Life in record stores can be frustrating. From happy couples who have never patronized your shop taking engagement photos in the aisles, to bargain shoppers photographing items just to walk out and buy them online, the brave souls who devote their lives to selling records face specific challenges in addition to the usual retail headaches.

While some of the stories were utterly unique, many of them shared commonalities, showing that whether you’re shopping for white label house or obscure garage rock cassettes, a little customer courtesy to the folks behind the counter goes a long way.

I spoke with a cross section of folks in Chicago’s vinyl community and heard horror stories ripped out of some demented Goosebumps series: The Cursed White Power Record Collection. The Shockingly Shitfaced Instore Show. I Come at You with a Two by Four!

Sexism Among the Shelves

I spoke with Glenna of Gramaphone Records about dealing with the woes of “bros being bros” over plates of shrimp in a small mariscos restaurant. They perform under the name Sold and serve as techno buyer for the Lakeview shop that’s been providing DJs dance music since 1969.

“The biggest thing is a dude coming in with his girlfriend and either ignoring her and not trying to engage with her, or even worse, explaining every record to her in a condescending way. Oftentimes I’ll overhear something, and I’m like ‘Nope, that’s wrong.’ You’re talking down to your girlfriend and not even saying it correctly.”

More bad bro behavior: Glenna often notices customers asking male employees the same question non-male employees just answered five minutes ago. “If they give an exact same or similar suggestion, they’ll listen to it then, even though I said it already. They don’t believe me when I say we’re out of a record until they ask a guy.”

An anonymous source who’s pulled stints at record stores like Waxie Maxie’s and Reckless Records since the ’90s also noticed sexism in their work environment. “There’s a lot of harassment for female or female-read employees, for sure. Not different from any other retail environment, really, but it can be so intense in record stores because of the fetishization/minimization of women who know about music.”

Try to Give Before You Take

Bric-a-Brac Records & Collectibles is a haven for nostalgia, allowing you to indulge by scoring rare reissues of seminal 1977 punk or replacing action figures your cousin stole back in 1988. The sunny lemon yellow shop serves as a Midwestern magnet for the national DIY community by hosting free all-ages instore shows from bands like Froth, La Luz and Nobunny.

“People think we’re a straight-up venue. Just expect us to be dying to book shows. That happens on the daily,” Nick Mayor explained, standing behind the cash register with his wife and business partner Jen Lemasters, as their portly corgi Dandelo patrolled the shop’s perimeter.

“Jessica Hopper had a nice piece a few years ago about bands trying to get their band booked. We get tons of emails from touring bands. Then local bands, specifically, will ask to play here. All these bands that are here and are hounding me about playing shows: I’ve never seen them in here. I don’t see why they wanna play here so bad if they don’t shop here, or support us in general. Why should we support them? Just come talk to me!”

As if to illustrate his point, a young man who’s been flipping through records during our conversation cautiously approaches to ask, “Y’all book shows here?” Nick tells him that while he can’t guarantee anything, he’s happy to listen to his band and reach out if an upcoming bill seems like a good fit.

As Nick’s business card walks off in the young man’s hand, he explains, “I prefer that. We’ve had plenty of bands here that I’ve booked because they did that, and not because I liked their music, or think they’re good or whatever. It’s just like, they made the effort to get off their computer and come talk to me.”