• All staff are representatives of the Company, both while at work and in private lives
• Never share sales figures or reading tastes of particular customers
• When engaging with the public, keep in mind the following:
  • Be professional
  • Reinforce a positive relationship with the public
  • Extend thanks to the community
  • Articulate the store’s mission
  • Educate about the book business
  • Don’t launder gripes
  • Represent the store positively
  • Be proud of the store
• When engaging with groups, keep in mind:
  • Know something about your audience
  • Use humor
  • Be appropriate
  • Don’t answer what you don’t know
  • Be as service oriented as you would at work
• When engaging with the media:
  • You don’t have to answer questions they ask
• When engaging with industry colleagues:
  • Don’t answer what you don’t know
  • Ask questions
• When posting to social media
  • Staff posting on social media are representing the store so be professional
  • If posting personal opinions about books or the industry that don’t align with the bookstore’s philosophy, be sure to clearly state that opinions are your own and do not necessarily reflect the store

The Guiding Rule:

Conduct that negatively affects a bookseller's job performance, the job performance of fellow booksellers, or the Bookshop's legitimate business interests—including its reputation and ability to make a profit—may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination.

POWELL’s BOOKS SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY:

• Confrontations about Inventory:
  • Best response is to listen and empathize, don’t argue
  • Assume that customers wouldn’t care if they didn’t feel a sense of ownership about the store, which is a good thing
  • Express the store’s values
  • If more extended conversation is needed, refer to owners
  • If a confrontation is believed to be intentionally adversarial, follow de-escalation techniques and training.