Wednesday, May 05, 2004

Customer Service will be the death of me

Every Tuesday evening I 'man' our sole branch of the library, and I've been doing this since March. In the last few Tuesdays, I've noticed a particular customer who does little annoying things which bug me enough to comment about her.

Several Tuesdays ago, the woman came in with a pile of returned books. After checking them all in, there was still one book which hadn't come back and was overdue. She asked for it to be renewed for another three weeks. 'Fine', I said, 'but you'll still have to pay the overdue fee though'. However, I was prompted by the computer software, that it had already been renewed more than the limit (which is twice). I told her I could override it for her, but that she'd have to make sure she brought the book back by the new due date. Right after I renewed the book, I noticed that it had been renewed a total of four times already. 'Cheeky cow', I thought to myself. I put a note on her record that the book was definitely not to be renewed again.

Two Tuesdays ago, the same woman came back. She arrived with about fifteen books, just a couple of minutes before we were about to close the library for the evening. 'We're just closing', I said, trying not to sound pissed off. The woman stood there for another few minutes, looking at the shelves, before giving me the returns. Then she proceeded to contest an overdue fine for two Bestseller books. Bestsellers have large silver stickers on them, not only identifying them as such but also specifying the two-week lending period. You can't miss it. 'But the lady at the Issues desk told me I could have them for three weeks!' she exclaimed. I didn't waive the fine, but I just wanted to close up shop so I let it go.

Last night she came back, at a respectable time this time. She still contested the overdue fine on the Bestsellers. I waived it but warned her that I wouldn't believe her next time. I overcame the urge to get grumpy, mindful of what happens when you keep bottling up your anger.

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