People scream and yell at me at my job for two reasons:
- Overdue fines they feel they shouldn't have to pay
- My rigid Internet policy
Today, one of my regulars complained because the computer wasn't working to his satisfaction. He left in a huff when I couldn't fix it right that second and ordered me to do something about it. What I wanted to say was, "Sir, these are public computers. They do not have the latest bells and whistles. It's bare bones only. If you don't like it maybe you should get your own computer at home."
Instead I said, "I'll work on it."
Don't get me started on the autistic guy who talks like Rain Man and has a crush on me, or the older woman who came in today and sang to herself the entire time.
I take that back, I don't want a gun. I want a drink. A stiff drink. Something that burns my throat for about 30 minutes after I knock it back. No. Wait a minute. I want both.
2 comments:
Before I started working in a library I assumed that people who visted libraries would never be rude because really what is there to get upset over? There are still towns that don't have a library at all so I think many patrons don't realize how lucky they are! One thing I like about our director is that if a patron is just horribly nasty to us, she will have their card blocked so they can't check out anything or use the computer until they apologize.
Here's an idea: Take out the computers.
Think of the money you would save!
Seriously, when did it become part of a libraries mission to provide free computer service to the community? I think the computers were put in libraries to facilitate research. How many people are actually doing research on those computers?
If there was no way to surf the net freely or to send e-mail, these snarks would disappear.
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