Amazon discontinued the ability to create images using their SiteStripe feature and in their infinite wisdom broke all previously created images on 12/31/23. Many blogs used this feature, including this one. Expect my archives to be a hot mess of broken book cover images until I can slowly comb through 20 years of archives to make corrections.

Monday, April 4, 2005

Ha Ha - Told You So!

Redemption! Sweet, sweet, glorious redemption!

Regular blog visitors may recall a recent post where I recounted how I got an angry letter in the mail from a patron who doesn't even frequent my library. Well, I've been vindicated! WaHoo!

Here's the sad saga:

This library patron uses a different library in the city - but our bookdrop is conveniently located on her way to work. So she likes to drop books off with us. Fine. No problem. Well apparently a couple of years ago (I was freezing my ass off in Michigan at the time) she returned a book at my library and it was never taken off her account. Fine. The library system forgives this one time only where you don't have to pay any fines. That's what she did.

Well according to her angry letter, "it was happening again." She had two books checked out on her account that she just knew she returned in our book drop. That's when she accused my library staff of not knowing how to do our jobs. I took umbrage with this since...well...I personally do the book drop every morning except on the two Saturdays I don't work every month. I know I'm doing my job correctly. Most days anyway.

She also admitted in this letter that she returned other items in the book drop around the same time and those were no longer on her account (meaning that they got checked in).

So gee, since those items got checked in, and two others did not - what can we infer from this gentle blog readers? Wait - it gets better.

I was spectacularly pissed that this woman didn't call me personally about the issue, and instead wrote an angry letter which suprised me on a Monday morning. I took this whole thing rather personally (a sorry habit of mine) and it made for a pretty miserable week.

Taking the cowards way out (and figuring the library system frowned upon bloodshed) I passed the buck to my superior. But being the masochist that I am, I kept checking this woman's library account. Call it a feeling. A nudge. A tickle at the base of my spine.

And guess what I discovered this morning? Both of the books in question were no longer on her account. Both books were back at their home libraries, not marked lost or missing. And this woman paid her overdue fines, but did not pay for "lost" books.

What can we infer from this gentle blog readers? Yep - she still had the books in question and never placed them in my library's book drop.

Gee, I wonder if I can now expect a letter of apology?

I'm not holding my breath.

1 comment:

shayera said...

good for you! i do the same thing when it comes to those spectacular complainers. and it's pretty easy to keep an eye on the record. i love the ones who are absolutely dead sure they've returned it and i tell them to look under their car seat. sure enough, that's where it is.
congrats on the victory!