I had to call managers 2x today

[depechemodefan]

First instance involved a guy with his feet on the furniture. As per our rules, I told him that he couldn't have his feet on the furniture. Of course, he gives me lip, and since he was loud I told him to lower his voice, he was disturbing people. Then he is staring at me so I tell him that he was creppy for staring at me. So I'm sick of this crazy shit so I call security. He then wants a manger. With the manager and security he was acting pleasant. HIs complaint was that I called him creepy. I don't know if he was kicked out anyway.

Second instance:
me=
sfe=smelly-food eater

A woman is eating in one of our study rooms. On the door and inside the room there is a list of our rules, which includes the rule of no food allowed. When I walk up to the room, her back is to the door so when I start to speak she is startled.

me: ma'm you can't eat in the library *me pointing at the rules*
sfe: I don't read the rules.
me: you have to put up your food.
sfe: *stares at me, stirs her food*
me: you have to put it up now.
sfe: I will put it up.
me: not latter, now.
sfe: you don't have to talk to me like I'm five years old...how old are you?
me: that's an inappropriate question. You have to put up your food; it's smelly.
sfe: I want to talk to your manager. You don't talk to me like I'm 5 years old.


I get a manager, and by the time the manager gets there she has left the room. I get busy and see the woman has left and I ask the manager what happened. The manager tells me I should not talk to the customer like she is 5 years old. I tell the manager I did not. Great, I get shit from the customer and the manager.

One thing I do before I open a room for a patron, I tell them to read the rules. But even knowing the rules people break them.

[Moosenogger]

Maybe if the woman would listen you wouldn't have to repeat yourself.

Guess what lady, if you'd stop acting like a spoiled brat no one would have to talk to you like you're five.

Edit: Oh, and I didn't realize it was common practice to refer to a 5 year old as "ma'am."

[Jetfire]

Makes me think that CSR's (and anyone who interacts with the customers) should have a camera on their glasses/on their ears/lapel/etc...) and they have to start all customer conversations with the same disclaimer you get on the phones. "For quality control purposes, our conversation will be recorded. Now, please put the food away ma'am." Then you could just go to the video when the manager's try to side with the customers. (Not that the video would change anything but still.... )

[Dreamstalker]

When I was working at the bookstore (this was 2000-ish), there was a woman who would bring in some smelly Chinese food and park herself right on top of the remainder books...yes, she'd use the books as a table and pull out the chopsticks, soy sauce...anything and everything that was guaranteed to make the worst mess possible. She wasn't homeless or poor, so I don't know if it was just 'they have people to clean this up' or some other bizarre thought process. It was driving customers away from that area in many ways.

At that point the manager wasn't into banning people, so all we could do was tell her to put her food away...when it worked, it was only until she couldn't see any employees then the 'feast' came back out. Yes, we had to damage out quite a few books during the few months we were tracking her; finally when the manager saw how much inventory she was ruining (and lost sales from real customers who were unable to browse the books) she banned her.

[Nemesis44UK]

My mind boggles. At what point did that woman think that it was acceptable behaviour to eat her lunch in a library??

As for the woman who ate chinese in a book store? Come on! I can't just go to my local Waterstones and set up a curry in there.

Some people don't have the brains they were born with.

[camjuniper]

It sucks that your management didn't back you up when you were enforcing the rules. Don't they know that customers LIE?

Also, if she didn't want to be treated like a five year old, she shouldn't have acted like one--read the rules, follow them and back off graciously if corrected on an issue. Ugh.

[Jay 2K Winger]

What I don't like is the implications in that "I don't read the rules" statement. It's not just a statement that "I didn't see the rules telling me not to have food," it more or less says "If I don't read them, they don't apply to me," or essentially, "Rules are for other people."

The fact that, after the OP told her to put her food up, she stared at them and stirred her food, only confirms it.

I hate people.

[depechemodefan]

To make a longer story....

We change every hour so the cw before me was still hanging around when one of our regulars (let's call him r1) who use the study rooms came up, requesting a room. I was going to kick out sfe (before I knew she was eating) since the time my cw put down was two hours before-and people have two hours in the room. But cw told me that the woman just got in. I was confussed because the time was differnt, but I went to kick out another person who was in the room next to sfe.

Now sfe left the room to harrass me more about getting a manager, and the r1 went into her room instead of the room of the guy I kicked out. I don't like r1 since he'll stay all day in a room and want to get into a bigger room. I try to put one person in the smaller rooms, so when there is a group coming in, they can get a big room. But r1 one day complained to a manager about me putting him in a small room, because the light in the small room hurts his eyes.

So r1 gets into the room sfe was in (it was a bigger room) and he left 10 min. latter, because the room smelled bad.

Cw told me I didn't talk to sfe like she was five, so if sfe turns in a written complaint (which will be bad for me) cw said she would back me up.

Also, too bad I didn't think of this earlier when I had to deal with sfe. The Kids (and Teens) room manager does talk to adults like they are 5 years old. I sound nothing like her. So I should (well, maybe shouldn't since this would get me in more hot water) told her, "ma'm have you ever talked with the Kids room manager? She talks to people like they are five and I don't sound like her at all".