I went 2 Sundays in a row for magazines, and a break. The first one when Lance was rude, I ignored it. The 2nd; 12/27/20, as Lance stared at me impatiently while I perused the menu looking for something different, and to get a few minutes out of the house to have my coffee (for which I had purposely waited). He notices my briefcase, speaks to me in a rude tone of voice, with a definite attitude (just like the he did the previous Sunday) and says; "There's only 30 minutes at the tables." He wasn't kidding. He was irritated. It was easy to see. I responded in kind and let him know he says that every Sunday, and there are also signs on every table. I failed to mention that since I'm at a bookstore there's a good chance I know how to read (I hate when I overlook a good zinger like that)! Lance then gives me a dirty look and says; "And I'll tell you next Sunday too!" Now let's put aside the fact that my mother was on her death bed (she died a few days ago, 1/5/21). So this just wasn't the day for me to ignore the rudeness. I also wonder if Lance might have a clue that people coming to him may not have had their coffee yet (since he works behind the coffee counter and all)? And maybe they're not exactly the best people to be rude to in general, but what do I know? So I definitely went out of character. I was pissed at being treated like crap 2 Sundays in a row. I never cursed. I never threatened him. I didn't break anything, or make a mess. There wasn't even one person on line behind me at the time. I tapped on his printer while I was talking and he accused me of "hitting" his printer. What a weak, sneaky move. It was like being Adam Sandler in the flight scene in Anger Management. So I asked for a manager, and Bridgette comes over and jumps on Lance's side; stat. She won't listen to me and starts lecturing me about the 30 minute rule I still already knew about...and no intention of violating...COVID. I heard a little about it. I get the reasoning. She kept coming back at me as I repeatedly asked her to walk away, let me drink my coffee, and stop trying to just get the last word. I told Lance to shut up and make my coffee and asked Bridgette for the Store managers info. I sat down a couple minutes and had my first sips of coffee for the day. I went and got some magazines, came back to the Mock Starbucks, and called him a Piss-Ant coffee boy (he looks 40-ish) as I updated him on the status of the 30 minute time limit he so vehemently stressed to me on both visits. I saw him writing his corporate-cover-his-own-ass version of the interaction. Again, I usually ignore this crap but it wasn't the day for me to. Later on Bridgette brings me the name of the Store manager who's off that day, and finally has enough sense to stop talking at me and let me have my coffee. Let me remind you Barnes and Noble..cameras, even if they have audio, seldom pick up things like attitude and a piss-ant coffee boy (who looks about 40) giving customers dirty looks, and sarcasm. Next, as I am checking out, the clerk; a tall, thin, young guy with dark hair asked me something about how my day was or whatever, so I told him a bit of how I felt about my experience and his leadership. He also did not want to listen. His attitude sucked too. So on the way home I call the store, and Kevin, is chuckling as he makes snide comments to me about people "not usually asking for the store manager" and snarky comments about how to use the internet. I asked him a couple times how funny he thinks I am. He stopped laughing until I called him out on the chuckling, then went back to laughing at me. So Monday 10am rolls around, and guess who the store manager Laura Angel has to talk to at the very beginning of her work-week?! That would be me, Paulie D., a pissed off customer. Laura refused to give me her email or her Regional Manager's email, or a phone # So after all of about 30 seconds of conversation she tells me she knows what happened, and is cutting me off and won't listen (like everyone I dealt with during those 2 days). When I asked her how she knows for a fact exactly what happened, and if she was there (she wasn't), she got angry. No one was standing close enough to me and Lance to see or hear his attitude. That includes the cameras. I asked for a phone number for someone at corporate and she started telling me the 800-THE-BOOK number in a sarcastic way, really slowly as if I'm just some slow, technologically challenged, old man. Later that day I called corporate and spoke to Kim, I think it was, who was nice, but no one ever called me back, as she said they would. Still no one has heard me out. Not one person at that store, be it in person or on the phone would hear me out and listen to my perspective on it at all. They were all rude, snarky, and sarcastic. Funny I'm reading the word snarky in a lot of the old reviews I hadn't even seen until this edit. Oh and BTW the coffee sucked. He forgot the extra espresso. read more