Miss Information is annoyed by the physically inactive
...which she has mentioned before. The library is big with lots of stuff spread out over several floors. It's complicated but when Miss Information suggests that the reference material you are looking for is on one of the other floors, she expects you to go there and get it.Earlier in the day, one of Miss Information's co-workers complained about a patron who wanted the flyer about the library's wifi. Miss Information suggested there were lots in the main part of the library and the patron could get one there. "She didn't want to go all that way, " the staff member reported. Unfortunately, if she wanted the flyer she had no choice. The department is Syberia with a cash register and cannot be left unattended. It's unfortunate but the woman would have to go "all that way" (a matter of a few metres, actually) to get the information she wanted.
Later in the afternoon, Miss Information was stationed at the main desk, trying to get some work under control before her vacation started at 5 pm. A regular came in. She wanted bylaws. The awesome thing about the big library is that it has a fabulous, nicely organized bylaws section--on the fourth floor. The library has an elevator and has (over Miss Information's protests) removed the automated poison dart thrower that fires when someone pushes the call button. They've also filled in the pit of stakes that used to be inside the elevator itself. There is really no reason why one cannot go to the fourth floor. The regular doesn't want to because Miss Information can just look that up for her. Well, sort of. There are levels of government Miss Information understands and those she does not. Municipal isn't one of the ones she can help with. Bylaws are important and Miss Information is sitting in a building with experts. If she needed bylaw information she would go to the fourth floor and ask one of the people who know stuff for help.
The patron wouldn't budge. She insisted that Miss Information "look on Amazon or something" for the noise bylaw. Because Miss Information is not totally useless, she looked on the city website instead and found 211 references to noise in the bylaws section. "Well, print them all." Um, no. "Well can you print the descriptions?" Still no. The index is 10 pages long. The woman randomly points to something. "Print this one!" Miss Information does. She looks at what she's printed and doesn't understand a word. She again suggests that the woman take a trip to the fourth floor where they can translate it into English but the woman refuses. She's not very pleasant and Miss Information is beginning to wonder if the regular may have a history with the fourth floor staff which is why she's so reluctant to get some legitimate help.
Fortunately, after taking the city web address, the woman leaves and Miss Information starts her vacation after dealing with only a couple more cranky patrons.
2 Comments:
That same cranky patron was in Illinois today, only she was a he and was really unhappy that I wouldn't type a contract for him.
My daughter works at the front desk of a hotel and guests ask her to rent cars for them and make up an itinerary for visiting the area we live in with travel instructions and routes.
Post a Comment
<< Home