Librarian Ire

Living a very sheltered life.

A patron, older wrinkled lady who decided she couldn't live without using one specific computer, just told me that she had never seen anyone so rude as me.
I tell you she's lived an extremly sheltered life. Because I can point out strangers on the street who are 1,000 times more rude than I was.
And what promted this outburst? She wanted to use our telephone. It's not a public access phone. I tried to explain it to her.

I kept getting interrupted during this explanation. And in a brilliant use of logic, she told me that "I have already started!" She said that as she was dialing for the second time. Very smugly too. (The student not aware of the policy gave her the phone)
So being a good enforcer of the library policies I disconnected her second attempt to call someone.
That of course made her mad and she went on a rant about how no one in her life has ever been as rude as I was. She demanded my name and then before I could answer she told me she was a faculty member and no librarian should ever act like that.
Then she stormed out. As I said, she has lived a very sheltered life.

I will admit that I shouldn't have disconnected her. Although I didn't see any other solution. And I did weight the pros and cons before I did it. I would have let the first time go by. Not the second. Especially since she had been told of our policy, AND it looked suspiciously like a long distance number.
If you are calling on campus sure. Not anywhere else.
And here's something. If you are a faculty member why are you using our computers and our telephones instead of the office they assigned you?
You'd probably be able to call any one from the office.
Oh, well. I guess I have to send the boss an e-mail telling her why I did it and what the reaction was. I probably will get the customer service lecture. I can live with that. And sometimes she does surprise me with her support against the evil patrons.

posted by Nike at 4:21 PM