Topping & Company Booksellers Reviews 15

Visited the St.Andrews branch many times over the last 5 years or so.
The staff are very knowledgeable, friendly and unfailingly polite.
Vast range of books in a great setting.

Complete contrast in customer service between the lady in the upstairs Bath store art department, who, a few days ago, ordered a book for me to assess the condition before purchasing as the shop copy was damaged, and the man managing the basement who refused to provide the same service when a last copy was damaged and the other I wanted was not in stock, even though I had just spent £90 on three hardback books in the same visit. I felt his manner was cold and unhelpful, he was more concerned about selling faulty stock than respecting my custom and hard earned money. I went straight across to Mr B's who couldn't have been more helpful, was a delight to visit and will receive all my future custom and I will be spreading the word of this experience.

I would highly recommend Topping & Company for purchasing books online. They have a great range of titles, competitive prices and they arrive in well thought out packaging to ensure they remain in good condition - it's refreshing to find a book shop that is independent and obviously cares. I just wish I lived closer to be able to visit in person!

Fantastic bookshop with friendly and helpful staff. The complentary coffee was excellent. A beautiful location with a wealth of books in a beautiful setting. I could spend all day in here. Wonderful. Don't miss it if you visit Bath. Just around the corner from the Roman Baths.

I ordered a specific edition of Jane Austen’s “Emma” and collected it at Topping Edinburgh. The server handed me the book. I then asked two questions about “Lord Of the Rings” editions.

The server was in no mood to help. Looking up her directory was clearly too much effort. It was around 8pm - there were few customers in the store. Staff had gathered behind the upstairs till to have a banter. I felt like an intruder.

Going downstairs I felt angry and hurt. Ideally I would have returned the book for a refund. But Topping do not give refunds. The last thing I wanted was a Topping gift voucher.

I emailed the owner. He sent a detailed apology. But that did not resolve the matter.

The Edinburgh Topping shop is near me. Occasionally I pop in. Staff can be supercilious - not always, but frequently. There’s a sense that they’re there for each other, not for the customer.

Some years ago, I attended a Topping book event. Tickets to this event came at three levels, £5 for a scholar ticket, £8 for the early bird and £21 which included the book. I did not want to lug a chunky hard cover book around. Therefore I bought the £8 ticket. When I arrived at check in, the door man gave me a hard time. He said I should buy the book. I resented the aggravation. He did let me in. But that was the last time I attended such an event.

If there’s an obligation to buy the book, then why offer £8 tickets?

Recently, on a day when Topping staff were feeling affable, they showed me a premium copy of “Sapiens” which they keep in the locked up glass cabinet. I leafed through it. Alas now, after the “Emma” saga, my enthusiasm for premium has evaporated. Instead, I bought “Sapiens” as a used paperback from an online market place. It cost £1.40 for the book plus £2.20 p&p. There were no issues, no condescension and no upsets.

Phew.

The signed edition arrived promptly and was extremely well packed. The book dust jacket was protected, and the book was wrapped in bubble wrap and a stout cardboard package. Very pleased with my purchase - will use Toppings as one of my main suppliers for books.

I love Topping’s. We’ve visited Edinburgh, St Andrews and Bath so far. I love the special edition and local books that I struggle to find elsewhere, the locations/buildings, bookladders, dog friendliness and sometimes even a tea if it’s quiet. Good natural history/nature section. Huge fiction and genre sections. Lovely staff.

Purchased a book which had first 20pages missing from St.Andrews shop. Assistant said she would get one from the Edinburgh shop and they would phone. No phone call. Second time I've been waiting for phone call and no update. Will get my books elsewhere.

I’ve been a loyal customer at the Ely bookshop for decades. I was asked if I wanted a paperbag for my purchase today and said yes. When I checked my receipt I noticed I’d been charged 10p for a small (less than 1 foot square) PAPER bag. 10p for a bag costing less than 2p!!! This is blatant profiteering for a fully recyclable bag. No one else charges for paper bags and they didn’t even tell me there was a charge in advance.

Needless to say I won’t be returning and will buy all my books on line in future….

I love Toppings bookshop. The staff are unfailingly helpful and they know their stuff. One if the books I wanted last week was found to be out of print, but the assistant went to the trouble of finding online secondhand bookshops to try. I'm in my 70's and have to use a walking stick, so not all of Toppings new premises in Bath is easily accessible, but there is now a lift to the basement and today a member of staff helped me with the lift and to find my book, then made me a (free) cup of tea while i sat comfily on a sofa. Can I move in please?

Knowledgable, welcoming and helpful assistants. A very wide selection of books. An attractively laid out bookshop. I went in to find a collection of Philip Larkins' poetry (His work wasn't in two of the other main Edinburgh bookshops at all). Not holding out much hope I asked, 'I suppose you haven't got any Philip Larkin?' The answer was a cheerful, 'Philip Larkin? Oh, I think we might manage that! Right this way!'
Now the Edinburgh Topping bookshop had books from floor to ceiling and that assistant was up a ladder and back down again with an armful. The book I wanted was there. I could happily live in that bookshop. It's not dissimilar to the Tardis.

Received as scheduled. The book is tallied with the description.

Ordered 2 books on the 10th November
Only one arrived
Was emailed by Topping telling me that the other book was out of stock and a refund would be given
As of today 24th November still no refund after several emails to them not good service won’t be using this company again

Not a great experience with this shop.I ordered a book token for my daughter's birthday,but despite ordering twice,never arrived on time,and I had to make hurried alternative arrangements. I was then told that the money would be refunded to.my account within five working days- it was not and I am still waiting for it.You might think,given my inconvenience ,they would wish to offer a small goodwill gesture,but apparently not.Very disappointed in Topping and won't be using them again.

In the real world the company's newly opened shop in Edinburgh has a vast array of books and is very pleasantly laid out.

In the virtual world, however, the firm seem woefully behind the times and utterly unable to respond to either emails or messages on Twitter. I have had great difficulty over the past two months in confirming whether goods from a book subscription have actually been placed into the postal system on time. The fact that only one shop seems to be able to answer such questions, due to each having a different computer system (according to a member of the Edinburgh staff) only exacerbates the issue.