My Beloved Bookstore

Dear Powell's Books,

Have I told you lately how much I love you?

I had the pleasure of meeting you in person back in 2008.  My husband thought that moving to Portland might be an alternative to moving to Australia.  I like Portland....probably better than Texas.  But it's no Australia....at least not for me.

One of the things my husband used to woo me was Powell's. And let me say, he had me there.   I found that with Powells, I could almost have Australia IN America. You guys have a great collection of Australian books.  I happily went on a little shopping spree.

We didn't move to Portland, but I kept up my relationship with Powells by ordering books online. I especially love when you have free shipping deals. 

I love searching through your collection of books. I love ordering the books. I love receiving a Powell's box in the mail. I love the thrill of opening it, taking the books out, and putting them on my bookshelf.

You guys truly bring me a LOT of joy.  So, thank you. 

But now I must say you've caused me some disappointment.  Yesterday was my birthday.  Both my husband AND my parents sent me Powell's gift certificates. Yesterday, I only knew about my husband's gift.  He knows I'm not big on surprises, so he asks me exactly what I want, and then gets it for me.  Yesterday, he awaited my expressions of excitement and gratitude. He became a bit agitated when they didn't appear. He asked me to check my spam folder.  I thought that was a good idea, so I checked. Nothing there. We waited and waited.

By evening, my husband decided he needed to take action. He called Powell's, and told them what happened.  They indicated that they had fixed the problem, and my certificate would appear shortly in my email.  I waited.  I checked. I played Disney art online games with my child.  I waited. I checked. I played more Disney art online games with my child.

Nothing appeared.

My husband called again. He was told by an operator that you guys were closed, so we couldn't work on fixing the problem.  Uh, not that there's anything wrong with closing!  Of course. I know you guys need your sleep, family time, etc.   

This morning my parents emailed me, and asked whether I had gotten an email gift certificate from them.  I HOPE they suspected that I did not, and didn't imagine I'd act so rudely ungrateful.   

Anyway, I don't mind getting a late gift certificate. Truly.  I have enough to read on my shelf for now, and I'm trying to use the library more.

What I worry is that if you don't get your act together, people will shy away from ever getting me Powell's certificates again.  That will make me sad, because Powell's is my favorite store. 

Sincerely,

Dina