Why we love what we do here at Bookspeed
Why we love what we do here at Bookspeed
Last week our weekly blog was another topic relating to what matters to us as a company. We have always understood that our people are key to our success. We our colleagues to love what they do and feel part of the success and growth of Bookspeed. This week, we felt that the best way to portray just how the Bookspeed family contribute to our company success was to speak to as many Bookspeeders as possible. In this blog, we thought we should share stories from some of our very own team and find out what a day in the life of a Bookspeeder is and why they love what they do!
Caroline
Why do you love Bookspeed?
Over the last few years, I have built up great relationships with my customers and love finding the right books for them. I genuinely love my job.
During lockdown, Bookspeed sent our customers a free book with a chocolate bar. I believe this shows the Bookspeed vibe in that we care and send you cool stuff! You normally do pay for books, though, and chocolates aren’t usually on offer. It was a lockdown special.
A day in the life of Caroline
As a sales account manager I’m in touch with my customers daily to ensure they get the books they want when they want them. So, my day is spent releasing orders and emailing/chatting with my customers – I love a good blether. I also keep them up to date with new titles, bestsellers and put together tailored book ranges if so needed. As well as this, I work with stock control and chase the availability of titles for customers. This all feeds into the Bookspeed machine as the warehouse team pick and pack the orders I release; Accounts sort the invoicing, and the Bibliographic team will source any required images or bibliographic information required by the customer for their order. We are a well-oiled machine and it’s a definite testament to how great a team we are that, even though many of us are working from home, we still provide an amazing service.
Andy
Why do you love Bookspeed?
Being part of a genuinely great team that operates within a brilliant culture. You know everyone is striving to do the best they can and it’s infectious.
I’m still relatively new in the business so can still recall what Bookspeed looked like from the outside in. There was a definite aura of it being somewhere dedicated, fun and different. As I met more of the team before I started and just after, I was so pleased that my initial feelings turned out to be right. It’s a special place. The kind of place where you can fall over in the snow whilst being interviewed outdoors during the latter COVID restrictions!
A day in the life of Andy
It’s a really mixed bag every day but usually involves working with my team and the whole business to do all we can to meet customers’ needs whilst looking to do things better as we grow.
Angus
Why do you love Bookspeed?
I love seeing how well books can dovetail with the stories and themes that a customer has going on. Books are perceived to be too complicated, low margin and somehow not giftable, so converting customers to seeing their potential at revenue generation and impulsive add-on purchases is gratifying. There is nothing more enjoyable than seeing a customer becoming more confident about their choices and building attractive themes around them.
For big customers, or small, offering them a way to have fantastic book choices without all the hassle of multiple suppliers, complicated administration and logistics, whilst providing simple solutions to their queries and problems, makes for a feeling of working collaboratively in their business success.
One of my first independent gift customers was a walk-in introduction that I made. They had a few books, but most seemed to be quite old. After admiring their shop and complimenting her themes, we had a conversation about her difficulty of keeping a good range in place and not having the time etc…by the end she challenged me to supply a £500 selection of titles that I thought would work for her. The day after her selection arrived with her, she phoned to say that she had never before had customers tapping her on the shoulder as she was unpacking the books and wanting to buy them! As a result, she went on to have 3 shops and was always a great supporter of Bookspeed and their way of doing business, and we have remained friends to this day.
A day in the life of Angus
The day revolves round sales and making sure the right people have the right books in the right amounts. Setting up the ranges for customers, alerting them to new things or particularly relevant titles and making it easy for them to refresh and replenish stock.
Being personable, friendly, and collaborative helps. Solving their problems is key. Being the sort of supplier contact that is invested in their business makes for longer and more resilient relationships.
When not dealing directly with customers, I spend much time discussing and planning with colleagues, ways to make our ranges better, easier to find online and ever more tailored to themes.
Persuading and convincing new prospects to have a go at doing business with us or expounding the new “on trend” titles to existing customers at Tradeshows is another fun part of the job. The day job is mostly really satisfying. Selling books comes with the conviction that they are a good thing, and this is almost missionary work!
Claire
Why do you love Bookspeed?
Clear goals and great people.
A story I always remember & makes me chuckle...
Getting caught in nerf-gun crossfire - our accountants are brutal. And Eds climbing onto my desk – while I was sitting there – to shout at the office about the state of the kitchen.
A day in the life of Claire
I spend the majority of my time requesting images/FSC statuses/samples for our listed titles and then processing that info – these feed into our website and enable our customers to make good choices. I also manage the unsolicited samples, deal with customer requests, get samples sent out to customers... luckily for me I work with a great group of people, both internally and externally. Moira Rose gifs also help.
Mairi
Why do you love Bookspeed?
I’m one the newbies here to the Bookspeed family but what I can say is that the passion for books and what we do here is something I have never experienced in my marketing career so far. It is addictive and makes it so easy to be inspired to help fulfil the company goals. Bookspeed have never had a marketing department until this year and for me, this is super exciting!
A quick Bookspeed story...
For me, the first thing that comes to mind is my second interview. It was obviously COVID-friendly and over zoom but I was just so at ease and felt like I clicked with the values and story of Bookspeed. Then on top of that there was just the passion exuding from everyone on the call. For me, being Bookspeed’s marketing manager was a no-brainer! But…the Teams banter is fantastic and always provides a giggle or an uncontrollable chuckle daily.
A day in the life of Mairi
As a marketing manager, I get my teeth stuck into pretty much every function within Bookspeed. I work closely with the sales team, as their knowledge is so important for me to build successful marketing campaigns. On a daily basis, though, I start off with a strong coffee, check my emails, check over any social activity and then bash on with my list (I love a list). I could literally do anything in a day from website updates, customer emails, social media, catalogue production, PR, and anything else really. The variety for me makes it even better (and my love for a spreadsheet and data)!
Neill
What gets you up in the morning to do the best job you can for Bookspeed?
Our customers!
A favourite memory from Neill...
Back in office times, having a wee boogie at the standing desks with colleagues is a particular highlight, and generally evokes the fun, happy place that Bookspeed is.
A day in the life of Neill
It’s hard to define a day in the life at Bookspeed for me – it’s literally anything and everything, but that’s what I love most about it!
Rebecca
Why do you love Bookspeed?
Creating and curating the ranges. It’s a universal favourite amongst all the account managers, as at the core of us we really love books. Choosing the right book to be in the right place for the right person!
Also, any time we are on the stand at tradeshows – nothing like 4 days straight of hanging out with colleagues. You can see why we are seen as pleasantly weird.
A day in the life of Rebecca
Log on, check emails, and see what orders have come in overnight. Douse any fires and issues that have occurred and, if I have time, chase proformas and check any overdue accounts. Then ideally, I can do ranges in the afternoon. This is of course interrupted with any urgent emails or calls from customers.
Alice
So, Alice, why Bookspeed?
I’ve always wanted to work with books and I can confirm that it’s a pleasure to connect readers with something they might love. Working for a company that truly values its employees, as well as ethical practices and the environment, is also a huge bonus.
Is there a memory which sticks about us?
When a team of Bookspeeders took part in the Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home quiz night and won! Or – in non-COVID times – when a batch of freebie books would arrive and the whole office would swarm.
All in a day for Alice:
In Sales Support we do everything from answering phones and processing orders to taking card payments and sourcing book data for our customers!
Jonny
What gets you up in the morning to do the best job for Bookspeed?
The people. I love spending time with my colleagues in stock control and everyone else at Bookspeed. Getting to spend time with publishers talking about their books and sharing in their success is a great privilege.
Any stories to tell?
I recently met with a large publisher and some of their senior staff who hadn’t worked with Bookspeed before. About halfway through the meeting, one of them suddenly said, “Oh, I get it; you guys have integrity!” It’s so good to be able to work in an environment where integrity, honesty and collaboration are the lived values of our business.
A day in the life of Publishing Director, Jonny...
I’m very lucky that my days tend to be varied, but some things form the frame on which each day is built. Every morning I meet with the stock control team to reflect on the previous day and plan for the day ahead, allocating the ordering tasks on the day’s schedule. We’ll continue liaising throughout the day to see how each other are doing and discuss tangential, but important, matters such as John Carpenter’s The Thing, hats, cats, houseplants and Black Sabbath.
I then try to make some headway on the emails – we partner with around 400 publishers and I’m keen to work as closely as possible with as many of them as I can. I normally have meetings with at least one publisher, where we discuss their forthcoming publications and how their current titles are doing, interrogating sales data and speaking with other colleagues to give rich and constructive feedback.
I’ll meet with colleagues in sales, often to discuss the particular needs of a customer and ensure we have the books they need at any given time. If I’m on site, I’ll pop into the warehouse a couple of times to try getting a sense of what stock is coming in – it’s good to understand how the numbers we type into orders each day translate to pallets arriving in Goods In, and how the decisions we make impact the workloads of our fellow ‘Speeders.
If I’m lucky, I’ll get to spend time working with colleagues across departments on continuing Bookspeed’s growth, discussing strategy, and looking forward to the challenges ahead.
Willa
Willa is one of the newest additions to the Bookspeed family!
What gets you up in the morning to do the best job you can for Bookspeed?
I’d say finally getting to work with books(!!) for a company that never spouts corporate nonsense or puts you through condescending personal improvement exercises, where everyone has a sense of humour, and we work well because we like each other and what we’re doing.
What would you say evokes why you love Bookspeed most?
The sheer number of Schitt’s Creek gifs.
What does Willa’s day look like?
Generally, I start by putting on as many new orders as possible that have come in overnight and liaising with the account managers, making sure the orders are set before they’re sent off to the warehouse, checking all the individual ins-and-outs for each one (and there are a lot of those). Then I’ll switch over to shipping, keeping an eye on what’s where, seeing if the couriers need any further instructions or if any dates need to be changed.
In betwixt all this I’ll be taking calls, which can be anything from phone orders or new clients wanting to know how Bookspeed works and how to get started, to authors asking how to get their books listed with us, and everything in between. Then if it’s not too busy I can work on longer term projects, but often it’s very busy, so the rest of the day is more of the same: emails, emails, emails, plus talking with everyone everywhere – in the warehouse, stock control, DPD – just making sure books are where they need to be at the right price for the right people.
Mike
How do you start your day with Bookspeed and the Stock Control team?
Coffee. Stock Control usually brew a pot of filter coffee for the team to help kick-start the day.
A memory of how Bookspeed goes above and beyond for Bookspeeders...
A few years ago, I asked Lewis if Bookspeed could store 4 filing cabinets of music scores and a marimbaphone on behalf of The Edinburgh Concert Band; and he said yes. They’re currently sat in the Albert Road warehouse.
What does a day in Stock Control look like?
Hardly a quiet moment. There are the previous day’s invoices to review, emails from sales looking for stock to be ordered or chased, and availability enquiries. The main part of any given day is given over to ordering in stock. It’s a big task and takes 2 buyers 2 days to work through the ordering.
Chris
What make you want to do your best for Bookspeed?
What draws my desire to do the best I can are the values that Bookspeed promotes. In Bookspeed everyone matters and is respected irrespective of individual differences. And those are values we extend to our customers and the wider world too.
Bookspeed is a unique outfit...can you tell us a story about that?
Going to the Bookspeed quiz and seeing Eddie and Sonya stage a dramatic, smoke-machine entrance in full Mexican wrestlers’ outfits was an eye-opener. I was sure then that Bookspeed wasn’t a ‘normal’ workplace!
What does a day look like for Chris?
Everyday life at Bookspeed has obviously changed since the pandemic started, but some things stay the same. In my role I’m in contact with our customers, either by email or on the phone, making sure they have what they need and seeing their orders through to dispatch. I also create book ranges on request to suit particular customers’ needs, drawing info from our internal systems and various online resources to choose what’s right for each one.
Alice
Why do you love what you do?
Getting to recommend lots of brilliant books to our lovely customer base, and just getting to work with a great bunch of people every day!
Fancy sharing some memories?
There are too many to choose from! But the legendary staff quiz nights are always a great example of the weird and wonderful Bookspeed vibe…usually involving costumes and some kind of weird performance, as well as some very competitive quizzing and great prizes!
I will also never forget my first experience of the ‘Flag Game’, which seemed to happen at random times in the office when you were least expecting it… oh, the terror when I realised just how shocking my flag knowledge is!
I also have lots of lovely Bookspeed memories from meeting our customers at the trade shows and keeping each other entertained on the stand during rare quiet periods!
A day in the life of Alice...
A typical day for me involves making sure my customers have the right books at the right time. Chatting to customers on the phone/through email, putting together tailored ranges of books for customers and making sure their orders make it out to them on time are all part of my everyday activities! All of this hopefully feeds into making sure our customers are happy with the service we provide to them.
Kelly
What is it about Bookspeed that you love?
There are a lot of companies that set out their ‘values’ as part of a corporate mission statement and then do very little to live up to them. Bookspeed is the only company I’ve worked for that makes a real effort to live up to the standards it sets for itself. Plus, book-centric people make the best colleagues. We’re a weird and wonderful bunch and we all work together to make the complexity of wholesale book orders run as smoothly as possible.
My first week at Bookspeed ended with an invitation to Neill’s wedding that same weekend. I was touched to be included in such a special event at short notice. An emotionally charged day followed by a party certainly speeds up the process of getting to know your colleagues!
A day in the Biblio team for Kelly looks like...
As a Bibliographic Support Assistant, I spend the majority of my days entering new title information and customer stock item requests into the database. I also keep backlist items up to date by making changes to the RRP, discount rates, VAT status, and product imagery as necessary, or archiving titles that are no longer active.
Katie
Do you have a story which helps to evoke the Bookspeed vibe?
Identifying a future bestseller is always a winner. I remember the first time I saw a copy of ‘Life Changing Magic of Not Giving a F**k’ and telling anyone that would listen at Top Drawer Spring that year that it was going to be big – we’ve sold 50k+ copies! Other than that, it’s seeing customers in person and getting to know them. I’ve worked with people for years that are now like friends and family.
What does a day look like for a Senior Key Account Manager?
Every day is different, which I love. What I’m doing can depend on the time of year, the day of the week, and a lot of time is spent reacting to customer needs as they happen, so I never know what the day will bring. I could be researching ranges for a customer’s specific needs, selecting new titles, or working on displays for tradeshows – I love the variety and creativity involved! What it all boils down to is making sure that our customers have the best possible ranges of books to sell, and that we can react to trends as and when they emerge!
Graham
Why Bookspeed for you?
Good colleagues. Working with books.
Any memories to share with us?
No, because there are people who need to really not know that information.
How do you feed the Bookspeed machine?
Coffee first thing. Gin last thing. Everything in between tends to be a bit of a clanking blur.
The Bookspeed Family
We’ve heard from just a few of us on Why We Love What We Do Here at Bookspeed. We all contribute to the Bookspeed machine by utilising our individual expertise to offer the best service to our customers and build brilliant relationships with the hundreds of publishers we work with.
Here at Bookspeed HQ, we call ourselves a family and that is something we truly mean. We are a unique bunch of people who all love books and contribute to delivering exceptional service to our customers.
The Bookspeed Team.
Ps. We can’t wait to be all together again!
