Columbia Bookstore at 624 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois.

Student staff is helpful, senior staff is indifferent to student needs to the point where it borders on, and often spills over into complete rudeness. It's like their only goal when they clock in is to make it to the end of the day with as little customer interaction as possible. I attended a reading there recently of student writers, the manager was testy, short, and wanted to get the reading started early (before the publisher of the anthology that was being read arrived and before some of the actual performers too.) I am grateful that the bookstore stayed open for this event, they close at 3 on Fridays and this event went to 630, but that is the time they normally close during the week so, really, what is one day oit of an entire semester. The manager set up six chairs for the event. Six. The number of people involved in the reading was nine. And the guests to this event were left to stand among the racks of merchandise while a stack of chairs remained untouched behind the checkout counter. (Which was in use throughout the reading. Though I understand this is a business, it's pretty obvious to a group of readers that a place really doesn't want them around when the beepbeepbeepcaching-rip of a till rattles off right next to the part of the store alloted for the event).