Borders

Oh, Borders. I’m going to miss you. I remember the day when B&N was the only choice for one stop book shopping needs. Then along came Borders. I didn’t realize how great a book mega store could really be.
Where the other place was a little more on the formal side and served Starbucks. (Read my review of Starbucks for a better understanding of my aversion) Borders is staffed with people more like me. Ink and piercings! Seattle’s Best Coffee, which I find superior to SBucks. Overall a more eclectic regular stock of books. I really came to enjoy Borders.
Unfortunately, over the recent years with the introduction of ebooks and digital downloads, the printed book is quickly becoming the LP of this generation… and that makes me sad.
Nothing can compare to the feel of the printed page in your hand and the first cracking of the spine. Hopefully, as in fashion, cocktails, and music… what’s old is new and maybe we’ll see a resurgence of actual book stores like Borders.

I really love going to Borders to study or just spend hours browsing through books. This particular Borders has always given me excellent customer service as well as a calm, coffee house feel that I could spend hours in… and have!
For book lovers: Borders keeps up with the latest and greatest as well as most of the classics you’d want to read. It’s very well laid out with many different sections, including new releases, noteworthy, and clearance sections. And, when you find three books that you want to explore or maybe just one that you’re not quite sure about, no one ever looks at you weirdly if you just sit for a half hour to read a chapter or two and really get a feel for whether a book is for you.
For families: There is a huge children’s section upstairs (which an escalator takes you to) and a variety of books for all ages.
For coffee drinkers: Seattle’s Best Coffee serves yummy drinks upstairs in a versatile seating area. There are tables for groups and individuals as well as comfy chairs to curl up in and read. There’s also several chairs spread out around the top floor in case the designated seating area is full.
Downsides: this particular location serves as a «pass-​through» zone for prime Domain traffic. It is a link store from the large back parking lot to the main part of the Domain, so lots of people (and noisy kids) pass through there constantly. The other thing I don’t like is that, many times, there is only one person running the coffee shop and it backs up to where I’m waiting 10 – 15 minutes for just a plain cup of coffee… I’ve even seen only one barista during prime-​time hours a few times. I don’t like that at all!
Either way, I will definitely keep spending time at borders to study as long as it is remains at the Domain!

This review is for the Seattle’s Best upstairs. Like another reviewer noted, this is a great space to retreat away off the beaten path of the hectic shoppers. Totally different vibe from the Starbucks in the middle of the mall. If you are lucky you can score a table by the window and catch up with a friend, chill by yourself while reading a book or hooking up your laptop. Unfortunately, there was one counter person and two people in front of me so it was a slow ordering process. While I waited I was reading up on their different levels of coffee on their board and decided mine would be Level 5. When I ordered a medium the girl looked at me like I was an alien and I said is that not the brewed coffee on your menu? She said they were only brewing Level 1. What? Then why put the different levels on your board if it isn’t available? My friend had the same experience when she ordered. I opted for the white tea as I’m obviously not a Level 1.

You’re on Esperanza. That means «hope», doesn’t it?
Wait, you’re not like any Border’s store I’ve ever seen before. You’re a calendar store, right? That’s all I see when I walk in.
Where are your book stacks? What’s that escalator for? Where are you taking me?
Ohhhh, Borders, you just seduced me. On two different levels.
Cigarette?

Great place to grab a coffee and a book and relax.

I want to like Borders, I really do, but this Borders really stinks compared to the Barnes and Nobles close by in the Arboretum. You rarely see an employee and when you do they just giro the computer to look up the book like you can… So what is the point?
In the end thank God for
for books, movies, and just about anything else you normally get from a book store.

The most ridiculous thing about this location is the Seattle’s Best is on the 2^nd floor. Most people I know didn’t know there was a café in the store until I told them. If the SBC were where they put the cash registers, I think I’d always grab a coffee while browsing. Instead, they make me go out of my way to get it, which means I usually don’t.
Don’t hold your breath looking for help if they’re busy. There’s usually 3 – 4 employees with at least half manning the registers, so take a number. Usually employees are helpful when you can flag them down, but I’ve had bad experiences with some tall skinny kid with a bad haircut. Avoid him.
I’m up from 2 stars to three because a previous reviewer’s positive comments about the computer book section is spot-​on. The programming languages books are well-​stocked for popular languages like C#, Java, and PHP. I’m usually surprised to find books about less popular but interesting languages like LISP, Erlang, and Haskell. There’s even a couple of LabVIEW books, which is appropriate given National Instruments is less than a mile away. The software engineering books by giants like Knuth and Fowler have their own section, and it’s usually stocked quite well compared to the average bookstore.
Don’t go if you expect to really find a book. The day before yesterday, I put a book that was «likely in stock» on hold. I knew they probably had it because I’ve had my eye on it for a few months and I’ve passed over it for other books. When I arrived yesterday around lunchtime, the cashiers said they «hadn’t gotten around to the hold requests, there were like 20». Fine; there were only 3 visible employees in the store so I can live with it. My book wasn’t visible on the shelf, so I asked an employee to help me look for it. After some searching, he declared «It must have been stolen.» Wait, what? It’s a 1,000 page programming book on an esoteric subject, and the most logical explanation for why it’s not on the shelf is someone shoved it in their pants and walked out the door? For some reason, if he had just said «I guess it got sold recently» I don’t think I’d have been as mad, but the visualization of some thug passing up the DVDs, CDs, and mangas that have high resale value and fit easily in the pocket to shove a bunch of bulky 5lb books in his pants just doesn’t fit. So I bought it from B&N, who apparently doesn’t have a problem with people stealing 1,000 page tomes because they don’t have a giant unattended back door with $ 60 – 80 books next to it. Seriously Borders, lock that back door and you’ll eliminate 90% of your theft.
Also, bring someone big with you if you want to browse the computer section. There is *ALWAYS* a d-​bag looking at the «Start Menu for Dummies» rack for people that don’t know what they’re doing that takes up the whole aisle and is completely unresponsive to requests to get out of the way. He might be sitting in the middle of the aisle reading the chapter on how to make text bold in wordpad, or like the guy yesterday crawling across the aisle so he can see the bottom-​shelf books about «how to find the start menu» and «how to forward emails» and «Windows 98 for dummies». He spent 10 minutes with his back against the rack I wanted just staring at the racks deciding between «Word 2007 Step by Step» and «Teach Yourself Visually Word 2007» and PUSHED ME OUT OF THE WAY when he needed to move over to the Excel books and I dared to be standing next to him.
There’s a guy like this in the computer section. Every. Time. I. Visit. Which used to be once or twice a week, and has slowly tapered off to once or twice a month. Run a marathon and don’t shower or otherwise make yourself offensive when planning on looking at this section to ward him off.
So here’s a summary for the TL;DR; crowd:
Pros:
Best computer programming book section this side of
Nice selection everywhere else
Cons:
Skeleton crew staff
Inconsistent service
Coffee store is inconveniently placed
The book you want is stolen (probably slipped out that unattended back door)
Creepy guy always blocking an aisle of computer books

Don’t bother calling to see if they have an item in stock. Staff is rude and never «has any clue» when an item will be in stock.
useless.
However the store is nice and clean.

I can really only speak for the (second-​floor and spacious) café. However, there seems to be a large selection of books, bigger than your typical Borders, so I’m fairly certain it wouldn’t disappoint in that regard.
Now, for the café:
— Tons of outlets
— Lots of seats
— Large, 8′ high windows that let in lots of natural light, esp. in the afternoon
— GREAT service staff
— Very clean
— If you pick wisely (and use coupons), it’s cheaper than Starbucks
The café opens til 9pm, but they let you sit at the chairs til store close, which is at 10pm. A pretty good place to go get a drink, camp out, and catch up on some reading, studying, or just some quieter time to yourself. The Domain’ers are too busy walking around with hundred dollar shopping bags on their arms to hang out here, so there’s not much foot traffic — which can be a boon.
It’s a different feel from the UT area cafes. More clean, bright, and sometimes you need that for a change of pace, especially when you frequent cafes as much as I do. 3 stars for a solid chill place.

It seems the pen is indeed mighty; I wrote a letter to Borders, Inc explaining my recent experience, and I received a letter from the store manager apologizing and offering me a full refund. Because my original intent was to exchange my purchase for a more expensive book, not walk out with cash in hand, I followed through and bought a replacement book, thus setting my world back to rights. I’m still miffed by the whole encounter so I’m keeping my rating at 2 stars, but I do appreciate the higher-​ups having the sense to recognize a good customer and an honest transaction.

I have a secret love affair with borders. All I wanted for christmas this year was borders gift cards. Thankfully, I got them. I love this place.
The comic book section at this location is by far the best out of their other stores. A 7 yr old boy makes me know these things.
The staff is super friendly. I forgot my print out coupon at home so I showed them my email on my phone and they gave me the discount. It’s a little weird to do such things but they didn’t judge me and I appreciated that.

Quick Note — This is an excellent bookstore with the exception of the following:
Magazine racks are located on the first floor; while the café is located on the second floor.
The Seattle’s Best Café has no highchairs in the café; yet is located next to the kids section.
The south location at Westgate next to Central Market is far superior to the Domain location. The have plenty of highchairs in their SB and its smack dab next to the magazines.
Maybe they think its not trendy to bring your kids to the Domain.

The selection at this Borders honestly isn’t bad. If you call in and ask if they have something, you might be on hold for a while and someone’ll get back to you and say they’re out of stock, but don’t believe ‘em. Your hunch will most likely be more accurate than their system. I’m usually looking for cookbooks, my mother will tag along to check out romance novels, and we’re both regularly on the money with our instincts. Both floors are packed with goodies and there’s ample space to sit and sample a chapter or so. Good magazine section as well. You can find just about anything except for employees.
They seem to only have one person walking both floors at any given time per 4 – 6 hour shift. Parking’s hell, though, as it’s next to the Macy’s and right in front of the Greenwich Village looking area that really screams «hello, you’re in The Domain. Who are you wearing?» But if you can get a space closer to the Borders than the water treatment facility, you’ll be fine.

(This is the Borders at the Domain @ Mopac & Braker. Unilocal shows a different location on the map.)
Let’s talk computer books.
I love to go to book stores for an hour or two and leaf through the computer programming book section. This Borders has the largest selection of computer programming books I’ve yet seen in Austin, and I’ve been keeping my eyes open. IIRC they have six tall racks in this section, not counting mathematics and tech certification books.
They’re divided nicely into pretty specific categories like C, AI, graphics, databases, project management, programming «literature» (e.g., Pragmatic Programmer, Code Complete). Since it’s a relatively new store, their stock is decently up-​to-​date and well-​maintained.
The prices are high. You’ll get much better deals buying online. But being able to leaf through a book you’re holding is worth a lot. You can’t really do that on Amazon.
Unfortunately, we don’t have anything like Dallas’ NerdBooks (
), so we have to settle. I’ve tried BookPeople, but their computer book selection is lacking (it’s OK, I didn’t expect anything there).