-Excellent
Labels: computers, excellent help bitch, internet, spring break, taxes
Labels: altruism, bourbon, excellent help bitch, help desk, Library, patronsSep 15, 2008
It seems like all I do lately is whine about how shitty my job is. If I'm this annoying to myself, it must be worse for the people who are around me.
I am just not suited to work in customer service. I really do hate people. I try not to think “what the fuck do you want now?” when I see a patron approaching my desk. I know that such thinking can probably be read in my face, thus screwing any chance I had of having a normal, friendly conversation with said patron.
But knowing in advance that their question will be one of three things (“Do you have a bathroom? Why aint' my puter working? Do you have this movie yet that won't be released in the theaters for another month but I know you have it cause I saw it on your shelf last week?”) precludes any ability on my part to be optimistic regarding our interaction.
I really am just a fucking snob. And there isn't enough coffee in the world to stay perky when you are being called a bitch on a daily basis for offering FREE help for anything a person can think of. Fuck altruism. I'm switching to bourbon.
Labels: bitch printer printing tantrum, DVD, excellent help bitch, patrons, VHSJun 18, 2008
Lovely patron this afternoon. She wanted me to find her some VHS tapes. No, she can't wait for them to be brought from other branches. She needs them now. The specific ones she wants are only available at another branch, and most of them are only available on DVD. She doesn't have a DVD player. We are discriminating against patrons that don't have DVD players. And she can't wait. Fine. She just wants to see what VHS we DO have. But she really needs some documentaties. That lady at the desk already showed her where they were, but now she can't remember. They were over “there” somewhere.
“Over there” somewhere turned out to be the mystery section. The mystery BOOK section.
“These are books. But I can show you where the VHS would be.”
“No. The lady told me they were here. These are all documentaries.”
“These are books. Mystery Books.”
“No. See. They're tapes.” She pulls one off the shelf. “Oh. I guess they are books. Where's the VHS? She told me they was here.”
“As I was saying, if you will follow me to the next aisle.”
“Where's all the VHS? Is this a VHS? I need a documentary.”
“These are DVD. See, the case is too small for a tape to fit into. We do have a few VHS. Here's one.”
“No. That's not it.”
“And here's one. We are phasing them out.”
“This is bullshit. I need VHS. You are discriminating against me.”
“As I said, I would be happy to reserve something from another branch for you.”
“This is bullshit. What about these? Are these VHS?”
“Those are books on tape.”
“No. That lady told me these are VHS.”
“I can assure you that they are books. On Cassette tape. And CD, in fact.”
“This is bullshit. You're discriminating against me.”
And so on. But it gets better. She finally turned around in the aisle and told me that she was done with me, there was nothing I could do to help her. So I went back over to the reference desk and started to help a nice elderly man who had been patiently waiting with a real reference question for about ten minutes. Just as I started to enter his information into my computer she came back over to my desk.
“I need you to reserve me those VHS.”
“Certainly, but I'm helping another patron right now.”
“No. I was here first.”
“And then you said you were done and I am helping another patron. But if you will just give me your library card I will see what.....”
“This is bullshit.”
And she left the building in full-grown-adult bitchy tantrum mode, leaving my other patron to stare at me like a bitch with two heads.
And that was just a minor event from the hell that was today.
Labels: crazy, excellent help bitch, help, inbred, insane, Nancy PearlJun 25, 2007
Anyone who can work an extended period of time in a library knows this. No one comes out sane. It's a matter of mental osmosis, I'm fairly certain of this now, so it's a matter of who you work with and who you serve. Today, Excellent Help Bitch and I both were told to "fuck off" for asking someone to use proper language in the library. After talking to said person, I was told that harassment charges would be filed against me for asking him to leave the premises. See, I'm harassing him by working here and asking he follow library policy. Damn me and my strong work ethic.
Then there's the matter of using a copier to resize some text. Some people tend to find it difficult to understand that copying something at 50% will make the text smaller. *headdesk*
Then there's the matter of a jaded substitute employee, who recently lost in a job interview to someone who just *happens* to be the director's secretary's daughter... After she was promised the job. Her words "this system is so messed up with hiring, it should be in Kentucky". Lovely inbred joke :).
I'm slipping. I dunno how much longer I can hold out. Look for me in a Nancy Pearl outfit, shusshing people at random...
I also had the intense joy of taking reference person's favorite type of question.
patron- I need to know how to identify marijuana, My neighbors are growing it.
Labels: excellent help bitchMay 10, 2007
We won't let this thing die. That's why we've brought another of our staff over to the darkside. Introducing the Excellent Help Bitch, I personally love her blog-name, though I forget wich of our delightful patrons gave it to her...
Water under the bridge I guess. She's cool anyway....
