Borders

It was a Monday Night… the Raiders were up, I figure I could run out to get a Moleskine agenda. I knew that Borders carried them because I had seen them there before. Now, I don’t usually go to the Union City one just because I don’t like to deal with all the people trying to eat dinner or catch a movie, but I figure it was late.
I arrived at Borders, and everything was re arranged, or at least rearranged compared to when I used to come to the Landing to watch movies and wait for my dad to pick me up from Borders after the movie. So I had no idea where the Moleskines, so I asked the lady at the register where I could find them, and she directed me right to where they were, and even gave me other ideas as well. It was good service.
If you haven’t already, you should also take advantage of their Borders Rewards program. I forgot my card at home, and the lady was patient enough to look me up a couple of times in the system (I didn’t know which e-​mail address I used), and scanned me a 25% off coupon. GET ON IT!

I went in here to buy a book today, and I left with four books and a magazine, due in part to the excellent and clean merchandising. I don’t understand how anyone can give this place fewer than three stars. First, they are a bookstore, and they carry a shitload of books. (1 star.) They also carry accessories for books, like booklights, bookmarks, pens, paper, all that stuff. (2 stars) They have excellent parking (3 stars) There’s a bunch of other places to shop in, eat in and be entertained in, without having to unpark your car. (4 stars) There are obviously some extrinsic factors that can reduce the rating, but DAMN, a one star review because the bathroom wasn’t up to snuff? It’s a BOOKSTORE, that happens to have a public restroom. You’re an idiot and should be banned from Unilocal

This Borders is prefectly fine. It’s in a good area, its big with a good selection. I just go in, browse, get my books and leave. And I agree with Elle, umm how is Union City and/​or Fremont ghetto? lol. umm okay… can we say ignorance? Lets learn what ghetto means first BEFORE using it, THANKS :)

LMFAO@ Union City and Fremont’s idea of «ghetto». Please enlighten me, inquiring minds would like to know.
Next time you are at Borders, why don’t you pick up a dictionary.
A ghetto is described as a «portion of a city in which members of a minority group live especially because of social, legal, or economic pressure.»
Ok, now for the review part of the review (HUH?)
Megan K. -«[R]eally, who buys from here?»
I do. And I always leave happy as a clam (can clams express emotions? I dunno). Independent stores are groovy and all, but I prefer the convenience of being able to look the titles up online and then picking them up without a hassle. Welcome to 2009.
Jillian R. -«But why do you have to change your store hours and make it that you close at 11pm instead of 12am? where will we go when everywhere else is closed?
How about home? Who the fuck actually hangs out at Borders?
Despite some of the reviews written by idiots who do not know what a review is supposed to consist of (takes a deep breath in), I give this location 4 stars because it is clean, always has what I need, and the employees are friendly and helpful. The Palo Alto store is a closet compared to this one.
Lastly, it is apparent that some of you expect someone to kiss your ass or hook you up with something for free in order to give this place a great review. Here are some seeds, go grow some balls.

This Borders holds good memories for my boyfriend and I. x3
In the beginning of our relationship, we would meet here before our dates. hehe
«Meet me in the magazines»
We’re so lame x3

I am here 5 days a week and I am not on their payroll. There is definitely something wrong with this picture. Well, actually, it’s because I have a really awkward gap in my work schedule and if I am too lazy to go to the gym, I stop by this Borders to kill time. Yes, I am one of those freeloading customers that doesn’t really buy anything but hangs around taking up space in the café. There’s actually enough of us there to start a Borders Mooching Club… if you want to join, just bring a used GMAT, LSAT, GRE, or CBEST book and pretend to cram and nobody will bother you. But if you want to use your laptop, well, then you can’t be a part of the club because WiFi is not free here, so you would be a paying T-​Mobile HotSpot customer. Boo for you.
Like most chain bookstores, this Borders is situated in a pretty convenient location with plenty of parking during the day. The store is always well stocked and I’ve had a pleasant experience with the staff every time. The major downfall for this location is that its café has too much sunlight coming in. Seriously, as the sun starts creeping in through the huge windows, the patrons in the café start sliding farther and farther back. There’s no way you can read, stare at a computer screen or even close your eyes for a nap with that much light coming in. What ends up happening is that there are about 6+ empty tables just soaking up the rays while you end up sitting on the floor next to the messy magazine rack.
Another complaint that I have of this place is that there aren’t enough plugs for laptop users. There are only 2 outlets in the café so if you’re not next to the wall then you just wasted your time driving there, because more than likely, the guy hogging the plugs is planning on staying until closing. Lastly, this Borders bites because they shortened their hours from midnight to 11pm.

Although I agree with the other Unilocalers regarding this location, yes, it’s pretty damn ghetto, I have to give it five stars just for the cool ass guy that helped me and my husband on a very late Black Friday nite; I’ve never had an employee at any Border’s do the following to me…
Me: Hey how you doing?
Salesperson: I’m good! Tired as hell, but I’m good… I’m gonna be here till 1am tonite!
Me: Yikes, sounds like you need some sleep… or Starbuck’s!
Salesperson: Yeah seriously (with a laugh). Do u have your Borders rewards card with you by the way?
Me: No, and I don’t know the telephone number either
Salesperson: Oooh really? Hmmm… ahh F#@! it, i’ll give u the 35% off anyways!
Me: Oh thanks so much, that’s really nice of you.
Salesperson, No worries, have a good nite! :)
Now that’s service!

This borders is so ghetto. First of all, every Friday and Saturday night it’s just packed with teenagers. There’s no where to ever to sit. there’s like 5 chairs in the whole place. The customer service really sucks. I’ve placed orders on the internet to hold books for me. and I always get emails back saying they don’t have the book in stock… but then I go there and there it is right on the shelf. I think there employees are just lazy, and they need some new mature ones. And the little café part, it’s impossible to ever sit down over there because there’s always a huge group of some filipino teenagers just sitting at a big table gathered around a laptop.
This place is lame.

Hi Borders, I treat you like my ghetto-​library (really, who buys from here? I recommend going to your local, independent bookstore and purchasing from them!). I only go here to read stuff that I’m too cheap to buy, and in reality my library never has enough chairs, never a great selection, absolutely NO wifi; but the employees really are great. Don’t be bitchy and leave your magazines strewn all over the place, what are you, 5?

This borders is a good place to read or study if you can find a spot in the café. They also have great coffee. I like getting one of their cookies and asking them to heat it up for a few seconds, then eat it with some milk or a latte.
Books-​wise, they have a pretty big fiction section, and they HAD lots of test prep books, but when I went there a couple days ago, they had a lot less than usual. Graphic novel section has lots…

Next big thing after Barnes and Nobles. Thats if you love books like me.
hahaha. It was one of those days when I thought Borders was a place for linens, curtains, textiles or bed sheets. those days when i still didnt know north from south and clueless that sodas here have endless refills. Wh0-has-the-curly-fries-or-the-criss-cut-fries?kinda thing.
I badly needed to go to a bookstore since ive been taking my book assignments so lax. They have very corteous and helpful bookstore assistants even if you could browse what you need from the comp system. even when you have the ISBN and shelf number, staff will still try to find it for you and bring it to the register in front… this should be one of my best service experiences.
Plus they contracted Seattles Best coffee inside their store. Amazing! i think i just discovered one of my would-​be just chill places.
Got my books. Walk away.

This is a decent Borders. Cal and I used to meet up in front of this particular Borders on weeknights because Union City is pretty much mid-​way from our respective homes. I used to run inside to use the restroom as soon as I got there because I have a weak bladder, but I hated asking for a special coin to unlock the door. They got rid of that policy (thank goodness), but the door is heavy and can hurt you! So beware of that. Cal and I finally decided to study in the café area yesterday, and it was a nice change from our usual study spots. It’s much more open than the Borders in Sunnyvale, and I liked the crowd. It was nice to see people sharing tables with strangers. And the raspberry latte was like liquid candy — I loved it! I got one in the morning and another one later that day.

this place use to be tight, but then they went straight skater haterade status, for a while they took out all the places to sit in the book area. reduced their selection of skate magazines. AND they fired all my friends that would hook everyone up with iced teas and fraps. all these new peopple who work there have no social skills what so ever. you say wussup they say «soo. you gonna buy something». but then again this place is a chain bookstore so you. they dont have wifi or any connections. they have seattles best coffee, but this is the bay area not seattle so that means nothing. i hate this place. not that i actually read books so this review might mean nothing. actually the books that you need for school they dont have here, so its also wack.
this place is mroe of those places you just go in and get the shit you want and leave. you cant even just read the magazines without buying them because theres like no where to sit anymore unless your in the café area with like a billion people pretending to study.

This place always tends to carry what I’m looking for. It’s not a super huge borders, but it’s like one of those mid-​sized ones.
It always seems like they’re rearranging the place. Whether it be their CDs, books, or magazines. I suppose it’s for the better.
They have really expanded their mange/​animé/​comic book area. After school you’ll find a lot of teenagers sitting along the shelf reading.
Connected to the bookstore is a café with a good amount of seating. Within the bookstore there isn’t a lot of seating. Maybe only three seats, but this is a bookstore not a library.
Sometimes the lines can get ridiculously long because of a lack of employees. The employees are overall nice and helpful.
Don’t expect easy parking on weekend nights because of movie showings.
The men’s bathroom is super tagged up with graffiti. Plus there isn’t any soap in the dispenser. How the heck are the employees supposed to wash their hands?
General organization is kept up.

It’s a bookstore so you’ll find books, magazines and what not. They do have their act together only half the time. There are so many people that come in and out of this place it almost looks like a zoo. As for the café the coffee and drinks are good but I can never find a seat. Damn students always hogging up a 4 person table and it’s just them with a laptop. When I browse around the store for other things I’m always followed like I’m suspect or something. I have no clue what it is, it’s not like I’m a terrorist. There is one short old lady on a walkie talkie that is just freaky as hell almost like Chucky following you. When you get near the DVD’s you can smell the bathroom from there like someone just took a dump in that area.

Best place to come browse when you’re waiting for that movie to start. However, because so many people come here, the magazine racks, books can be slightly disarrayed on weekend evenings. It’s a popular hang out spot to read, relax, and hang.

Disclaimer: I work for Seattle’s Best Coffee Café at this Borders
This Borders isn’t the best Borders i’ve been too, but then again it isn’t the worst. The magazine section isn’t as bad as it used to be, but the automobile section is still fubar (i’m not interested in cars, but it’s kind of annoying to see scattered mags) The CD selection isn’t really that good, and the inventory to in-​store check on their computers aren’t that helpful. One time i was looking for the DVD box set of It’s Always Sunny… and all it said was «Likely In Store». GREAT! Two of my co-​workers helped look for it with no luck finding it.
The Paperchase section is usually pretty neat and is always filled with the most equally lame and awesome products that i would never buy. A Virgin Mary coin bank? A Jesus Christ action figure? A Cat-​a-​pult? A glittery Reindeer wearing a feather boa? A black mini Christmas tree? All things i wouldn’t mind having if i didn’t have to pay for it.
Lastly, the Café. Seating arrangement is usually fine in the morning, but by the time lunch comes around, it will all be scattered to a point where walking can be a bit puzzling. Tables will be moved, empty cups will be left, and books and magazines will lay in rest of the little lark the hands carry them through (as a worker, this can be quite annoying. Please bring your stuff back to the book store at least.) Unless it’s morning, i usually have a problem with dirty tables and really can’t be comfortable. Other than that it’s a pretty cool hang out.

I love this place because it features a wide array of books to peruse. What’s at fault is not that of the store itself but of the people who come in. I visited on a Friday night, and at least 20 high-​school children ran around the store playing hide-​and-​seek, using customers’ chairs as a locale to chat (in obnoxious, loud voices), and, in general, terrorizing customers.
If you have earplugs, by all means come.
To get here, take Union City Transit lines 1A, 1B, 2, and 3, or AC Transit lines 97 and 210 and get off at the Union Landing Transit Center. All of the aforementioned lines come from either the South Hayward or the Union City BART stations.

There aren’t a lot of major bookstores in the area, so you might be stuck with this.
The low rating from me is for their restrooms — they now require a «token» to access them due to chronic vandalism. I guess I can’t blame Borders for that.
Once I managed to get inside I expected at least something decent, yet they still had stalls with NO t.p., and NO seat covers.
Oh, and no book nazi’s bothered me while i was at the café trying to decide which travel book to buy (1+ hours and 1 latte later)

love all Borders. CDs, books, all good. Nice place for coffee and reading magazines/​books at.
Updated 4÷6÷07:
now if u need to use the bathrooms you have to get a token from the cashier. That’s so lame. Separate men & women. Women had 3 stalls & 2 sinks.
They have a Border’s card u can get FREE. on email they send you links to coupons that are useful. I got a 30% for one book over $ 10 which was nice.
They take credit cards.