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Wicked Witches at the library (long!)

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  • Wicked Witches at the library (long!)

    I have 3 stories of CSs at the library.

    First woman. She comes in and heads straight to my desk, which is the Welcome Desk.

    CS: The woman didn't give me back my library card last time.
    Me: Ok, we don't do check out here but if you go to that line *I point* the people at check out can help you.
    CS: *continuing like I didn't speak* Here! *shows me receipt* this should give you my number.
    Me: I can't help you but (yes, the correct thing for me to say is "this is how I can help you" and take her to the correct desk. I saying I can't help her makes me unwilling to help her in her eyes)
    CS: I want to speak to a supervisor!
    Me: Ok, let me call one up.

    Oh, did I mention it was after 1pm? There are 2 Circ. people who are overwhelmed. And yep, I can't find any Circ. supervisors because they are out to lunch. While I tried to call up someone, the woman finally goes to the line I indicated...and cut in front of a guy. Luckily the guy doesn't fuss. I decided, after finding no one, that it will be taken cared of and left it alone.

    Nope, she comes back to me. Now, if some Circ. person didn't give her back her card, what would happen is it gets destroyed the next day and she has to get a new card. Seems she filled out a form, and got a new card. Now she comes up to me:

    CS: I need a copy of this (the form she filled out and signed)
    Me: (honestly, I don't feel like being very helpful, like going to the 4th floor workroom and making a copy for her) We have copy machines on the 2nd floor.
    CS: (I'm paraphrasing) Well, who heard of a place not giving a copy of a form a patron signed!
    Me: Well, the supervisor can make a copy.
    So we both stand there waiting, and only by the grace of God would a supervisor appear...maybe coming in from lunch. It's almost 2pm. No one shows up.
    She sighs in exasperation and decides to go upstairs to make a copy.
    Now I know I need a supervisor so I call my manager. I explain to her what is happening.
    Manager: Is she still around?
    Me: No, she went to 2 to make a copy.
    Manager: Well what do you want me to do? (she sounds exasperated, gah)
    Me: Well, she wants to talk to a supervisor.
    Manager: Well, I'll see if I can find someone.
    Cs comes down, hands the original form for a library card to the Circ. person who helped her and goes. I call back the manager and tell her that the woman left. Stupid useless manager.
    So I end up talking to the Circ. person who helped the woman and it seems the SC told her that the self-check out didn't let her check out one item because she owed some fines. But if that was the case she didn't need to fill out a new form, just pay the fine. I didn't see the CS pay a fine. So unless she filled out a form for a card for her "child" I don't see how any of this made sense.

    Second Woman.
    I went to replace a co-worker who had two people at the desk. The guy came all the way downtown to pick up a book that the Green library said we had. No one called to reserve the book, it seems. Though my coworker was calling the Green library to reserve their copy of the book, since we didn't have the copy. Yeah, makes no sense.
    Anyway, after helping the man, I turn to the woman.

    Me: How can I help you?
    SC: You mean I have to start all over!?
    Me: The other person had to leave, I'm taking over for her.
    SC: (her eyes are bulging out now) That woman was rude and crude for not saying that you were going to help me!
    Me: Ma'm she did.
    SC: NO SHE DIDN'T!
    Me: Well what can I help you with.
    SC: I have an oxygen deficiency and now I'm upset!

    Well, that's the short version. She finally calmed down enough to ask what are the origins of the gypsies and what they wore. Took me an hour to help her because her real question was where could she get a picture of a gypsy costume. Sad thing is I found a few paintings of gypsies but they're really simple, and her project involved really fancy damask and othe fabrics.
    She thinks a picture of "Jeannie in the bottle/I dream of Jeannie" would help her.

    I talked to my coworker that I replaced. The SC never talked to her, but did sigh a lot and looked put-upon for having to wait for the person ahead of her to be taken care of.

    Third woman.
    I'm answering phones on the third floor:
    Me: This is blah blah blah
    SC: Can you trans fer me to the first floor, I need a book.
    Me: Did you already check the catalog?
    SC: yes (sounding short). I'm just 2 blocks away, I'm going to pick it up now.
    Me: What' the title?
    SC: It's "Green like me"
    Me: one moment.
    Now I can't send calls down, since we are so short staffed. I look the book up in the catalog, we have it. I'm suppose to fill out a slip, but that would take an hour to get pulled, so I went downstairs, found the book, brought up with me.
    Me: OK, I have the book.
    SC: Ok, I'm in front of the library, where can I get it?
    Me: You'll find it on the hold shelf, I'll bring it down in 10 min.
    SC: Can't you brinig it down now?
    Me: No, not now.
    SC: Well can I go up to you?
    Me: No (since where I am is in a closed area) If you were already here, you could have just walked in and got it from the shelf (yes, I chastised her)
    SC: Well I was driving around finding a place to park.
    Me: I'll try to get it down as soon as a I can.

    Now I'm suppose to type up a proper wrapper for it, and the only computers with that template is wher the circ people are. I just answered 2 more calls, and none more came in, so I went downstairs, just wrote in pen on a little piece of paper her name and put it on the hold shelf.

    Now I don't mind people calling ahead of time to pick up a book; that way people don't need to make an unnecessary trip, but she was 2 blokcs away. She could have just walked in and picked up the book, since she was already here. I should have told her she had to walk up to the third floor and it would be waiting at the Reference desk, but I doubt she'd like to do that.

    When I went downstairs, no one was waiting at the hold shelf. AS I was going upstairs I passed a sour-puss, so that might have been her.
    Time! Time! Time is what turns kittens into cats.

    Don't teach me a lesson; all I learn is that you are an asshole.

    I wish porn had subtitles.

  • #2
    Soooooo....where were the "wicked" witches? I know I wasn't there!
    It's floating wicker propelled by fire!

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    • #3
      Quoth Pagan View Post
      Soooooo....where were the "wicked" witches? I know I wasn't there!
      Long day, couldn't think of anything wittier.

      The second woman was the worst of the lot. She has no control on how we work, but it's tough that she had to wait

      The other 2 were sucky. The first one, yes, it would have been nice if I could have acted like a concerned person, but I tried my best and the other person who was helping her said she must be going through menopause.

      Third woman reminds me of someone who drives to the store, then while in front of the store, or at least parking her car, calls the store and asks if they have Scotch Broth Campbell Soup. Coudln't she called while she was at home? Or if she's at the store already can't she just walk in and look?
      Time! Time! Time is what turns kittens into cats.

      Don't teach me a lesson; all I learn is that you are an asshole.

      I wish porn had subtitles.

      Comment


      • #4
        Quoth Pagan View Post
        Soooooo....where were the "wicked" witches? I know I wasn't there!
        Wondering that myself. I certainly wasn't there.
        Labor boards have info on local laws for free
        HR believes the first person in the door
        Learn how to go over whackamole bosses' heads safely
        Document everything
        CS proves Dunning-Kruger effect

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        • #5
          Your library sounds HUGE! Too bad I don't work there -- I'm the Circulation Staff Supervisor at my library, and I'm ALWAYS available ... especially when I'm on my meal break, since that's usually when the the SCs start shrieking about not wanting to pay their overdue fine of 15 cents.

          Actually, the rest of the Circ staff insists that the SCs all wait until I'm on out sick or on vacation, and I believe them since I've been called at home when the staff wasn't sure how to handle an SC or fix a situation. Oh well, I guess it's good to be needed, right? Cause I'm definitely not compensated monetarily for all that I do
          I love mankind ... it's people I can't stand. -- Linus Van Pelt

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