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Bear and Ali Love That Doggone College Store! by Kathleen Grace, CCR  [Photo: Bear & Ali waiting for a snack from Swarthmore faculty member Milton Machuca] We're entering into the dog days of summer, and I'll be the first to admit that the Swarthmore College Bookstore has gone to the dogs. It's all the fault of two special staff members. Their names are Bear and Ali, and they come to work at the bookstore every day with their dad, our book manager, Steve Levin. Did I mention that Bear and Ali are Labrador retrievers? The joke in the store is that when Steve has a vacation day no one misses him, but everyone misses the dogs. Bear and Ali are absolutely beautiful, incredibly friendly, low-key, laid-back, just-like-family dogs. Bear, the older of the two, is invariably fully reclined near the entrance of the store, or in the general book area (social sciences seem to be his favorites). The only thing that seems to get him energized is the possibility of the treats our customers love to bring in for him. I think if Bear could talk, he would sound rather like the character Eeyore, from Winnie the Pooh. Ali can usually be found right beside Steve, at his feet in his office, or by his side if he is working out in the store. That is, unless someone has come in who is willing to play ball with her. In that case, she will chase the ball tirelessly around the store, returning it to the person who threw it, and hoping for just one more toss (and one more after that). It turns out Bear and Ali are consummate traffic builders. You would be surprised to see the number of students, faculty, and staff that stop by just to see the dogs. In addition to the treats that some customers bring, an occasional toy will be offered and very gladly accepted by our darling duo. Not long ago, the father of a prospective student told us a funny story about our store dogs. It seems his daughter had narrowed her list of schools to visit for a second look, and Swarthmore made the cut. Her father asked her what made each school on her list stand out. She knew she really liked Swarthmore. And why not? It is a fabulous school with a great reputation. But what had really made Swarthmore stand out in her mind? The only thing she could specifically recall were the dogs in the bookstore. A current student recently walked into the store with a friend who was visiting from another college. We overheard our student say to her friend, "Our store is way better than your store. We have dogs that live here!" And now, I finally come to the point of this little story. Bear and Ali are an embodiment of what we try to create in our store-a beautiful, friendly, low-key, laid-back, just-like-home environment. We want our store to be a respite from the vigorous academic environment that surrounds it. We want to create an oasis into which students, faculty, staff, and visitors can escape. As an industry, we have been talking about the store of the future for quite a while now. And what a great concept it is! New products and services. New ways of doing business. New technologies. Lots of change. But, there are some constants. One of the constants of success-today and in the store of the future-is that the environment in which we place our products and offer our services must be inviting and interesting. Anyone can put products into a space and offer complimentary services. But a truly great store has just a little bit more than products and services; it has its own personality. When I think about the stores that I love-not the stores that I just like, but the stores I make a point of returning to even when I have to go out of my way-they have one thing in common. They are great places to be. There is a tangible character to them. I'm not suggesting that you should go out and get a store pet. Lets face it, that isn't a manageable device for most college stores. I'm simply asking you to consider your store's personality. Is it what it should be, or does it need some character-building? Products and services are obviously central to our stores' missions. But as we think about the store of the future, let's remember that it means more than the stuff we put into them. To succeed-today, and in the future-we need to continue to build strong characters for our stores. And like merchandise buying, that's an ongoing process. Kathleen K. Grace, CCR, is director of the Swarthmore College Bookstore, Swarthmore, PA, and a past president of NACS. This article is presented with permission from the National Association of College Stores (NACS). It was originally published as the "From the President's Desk" column of The College Store magazine. |