Cafe Hitch-hike

2004-07-18

Bad Librarian

Gawd, I had a complete suck-butt time at both jobs at the end of the week. I got the patrons-from-hell at the pub.lib. This Pakistani patron with two boils next to his left eye got on my case about how he hates our new catalog, why can't it be the way it was in Pennsylvania, he's mad he's forced to use this library 'cause he's a resident. I listened and tried to shake him off with respectable suggestions ("I do not organize the catalog, but we have comment cards... we do take those seriously... you can write to the mayor and library board if you want, they administer this library"), but his complaints streamed on. I managed to get out of it by a phone call, but then he came back after I was done with the call. I got out again because I had to go for lunch.

When I came back from lunch, some fat 10 year-old girl was screaming and carrying a fit. "I WANNA BE WITH MY MOMMY!" she squalled, with tears streaming from her eyes. I was surprised and expected that out of someone younger. Her dad was dragging her out of the library, and then told her to get into the bathroom to clean up. She was still screaming in the bathroom, her voice echoing through the library, "I DON'T HAVE TO USE THE BATHROOM! I WANT TO BE WITH MOMMY!"

"Get out!" the father said. He reached into the bathroom and pulled her out. "We're going to the car!"

"Wait, wait," she wailed, "I had to use the bathroom--" Then, he dragged her outside.

Another patron bawled about getting kicked off the internet after an hour (users are guaranteed 1 hour but are asked to finish if we have others waiting). The page allowed her to stay on, thinking she'd be done quickly, but then told me she was still on the computer after 15 minutes. I told the patron she would get 5 more minutes and she promised she'd be done.

"I was filling out this application, the computer died, and I had to start all over again, and then my daughter was giving me a hard time!" Oh-ho, so that was her spawn? What a winner this woman was, I thought. I repeated, "five minutes."

When 5 minutes came, she then said she needed more time. I got angry at her, but I managed to be slick and yelled at her about how she wasn't following library procedure, and she just mewed some pathetic excuses back.

"You were asked to leave the computer 15 mintues ago!" I barked.

"Well, I wouldda been done by now, but you were harassing me!"

"You should had been finished! We were generous with letting you stay on past your time! If it were another librarian or page, they would had told you to get right off!"

"I--I need this for my job interview and with you on my back I couldn't get it done!" she said. I glanced at the on-line application she was filling out. It would have taken her longer than 5 minutes to finish. She knew that, but was just trying to be slick.

"Print and save what you have finished," I told her, "because your time is through. Other patrons are waiting and it isn't fair for them that you've gone well over your hour."

The patrons looked at her like she had the problem and I was just getting assertive as doing my job. They also had that perverse glint in their eye, "oooh, what's gonna happen next?? Girl fight! Girl fight! Ooh-ooh!" Even the East Indian patrons, who are normally genteel, looked intrigued and wanted to see who'd start swinging (one stayed genteel and said, "I'm done with mine, whoever's waiting can get on mine!").

The patron hastily finished, printed, and then I escorted her away from the computer.

The patron complained to the super-on-duty and said I was harassing and threatening her. The sup. recalled having problems with her before, and on that day the patron gave other library staff a hard time. The sup. told the lady I was the last person on staff who would harrass or threaten anyone, and that she should've got off the internet when she was asked. Ha-hah.

I usually don't get this way with patrons. However, (**cackles**)hahah-haaaaah! It's nice when that happens. The one time I get medieval on somebody's ass, it's because they deserved it.

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