Secrets of Retail

by J.W. Martin

Wade Williams is a prick. This wasn't always the case, but years in the soul-shattering world of retail have made Wade a bitter, cynical young man. Impeded by a lack of direction and nearly infinite levels apathy, Wade idles through his days avoiding waves of annoying customers, his obtrusive boss and any kind of work in general.

Genres: Humor

Nook

First published April 28, 2010

Reviews

[Joanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the story of Wade Williams, a Customer Service Sales Representative (salesman) in a big electronics retail store. As the book's jacket says, Wade is, quite frankly an unlikeable prick. So why do we want to know him? Well, it's because we can all relate, even if only secretly. Wade actually expresses a lot of the things each of us thinks, and wants to say, but don't dare. And because he is smart, witty, and quick. The author has a gift for dialogue, and uses it well to draw the reader in to Wade's world. And before long, we discover that there is actually more depth to Wade than we first realized. This is the story of what happens when the work we do sucks the soul from us. And it is also a story of what can save us from that hell. It's a story of friendship, loyalty, integrity, and authenticity. This is a story of salvation. I enjoyed it very much!

[Ariel Hudnall · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Secrets of Retail" was a story I picked up on my Kindle a long while ago, but just finally got around to reading in between one mammoth text and another.

The story is about a young man named Wade who works in an electronics store. As a supervisor in a poorly managed branch, Wade does what he can to make the days go by quickly. Most of the time this means practicing his one-liners with women and having sex whenever the uniform is off.

I used to work in retail, and his descriptions of the way employees feel is pretty spot on. I had to shake my head and roll my eyes at the nostalgia of a few of his more "classy" customers. But then there were the wonderful, human moments of connection, just for a few moments, that reminded me why, yeah, I did like my job too, at least for a little while.

The surprising element of this story was the personal growth of Wade, and how his personal life, which is out of control, eventually collides with the security and stability of his work life. The interactions of the characters felt very real... and juuuuust when I was starting to get annoyed by his continued exploits, the author produced a wonderful flip that thrusts all of these casual occurrences into a conflict that I couldn't predict, and couldn't put down.

Though a short, casual read, "Secrets of Retail" is a great story, with a really interesting cast of characters that all feel like different people. An excellent debut from a very talented author!

[boekverslaafde · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unlike the name says, this book does not have real, secrets of retail. Only the pessimistic, narcissistic thoughts on retail. The book is about Wade, who works at a big electronics store, something like Best Buy. The majority of the book is about Wade's sexual conquests and getting drunk. Every now and then he goes to work. The sexual conquests weren't even interesting to read. "We had sex for hours"...REALLY?? Sex for HOURS and that's all you've got to say about it? Fine. I didn't need a blow by blow in a book that's SUPPOSED to be about working retail. The time Wade does spend in the store, he is either trying to pick up girls, or trying to find the most polite way he can insult the customer in front of him. The only thing that kept me reading this book? Those snarky things he managed to say. Things I have often thought of saying to similar customers, when I worked in retail. All & all, the parts of the book about him working were pretty funny. The other pages were a lot of extra filler. This book is riddled with typos and grammatical errors, it definitely could have used some better editing. I gave it 3 stars, because, having worked in retail most of my life, I have become just as shriveled and pessimistic as Wade. Once you find yourself THAT bad, you need to switch professions!

[Terry Collins · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun read, with an author that not only knows retail of the "big box" variety (Think Circuit City or Best Buy), but also has a good ear for dialogue. However, one grows weary of every woman that crosses our protagonist's path throwing herself at him for sexual favors. From lowly gas station clerks to customers to Hooters girls to new hires for the store to a thinly disguised celebrity female fantasy (Britney Spears, perhaps?) - all of them want to jump Wade's bones, and it becomes tiring (making a character with some depth ultimately shallow).

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

The secret of retail is that most of its employees are small-minded, uneducated and self absorbed. Wade, the main character in this book, is a perfect example of that. I wasn't that enthralled with the story right up until the end, when the author really pulled it together.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

It caught my attention since I work retail. It wasn't bad, but not my favorite. It was kind of difficult to relate to Wade sometimes, but overall, I think it was easy to relate to his overall retail experience.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining and seemed like it would be accurate. I didn't hate the main character the way that reviews later said many people did. His frustrations and ways of dealing with people seemed pretty natural to me.

[Chris Czubati · Rating 3 out of 5]

good not great. though I did finish it in one day so that must Say something. Wade gets retail right and does a fine job of giving humor to customer service jobs. and the relationships that seem to develop are predictable but oh so true. Definitely worth a read.

[Rich Meyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad look at the retail experience, though there was far too much emphasis on the main character's sexual conquests, which seemed very out of place and just made him much less sympathetic. Readable, but if you've never worked retail you are probably going to be kind of bored.

[Dorota Jakubowski · Rating 1 out of 5]

One star for getting the bitterness of working retail right. Otherwise, the writing wasn't impressive and the main character disgusted me to the point where I had to stop reading before my eyeballs exploded.

[Christine Lujan-Hodges · Rating 5 out of 5]

Real secrets...

You'll agree with my 5 star review if you've ever wondered what makes people tick.
Humor, sincerity, diversity and a great ending are cigs th move this book.
Read it....but only if you enjoy fun reading.

[Holly Ganz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very entertaining

I was very entertained throughout this entire book. it made me think about all the stupid stuff I've asked the clerks in stores before. I hope to read more from this author.

[Natalie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don't even bother. If you want to read about a man who is lost in his life and his frequent sexual experiences, then go for it. Not that I was hoping for literary genius about retail in this, but I was expecting more than just flat out boringness.

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amusing story of life as a young salesperson, aside from the one-dimensional portrayal of women, but then maybe sex is all young salesmen think about.

[Sushil Krishnan · Rating 4 out of 5]

very funny book about a guy who tries his hand at retail stores. Read it just after auditing a store, and could very well connect to it!

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laughed the whole time. Great book.

[Kristen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't believe the author picked up as many random women as he claimed.

Also, the editing is very poor.