn’t get you far.
Makes me sad. Maybe I’ll shop at Barnes and Noble from now on (:

Pretty sweet.
I love travel writing and travel narrative. They have a HUGE selection here. What a pleasant surprise. They also have a good writing section in their reference area.
The café looked pretty massive, but I didn’t get a coffee.
Don’t half step. Also come here for their huge selection of local SoCal historical photography books. Tons.

Everything about the last review still stands, except that they have free wi-​fi now, just like Barnes and Noble. They need about 10 more outlets though.
I always have to stop and look at the notebooks and accessories area. They have such fun stuff, all colorful and tempting. The clearance area always has fun notebooks and journals, invitations to random things, and knick knack pens.
The Seattle’s Coffee is quite good, so I grabbed my stack of books and sat at the high table to do some light reading for my upcoming trip to Boston.
The best thing about Borders is the coupons for members. It’s free to be a member of Borders, and I constantly get emails about 40% off anything in store. I took it up and bought a Boston guidebook for $ 7 bucks with the coupon.

This two story Borders is great for just about everything. The staff here are super friendly, and just about every one of them says «hi» and «may I help you with anything». The Seattle coffee inside is pretty sweet too. I can usually spend a good $ 100 in like 5 minutes of that place… the BOGO on the new/​favorite books are sweet deals and the 30% off specials are cool too.
I have a membership to Borders, so I go to a Borders or a Borders Express often, but this one is very clean, open, and spacious. (is that redundant?) I just wish it was closer to me. *sigh*

I LOVE Borders for their Border’s Rewards card which is FREE & way better than paying $ 20 for the Barnes & Noble Rewards Card. And with the Borders Rewards card, you get at time 30%, 20% & 50% of of books, CDs, DVDs, etc. sent to you in your email. Great deal…=) Plus they have the sale bins at times with stuff 25%, 50% or 75% off & then they have stuff for $ 1 like calendars, etc.
The coffee & drinks are better at Borders too & it’s a great place to study (they have outlets yay!), read, hang out, chill & sometimes they have little music performances too here. =)