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oh lord: save me from the crazy people
so i think that the library i work at has pretty reasonable fines: $0.10/day for books (with a day's grace) and cds and $0.50/day for all other media items. and if you can't make it in, just give us a call and we'll renew for you.
now this happened a few weeks ago. B and I were the only ones working one night. i was in the teen section shelving and B was watching the desk. it had been a pretty slow night, but we were starting to pick up because we were closing in about an hour, so everyone was rushing in. all of a sudden i hear a ruckus...
Me-
B- hates stupid people
SC- we all love to hate her
SCD- SC's lovely daughter
so i walk over to start checking out the people who are waiting in line and joined B as she was explaining SC's fines (almost $45 worth)
SC: (voice a little louder then we like in a library) this is RIDICULOUS!! i don't understand how it can be this much!
B: ma'am. when movies are late they are fifty cents a day. at fourteen days, that adds up to $7 each.
SC: how can you charge $7 a day??!!
B: it's fifty cents a day. (she prints out a receipt with all of the woman's fines on them and SC proceeds to plant her massive frame right where we're trying to get people checked out so they can leave)
SC: (furiously adding figures...i don't know of what...) did you add this yourself?
B: no. the computer did. (she then starts ignoring SC...which is probably a good thing because she has a temper.)
SC: why are movies $7 a day??!!
Me: ma'am. like she said, it's 50 cents a day. they were 14 days late so that's $7.
SC: (voice rising another decible) well...well...we couldn't even watch them. they were scratched! (looks at B) open that movie! (B takes off our security and opens it. SC takes out the dvd and pretty much throws it across the table) look how scratched it is!! (she starts getting louder) i REFUSE to buy you NEW MOVIES!!!
Me: ma'am. i'm sorry that the dvd is scratched. however, these go out a lot and that is normal wear and tear. if you were unable to watch the movie, you should have brought it back and let us know that you were unhappy with it.
SC: (full blown screaming complete with leaning over the counter looking like she's going to kill me) I MOOOOOOVED!!!!!!
Me: (slightly afraid for my life) i'm sorry ma'am. that's not our problem. if you were unable to bring them in, you could have called us to renew them.
SC: i know that's not your problem. i'm not paying these.
SCD: mom, they told me that fines were 5 cents a day.
SC: see! there's no way that i owe this much.
Me: ma'am. I've been here for over a year. our fines have always been 50 cents a day for movies.
SC: well, it doesn't matter. you told my daughter how much the fines were, not me.
Me: ma'am. when you signed up for your card, you signed a form saying that you would be financially responsible for everything that was checked out. even if your daughter is the one that had the movies out, you're still responsible.
SC: i REFUSE to pay this. i know someone at your main branch and she'll get this taken care of for me. i'll sue!! you need to take these fines off of my account.
Me: i'm sorry ma'am but we can't do that. we could be fired for taking that much money off of someone's account. the only thing i can say is that i can leave a note for my manager.
SC: DO THAT!
Me: i will.
SC: NOOOW! i want to see you write it.
Me: ok. (as i'm writing the note, my hands are shaking because i'm so pissed and can't say anything.)
SC: (and i swear, she says this like we just enjoyed a little picnic in the park) thank you! have a nice night!
so after she and her daughter waltz out, B and I just stand there and gawk at each other in total disbelief. a lot of people came up after she left and said how good we handled it and how they couldn't believe that she was acting like that. my personal opinion is that she's used to using her size (almost 6' and large) and volumne to intimidate people. if she had continued the way she was going, we probably would have had to call the police because our other customers were looking scared and there were some small children around. but we wrote an incident report and called the manager, who already hates this woman (i think she described her as "the worst form of white trash"), so she backed us up.
as a nice bonus, i went to a meeting a couple days after this happened for a committee i'm on. the assistant director is on the same committee and she said that she heard that we handled it very well.
another plus: SC hasn't been back and when i last checked, her account still had the fine
now this happened a few weeks ago. B and I were the only ones working one night. i was in the teen section shelving and B was watching the desk. it had been a pretty slow night, but we were starting to pick up because we were closing in about an hour, so everyone was rushing in. all of a sudden i hear a ruckus...
Me-
B- hates stupid people
SC- we all love to hate her
SCD- SC's lovely daughter
so i walk over to start checking out the people who are waiting in line and joined B as she was explaining SC's fines (almost $45 worth)
SC: (voice a little louder then we like in a library) this is RIDICULOUS!! i don't understand how it can be this much!
B: ma'am. when movies are late they are fifty cents a day. at fourteen days, that adds up to $7 each.
SC: how can you charge $7 a day??!!
B: it's fifty cents a day. (she prints out a receipt with all of the woman's fines on them and SC proceeds to plant her massive frame right where we're trying to get people checked out so they can leave)
SC: (furiously adding figures...i don't know of what...) did you add this yourself?
B: no. the computer did. (she then starts ignoring SC...which is probably a good thing because she has a temper.)
SC: why are movies $7 a day??!!
Me: ma'am. like she said, it's 50 cents a day. they were 14 days late so that's $7.
SC: (voice rising another decible) well...well...we couldn't even watch them. they were scratched! (looks at B) open that movie! (B takes off our security and opens it. SC takes out the dvd and pretty much throws it across the table) look how scratched it is!! (she starts getting louder) i REFUSE to buy you NEW MOVIES!!!
Me: ma'am. i'm sorry that the dvd is scratched. however, these go out a lot and that is normal wear and tear. if you were unable to watch the movie, you should have brought it back and let us know that you were unhappy with it.
SC: (full blown screaming complete with leaning over the counter looking like she's going to kill me) I MOOOOOOVED!!!!!!
Me: (slightly afraid for my life) i'm sorry ma'am. that's not our problem. if you were unable to bring them in, you could have called us to renew them.
SC: i know that's not your problem. i'm not paying these.
SCD: mom, they told me that fines were 5 cents a day.
SC: see! there's no way that i owe this much.
Me: ma'am. I've been here for over a year. our fines have always been 50 cents a day for movies.
SC: well, it doesn't matter. you told my daughter how much the fines were, not me.
Me: ma'am. when you signed up for your card, you signed a form saying that you would be financially responsible for everything that was checked out. even if your daughter is the one that had the movies out, you're still responsible.
SC: i REFUSE to pay this. i know someone at your main branch and she'll get this taken care of for me. i'll sue!! you need to take these fines off of my account.
Me: i'm sorry ma'am but we can't do that. we could be fired for taking that much money off of someone's account. the only thing i can say is that i can leave a note for my manager.
SC: DO THAT!
Me: i will.
SC: NOOOW! i want to see you write it.
Me: ok. (as i'm writing the note, my hands are shaking because i'm so pissed and can't say anything.)
SC: (and i swear, she says this like we just enjoyed a little picnic in the park) thank you! have a nice night!
so after she and her daughter waltz out, B and I just stand there and gawk at each other in total disbelief. a lot of people came up after she left and said how good we handled it and how they couldn't believe that she was acting like that. my personal opinion is that she's used to using her size (almost 6' and large) and volumne to intimidate people. if she had continued the way she was going, we probably would have had to call the police because our other customers were looking scared and there were some small children around. but we wrote an incident report and called the manager, who already hates this woman (i think she described her as "the worst form of white trash"), so she backed us up.
as a nice bonus, i went to a meeting a couple days after this happened for a committee i'm on. the assistant director is on the same committee and she said that she heard that we handled it very well.
another plus: SC hasn't been back and when i last checked, her account still had the fine
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