Secret Shopper Assignment

I had a very positive secret shopper experience. The librarian was very friendly and approachable and spent a long time working with me and finding me a book. He started by asking me what I had read recently that I really enjoyed. I told him I was looking for books similar to "The Great Alone" by Kristin Hannah. Then he asked what I liked about it, and I said the interesting landscapes and the family dynamics. He then asked if I liked the suspenseful elements, and I said I did like it, but I would be fine without it. I was really lucky that the librarian had read "The Great Alone" so he was able to recommend from personal experience. It didn't seem like he was using Novelist or any other site but drawing from his own experience, which I realize isn't always going to be the case. Unfortunately, his top recommendations, "The Giver of Stars" by Jojo Moyes and "This Tender Land" by William Kent Krueger were already checked out, which he placed on hold for me. However, he asked some very good follow up questions and I was still able to walk away with a book that sounded pretty good based on his suggestions: "The Lost Summers of Newport" by Williams, Willig and White. 

It definitely wasn't the librarian's fault that his top recommendations were already checked out. I have had this happen at the library where I work performing readers' advisory in the youth department. I think he did a really good job with the follow up questions, and even though I was more interested in the books he put on hold than the one that I walked away with, I think he did a great job working with what he had and listening to my answers to his questions. I would definitely go to this librarian again for a book recommendation.