Linden Tree Books

Lovely selection of books, but customer service is the worst I have ever encountered. Eleonor, a woman who works there was super rude to my 2 year old daughter and displayed such a blatant ignorance and stupidity that I do not know if I should feel more sorry than angry at her. Today, my husband, our one year old boy, my 2 year old daughter and I entered this store as we saw their amazing display of books As soon as we entered the store, my toddler (who is used to taking her shoes off when she enters a house given that my husband is from India and we take our shoes off when entering our house). In two seconds, Eleonor with a horrible tone told my daughter to not get her shoes off. I quickly put her shoes back on, but given that I was pretty surprised by her rough tone, I told her that I was a Stanford researcher and asked her what the intent of the shoe on policy was. She said they were liable if the kid stepped on something and that they wanted to avoid blood (literally). She said it in such a condescending tone that I just nodded with my head and moved away with my daughter to continue browsing the books. I understand the liability issue and I was happy to comply immediately (although to be honest I would be surprised if I would find a lot of shattered glass in a children’s bookstore). 15 minutes later, Ms. Eleonor the rude, leaves her Starbucks hot coffee in a stool next to a stand for toddler’s books which stands next to an open counter. My toddler (who has seen me drink Starbucks coffee often) takes the cup and says: «mommy your coffee». I immediately take the cup away from her and do Eleonor the favor of leaving her coffee in a higher area (unreachable for a 2 year old). I thought it was ironic that she told me she was soooooo concerned about liability and within 15 minutes leaves hot coffee in a stool at toddlers arms reach. Finally, after getting some books I approach the open counter to pay for them and my toddler commits the high crime of going once through the open counter (she did not touch anything, did nothing, she just went through the totally open counter.). Eleonor immediately grabs her by the arm and tells her in a horrible tone that she cannot be there. I did not even have time to get my daughter out, as Eleonor efficiently and roughly did the deed. I was speechless. She could have asked me to do it in a polite manner. Instead, she roughed my kid up. I was so upset that after I paid and got out of the store with my family, I returned and told this person that if she was worried about liability she should not leave hot coffee around. Her answer was that she did not expect a «person» to go behind the counter. I just asked: a 2 year old? In an open counter? And she said yes. She clearly has no kids and no brains. In summary, this children’s book store is anything but kid friendly. I have no clue why the owner would hire staff that is rude. And I do understand that they do not want kids behind the counter. I myself was telling my daughter to get out. It is the rudeness and roughness which is totally unacceptable. And, there could be the racist factor too. I speak Spanish, and not sure if this ticked her off, but she was out to bite. In any case, thank god for Amazon and B&N. I will never recommend this bookstore. I would have thought that the staff of a children’s bookstore located in Los Altos would be professional and polite, and at least not display such blatant ignorance and rudeness… does not surprise me that all the negative reviews relate to terrible customer service.

It’s strange to me to read so many bad reviews. I have gone in with the little man I nanny for on many occasions. The staff have been gracious, chatty and informative: not just with myself but with other customers there at the same time.
The selection is great and for a good age range. I love the feel of the store and will definitely be back to shop again.

After finishing a nice breakfast with friends, just two doors down, we decided to stroll into the bookstore to get the kids something special –6 kids, 4 adults all willing customers. Until we walk into a greeting of dirty looks from a store manager or possibly the owner. Coincidently she was giving a talk to a group of preschoolers about «marketing and advertising» asking them to tell their friends and parents about the store. *sigh*
Needless to say we walked in and out empty handed and feeling extremely disappointed…

Great bookstore!!! We love coming here with our son. They have great selection of books :)

So I’ve come to this bookstore for about 3 years and the service has greatly diminished in my last 3 – 5 visits and today was the last straw.
I perused a section for an hour looking for good books for a 2 year old: no greeting, no assistance, no eye contact. In fact while searching for childrens books on my own, two employees walked over me (bumping into me) without so much as a word to acknowledge my presence. Made me feel even better when they hurried to greet and assist other people immediately after walking over me…(This makes me think my treatment might have been due to my race…)
When I did ask for help, service was cold and detatched. Checking out was just painfully awkward, even my attempts to be nice (even after my mistreatment) were cut off…
I give this place stars for cleanliness and good selections of books, but I don’t think I am ever coming back again. It’s sad, because this is the place I would go to for recommendations on books for my nephew and other children for their birthdays and Christmas…

I’ve been frequenting the downtown/​Main St. area of Los Altos for the past month or so. On the whole, it’s fairly charming, but lacking a few essentials that would make it really great, a fishmonger, a butcher & a proper bakery (the place up by the gas station that sells 5 dollar croissants doesn’t count), among them.
Fortunately, downtown is not without an independent book shop (or two). Although Linden’s primary target audience is actually ‘under 18s’ there are a few dedicated shelves stocked with books for adults and books that aren’t age specific.
I went in on a lark hoping they had a well-​reviewed memoir published in 2013 I’d read about some months ago. As luck would have it, a hardback copy was on the shelf. As I was making my way to the counter, a chipper young employee asked if I needed any help. I was hoping that she could be able to locate a paperback copy of said memoir. Linden’s computer records showed that two paperback copies were in store. –problem was that they were not where they were supposed to be.
The young woman offered to take my no. &, if she were to find the errant copies, then she’d call, she told me. I asked, too, if she could order a new copy lest the others stayed ‘missing’. I was still dawdling around downtown when my phone rang some twenty minutes later. The book in question had been incorrectly shelved. I returned and purchased the book. Easy-​peasy.
Linden is fairly large yet tidy, and like many businesses in the area, has both back and front entrances, which I like. The shop is divided into different sections from mysteries to travel; books for students of various ages & ‘language resources’ which I found out meant grammar books and the like. While perusing the adult section, I spied a memoir by queer-​punk author Michelle Tea, much to my amazement. Given Linden’s primary focus, I should think that those shopping for children would do very well here. For book store lovers, sans kids or not, Linden is a must-​visit when visiting Los Altos.
Bonus: seats for both big and small found around the shop for those who wish to sit and browse.

I’ve been to Los Altos so many times & have passed by this place on numerous occasions but never had the opportunity to visit the place. It’s a great little bookstore with unique and fun books for kids. Probably pricier than if you buy it on Amazon but it’s great to support local small businesses so that you have wonderful places like this. Seems like they also have story telling on occasion too. I would love to bring my daughter when she’s a bit older.

We always enjoy shopping at Linden Tree Books. They have a wide selection of children’s books in a lovely setting. I’ve purchased many gifts here and take advantage of their complimentary gift wrap service. If I can’t find a book on the shelf, they offer to order it for me. Linden Tree adds to the charm of downtown Los Altos and I’m grateful that an independent, locally owned book store that caters to kids exists in this techno-​centered day and age. It’s a gem.

Though the lure of great books and a cuteness of the store that is Linden Tree is strongly appealing, I will NOT support and enable bad service! I can take my hard earned money elsewhere!
I really really really should have read the more current reviews than just go by these Unilocal stars. I will not deny the bookstore is cute and has an incredible selection.
The customer service on the other hand– was non existent. My younger sister had bought my son some great books from here last year and he loved them so much, I vowed to come by and check it out for myself.
Random Saturday afternoon found us walking in and getting excited about this great experience we’re about to have– I really really should have read the most recent reviews because what I found was three employees huddling at the front register talking loudly about their co-​workers, their busy schedules, their professors, and on and on and on.
My son and I were there wondering for over half an hour and not once were we greeted or even made eye contact with. They were too busy complaining-​LOUDLY! My sister had insisted they were knowledgeable and great at recommending books so I finally went up to them for some of these supposedly great recommendations. I told them my son’s age group, what he’s interested in and the books he loves right now… hoping they wouldn’t turn my sister into a liar. The older of the tree reluctantly left the safety of their huddle and continued to reluctantly «help» me. She didn’t listen to anything I said as she randomly tossed 3 books at me and ran away.
Despite wanting to just walk out on principle, I promised my little man some good reads so I just got the books I saw and wanted to buy at Whole Foods. I really should have just bought the ones there instead of waiting to experience Linden Tree. Shopping for books at Whole Foods would have been a much more pleasant experience.
I pity the owners.
Again, even though the lure of great books and a cuteness of the store that is Linden Tree is very appealing, I will not support and enable bad service!

Lovely store, appalling customer service. The people hired to work in this store reflect more on the owners who can build a wonderful book store for children but hire inept/​rude people to attend to their customers.

The staff here continue to impress me with their knowledge of books and their ability to just let customers relax and enjoy the store. A place to find hidden jems for bookworms.

I work in the area and decided to grab a coffee and buy some books for my son. There were about 5 employees hanging around the register gabbing it up. They have a decent selection of books, but they also charge $ 2-​$ 5 more than other bookstores. I was in the store for about 10 minutes when a young female employee asked that I leave my drink at the counter! Really? I’m a 40 year old woman shopping without kids! Did she really think I would spill my drink? I’m a firm believer in «buying local» to contribute to the community, but not in this instance. I just told her I was on my way out. I will not go back there, i think it was rude of her to say anything about my drink and not ask if I needed help finding something.

Totally charming bookstore for the little ones.
Nice comfy outdoor seating area, huge windows thrown open to let in the summer air, nice green carpet for all the kidlets to sit on when deciding which book to buy. There were a lot of happy kids here today.
I was also impressed by how nice the bathrooms were-​given that this store caters to kids. Very clean and roomy, nicely designed with white tile and skylights.

This is a nice place to go to they have a big variety of different types of books for little kids and all the way thru to adults. They have a very clean bathroom. They have a cute brown black chair for a little child to sit on and look thru the books. The customer service is good and the employees are helpful and nice.

I have to agree with the previous poster on rude comment & possibly racist attitude by the staff. My 5-​year old and I went book shopping and were browsing around the store for a few minutes. We bought a few books and were checking out. My daughter had an ice cream cone in her hand and the one of the younger staff told us that ice cream was not allowed in the store. We apologized and I was waiting for the check out staff to give my credit card back so we can leave. The older woman who was checking out «ordered» my 5-​year to go and stand by the door while she processed the credit card.
First of all, they didn’t care when we were browsing the store to come and tell us food was not allowed but sitting and chatting at the counter.
Secondly, the older woman had no right to order my 5-​year old to go and stand by the order. What if she walks out and gets hit by a car? This kind of behavior is unacceptable considering its a books store for kids. And if she was that particular about my kid leaving the store she didn’t have to make the sale.
Not returning again!
Especially when there is a fabulous and friendly toy store in the next street!

Noelle’s Unilocal Notebook 2014
FELLOW UnilocalERS BE WARNED– rudeness, racism or both?
5 Unilocal Stars for the book selection
0 Unilocal Stars for the rude customer serivce
Despite the bad customer service, I purchased my books totaling $ 144 today.
THE BAD:
I’m a loyal customer to Linden Tree Books and was sincerely appalled at the horrible customer service I encountered with a sales associate by the name of Jennifer. I told Jennifer that the Corduroy Book Sets on the floor (Corduroy Book + Corduroy Bear) were slightly dented and extremely dusty, inquiring if they had any in the back. She looked it up on the computer and said all they had was out on the floor. She stated she would give me 10% off, I agreed to that and left a stack of books on the counter (with a bookmark sign stating I was still shopping).
While I was looking at the Passover books, I heard Jennifer talk to another employee lamenting if she should really give me the 10% discount off. I guess they didn’t care that I was within earshot of the snarky comments they were making about me.
After making my final selections I went up to the register. Jennifer said she couldn’t give me the 10% discount off because she didn’t feel like doing so. I told her the box sets that were on the floor were not in pristine condition. She looked at me as if I were speaking Aramaic. I repeated myself and she inquired what the word «pristine» meant. To make matters worse in a sarcastic tone, she said «Oh, by the way we don’t accept returns on plush items.» I looked her square in the eye and said, «I’m a loyal customer at Linden Tree Books. I’ve never returned anything here before. It won’t be a problem,» with that said I signed the receipt and ripped the tag off the Jack Russell Terrier plush toy.
A FEW NOTES TO LTB:
1. Don’t tell customers one thing and do another.
2. Talking in a snarkey manner about customers with fellow employees is not right.
3. Being rude to a customer is in poor taste, without customers you wouldn’t have your hourly waged job.
4. Thank you for inspiring me to purchase the Corduroy Book Set at another bookstore today.
THE GOOD:
They have an excellent selection of books, journals, note cards– which I purchased today and in the past.
IN CLOSING:
It’s my sincerest hope the owner does a refresher course for her employee in the finer points of good customer service.

You dont see too many newer bookstores these days. Was just walking in the neighborhood and stumbled upon it. Looked at some of the classics they had for kids. Lots of stuff i read as a child” Where the Wild Things Are, James and The Giant Peach, etc. there is good variety in many sections if youre a kid but otherwise, youre limited to nostalgia and new trends as an adult. Still it’s important to get reading in early and i applaud the owners for putting up a business focused on that

A bookstore with a fabulous toddler section. They had a cute little black couch that my 3 year enjoyed sitting on. We primarily focussed on the picture books section that’s against the wall. All the on display books (probably selected by the staff) were excellent. The staff was super knowledgeable and seemed genuinely interested in hanging around there.
The restrooms were clean. They even had one of those junior potties that my toddler was accustomed to using by herself. Was pretty cool.
They are also directly facing a Baskin Robbins. Kind of hard to go wrong planning an afternoon of reading and some icecream indulgence.

This place is outstanding. Worth the commute, if you’re visiting. I used to go to a bookstore called Upstart Crow in the Pruneyard SJ and this totally reminds me of it as well as a store called Books, Inc. that used to be in Town & Country, also in SJ and is now that behemoth called Santana Row… sigh.
Places like this are few and far between, unfortunately. Nice selection of books and gifts. And the employees are wonderful too.

OK, I read the book by the cover.
I walked in because the place is so darn cute! Immediately I zoomed in on «Every Cat is Aspberger’s»… what an excellent book. I bought it and looked at nothing else.
I’m not a child, I don’t have a child. I have no business spending money there and yet I could not resist. suffice it to say I’m happy this place exists.
Cute.