About the book
“And They Keep Coming Back!
By Steve B. Barton A.K.A. “Fish”
2007, Publish America
419 pages, softcover
$24.95

A retailer’s revenge
Steve Barton tells it like it is in his new book on running a small business

By KAY JOHNSON
Staff Writer
Come Friday, Steve Barton, owner of Aquaria Pets, a longtime retailer in downtown Hutchinson, will celebrate the arrival of his new book, “And They Keep Coming Back!”
In it, Barton who describes himself as having been “around the block and through the mill” shares his behind-the-counter observations and experiences running a small business.
You might ask, “What could possibly happen at a pet store?” If Barton is to be believed — a lot.
Although this reviewer has not read the entire book, an advance copy of the first 78 pages were entertaining. If you know Barton, he writes just like he talks.
By his own admission, Barton is not a politically correct guy. He’s right. He doesn’t mince words and he tells it like it is. With more than 38 years of retail experience, he has run across just about every kind of sales scenario as well as personally met every “customer from hell.”
Barton’s book is full of stories. He covers everything from the women who had a catfight over a Siamese kitten to the woman who expected Barton to make a house call to clean her aquarium and then became outraged when he wanted to charge for his time.
There’s page after page of these personal experiences including a section on people who ask for donations. Remarkably, many of the people who ask for a handout aren’t even his customers or live in the Hutchinson area.
As Barton points out, donations are a bugaboo for small businesses. Yes, business owners want to help, but somewhere they have to draw the line. Barton demonstrated this by doing the math. If he donated $30 a day, everyday, it would cost him more than $10,000 a year. That’s a lot for a small business.
If you’d ever worked retail, it’s a tough business. It’s the good customers that make it worthwhile, but in Barton’s book it’s the bad customers that get the ink.
In case you’re wondering how he identified these people, he’s included a warning on page 8: “Any names appearing in this book are fictional. They have been changed to protect the silly. If you feel your name has been used in a story about a ‘brilliant stunt’ you performed, get over it!”
If you enjoyed “The Devil Wears Prada” or “The Nanny Diaries,” you’ll enjoy Steve Barton’s “And They Keep Coming Back!”

(Kay Johnson is a staff writer for the Hutchinson Leader. She can be reached at johnson@hutchinsonleader.com)