Waterstones battles order backlog as staff and customer frustration mounts over missing stock

Waterstones is continuing to battle a backlog of orders generated by the installation of its new warehouse technology, with teams working “tirelessly” to get books back on shop shelves. 

As reported by The Bookseller last month, the chain upgraded its warehouse technology in July to Blue Yonder, a system to manage stock distribution. Though the company says the system is now operational, some customers have been waiting up to six weeks for their orders. 

Waterstones chief operating officer Kate Skipper said the chain was “making progress towards normality” and “the most important new publishing” was being prioritised. She also praised publishers for their support during the period.

However, staff have told The Bookseller they feel “let down” and have faced angry customers, with one bookseller even having a book thrown at them. There are also concerns about key books missing from stores and titles from indie presses not making it into branches.

One bookseller said: “A lot of the big publishers have been sending us huge boxes full of stock directly. They do have the funding to do that but the stock from the smaller publishers and independents is nowhere near the levels they should be."

Another said their branch was still waiting on copies of A Fatal Crossing by Tom Hindle (Cornerstone), Heatwave by Victor Jestin (Simon & Schuster) and Alex Neptune, Dragon Thief by David Owen — all three of which are Waterstones Books of the Month for August. One shop was said to be completely out of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Bloomsbury), while another was missing popular titles including Meg Mason’s Sorrow & Bliss (W&N). 

At the weekend, book critic John Self tweeted a picture of a Waterstones branch with display tables removed and books on shelves turned with their jackets facing outwards, seemingly in an attempt to cover empty space.

"I had a customer throw a book at me," one senior staff member told The Bookseller. "We didn’t have any of the top titles in.

“We don’t know what to tell customers who come in looking for their order they’ve placed weeks ago, and [some of them] are very aggressive,” they added. “The amount of abuse we are receiving is insane, and head office haven’t acknowledged that - there is no way they don’t know how bad the situation is." 

Another senior bookseller at a different branch commented: "I feel like myself and my fellow booksellers have been let down by Waterstones.”

They added: “Customers are as in the dark as we are. It’s affecting management in store too as they are so clueless. I feel so worried for what is going on.”

One indie publisher got in touch with a chief buyer at the chain last week, who mentioned problems "integrating the system". The publisher said: "If this continues I can see a lot of smaller indies really struggling." The publisher has still not had any orders for July or August yet, and The Bookseller understands some presses have been asked not to publicise the issues the chain is facing on social media. 

However, Gill Richardson, group sales director at S&S UK, gave a more optimistic assessment about the problems. Richardson told The Bookseller: "We are in constant communication with Waterstones head office and branches, and are working collaboratively to keep authors and agents apprised of the various issues that Waterstones are dealing with.

"They give our authors, and Simon & Schuster titles, consistently strong support, so we are looking forward to them returning to their usual level of excellence and are doing all that we can to help them achieve that."

Skipper said: “In July, Waterstones upgraded the system that manages stock distribution from our warehouse. Blue Yonder technology is now operational, with stock flowing in and out to bookshops and customers alike, but the installation unfortunately did generate a backlog of orders. We are now working through these orders as quickly and efficiently as we can. We have been in contact with customers whose orders have been delayed to apologise for the inconvenience as these delays are in no way reflective of our usual service.

"We are making progress towards normality each week, albeit at a slower pace than we would like. Volumes have been steadily building and we expect this week to deliver the biggest week of hub despatches so far. We prioritise as far as possible the most important new publishing, rather than any particular publisher.

“Publishers are being wholly supportive, working closely with us to get stock through as efficiently as possible, for which we are enormously appreciative. Our hub, IT and central teams are working tirelessly to get the business back to normal service levels. We continue to send publishers regular updates on progress, with our expectation to have worked through the backlog and returned to normal operations over the generally quiet weeks of August.

“Of course, no amount of fancy new systems changes the fact that we will on occasion underbuy a title to the disappointment of its publisher, any more that that we will occasionally overbuy.

“We are also very grateful for the professionalism and expertise of our booksellers. The excellence of their service has mitigated substantially the disruptions of the last few weeks. We keep them informed on a daily basis as the service rebuilds, and we are certain that they look forward more than anyone to the resumption of normal service as soon as possible.”

Many have also expressed their support for Waterstones booksellers on social media, with author Joanne Harris tweeting: "Message to Waterstones staff today: We know the supply problem isn’t your fault. We love and appreciate you."

Author Natasha Hastings wrote: "Sending a lot of love to the wonderful Waterstones booksellers today, who do an incredible job." Indie Sandstone Press wrote: "Please be particularly nice to Waterstones booksellers at the moment - they’re working under stressful conditions and doing their best to get you your books."